Trade Practices Commission v Santos Limited

The Trade Practices Commission brought an action against Santos Limited in the Federal Court, seeking an order for disclosure of documents related to the gas market. The dispute centred on the obligation of Santos to make continuing discovery of documents, particularly those that came into its possession or power after a general discovery order was issued. The Federal Court Rules O.15 r.7A was the primary legal provision governing the obligations of the parties regarding discovery.

The central legal issue was whether Santos was required to disclose documents that came into its possession or power after the initial discovery order was made. Specifically, the court needed to determine the discretionary factors that should influence the making of specific orders for further discovery. This included whether Santos was required to identify documents by specific reference or if it would suffice to identify them by classes or categories.

In its decision, the court held that Santos was indeed required to make continuing discovery of documents that came into its possession or power after the initial discovery order. The court considered several discretionary factors in making its decision, including the importance of the documents to the case, the stage of the proceedings, and the conduct of the parties. The court concluded that it would be sufficient for Santos to identify documents by reference to classes or categories, provided this was sufficient for the other party to assess the relevance of the documents. The court reserved the right to make further directions regarding discovery if necessary.

The court ordered that Santos file and serve a list of all documents that came into its possession, custody, or power between 25 December 1992 and 30 April 1993. The court also ordered that it would be sufficient for Santos to identify documents by reference to classes or categories for claims of legal professional privilege. The court reserved the right to make further directions regarding discovery.