Discovery for all:

The Australian Law Reform Commission’s inquiry into discovery in the federal courts was prompted by the concerns raised about the process in the Access to Justice Taskforce report, A Strategic Framework for Access to Justice in the Federal Civil Justice System (the Taskforce Report) in 2009.  

PIAC made a submission to the Taskforce Report, in which it concentrated on the extent to which the proposed recommendations improved access to justice for disadvantaged clients. Similarly, in responding to the ALRC’s Consultation Paper, Discovery in the Federal Courts PIAC focussed on issues of costs and accessibility to justice, such as a proposal that a party seeking discovery should pay the estimated costs of discovery in advance.  PIAC also took the opportunity to recommend the introduction of a specific public interest protective costs orders in the Federal Court.