the Applicant v TruEnergy Services Pty Ltd (No 5)
Citation: [2013] FCA 937
At a glance
- Employees affected
- 1
What happened
the Applicant was dismissed from EnergyAustralia Services Pty Ltd on 6 February 2012, claiming her position had become redundant. She alleges this dismissal was adverse action due to complaints she made about workplace practices. the Respondent relied on expert reports by Guy Farrow during the trial. the Applicant sought production of draft expert reports and correspondence between Mr Farrow and the Respondent’s solicitors.
What was decided
The Federal Court considered whether legal professional privilege applied to draft expert reports and related correspondence. The court found that client legal privilege did not apply to the drafts themselves because they represented the expert's own thinking, but it may have applied to annotations on those drafts. The decision was made in light of the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) which governs legal professional privilege in this case.
What it means for employers
Employers should be aware that draft documents prepared by experts for litigation purposes may not be subject to client legal privilege, particularly if they reflect the expert's own independent thinking. Careful consideration is needed when engaging experts and managing their work product to avoid unintended disclosure of information.
What it means for employees
Employees who believe they have been unfairly dismissed or subjected to adverse action should understand that documents related to a case may be subject to legal privilege, but drafts prepared by expert witnesses might not always be protected. This can impact the discovery process and access to relevant information.
Want this applied to your situation?
Reading the decision is free. FairWork Mate goes further — it reads the full case library and applies precedents like this one to your specific facts, citing the cases as it reasons. General information, not a guaranteed outcome or legal advice.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2013/2013fca0937Send your details to Liquid Employment Lawyers
Liquid Employment Lawyers is a paid legal service and our referral partner, not free Fair Work advice. Tell them what has happened and a member of their team will call you back. For free general guidance, use our tools or call the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
Prefer to read first? About Liquid Employment Lawyers · Not sure if you need a lawyer? Read the legal help guides
Want more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The AI advisor answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus — awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts — with a citation to the underlying decision on every answer.
Individual case summaries on this site are free. The full FWC and Federal Court library behind every advisor answer is on Pro.
FairWork Mate AI
This is one decision. Pro reads all of them.
Free case pages cite the top 250 decisions. Pro opens the full Fair Work Commission and Federal Court library, cross-references your own situation against it, and cites the decision behind every answer — plus document upload, so it can read your letter or contract line by line. 150 questions a month, cancel anytime.
Just need this week sorted? A 7-Day Pass is 50 questions over 7 days, no account. Get a 7-Day Pass — $14.99
Get notified on new Fair Work cases
Free email alerts when we publish new underpayment decisions, penalty orders, and workplace law updates.
Free forever. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
This summary was drafted from the published decision and reviewed before publishing. It is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified lawyer. About these summaries & corrections