For organisations that have been involved in major public and civil infrastructure projects in Victoria, responding to the Royal Commission should not begin when a notice to produce arrives. While attention is understandably focused on what the Royal Commission will investigate and ultimately find, organisations potentially within its scope face a more immediate question: are they prepared to respond if compelled to produce documents?

Production of documents

The Royal Commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects in Victoria has significant powers under the Inquiries Act 2014 (Vic) to summon witnesses and require the production of documents.

The Royal Commission may serve a written notice requiring a person or organisation to produce a specified document or thing to the Royal Commission by a specified time and / or to attend the Royal Commission to give evidence[1].

An organisation or person which asserts it has a reasonable excuse for failing to comply with a notice to produce must notify the Royal Commission of the objection, by the date set out in the notice to produce[2]. However, it is not a reasonable excuse for a person to refuse or fail to comply with a requirement to give information or produce a document or other thing to a Royal Commission on the basis that the information, document or other thing is the subject of legal professional privilege[3]. This means organisations should not assume that documents can be excluded from the response to a notice to produce simply because they are legally privileged. The potential presence of privileged material should instead be identified early and factored into the organisation’s preparation for responding to a notice.

Further, subject to a few exceptions, it is not a reasonable excuse for a person to refuse or fail to comply with a requirement to give information or produce a document or other thing to a Royal Commission on the basis that the information, document or other thing might tend to incriminate the person or make the person liable to a penalty[4].

If the Commissioner is satisfied that a person or organisation has, without reasonable excuse, failed to comply with a notice to produce or notice to attend in relation to the Royal Commission, the Commissioner may apply to the Supreme Court for an order requiring compliance with the notice or requirement within the period specified by the Supreme Court[5].

Further, it is an offence for a person who is served with a notice to produce or notice to attend in relation to a Royal Commission to refuse or fail to comply with the notice without reasonable excuse[6].

Why organisations should prepare now

The Commissioner is required to report his final findings and final recommendations by no later than 20 August 2027. Counsel assisting the Commissioner stated at the opening hearing on 23 September 2026 that: “This Commission has a relatively short period in which to do an enormous amount of work. Timely compliance with notices issued by this Commission will be required.”

This is an important signal for organisations that may receive a notice. We anticipate that the notices to produce issued by the Royal Commission will contain relatively short periods for compliance. Where a notice captures substantial volumes of material across multiple projects, personnel or systems, identifying and producing responsive documents within those timeframes may require significant preparation.

The practical implication is that organisations that may fall within the Royal Commission’s scope should prepare before receiving a notice.

Five steps organisations should take now

1. Identify responsibility for the response. Identify a suitable person within the organisation to oversee its response to a notice to produce.
2. Identify relevant projects. Consider whether the organisation has been involved in any projects which fall within the scope of the Royal Commission’s Terms of Reference and prepare a list of those projects.
3. Identify key personnel. Identify and prepare a record of the key personnel involved in each project who are likely hold material responsive to a notice to produce.
4. Map where records are held. Identify all possible locations where documents have been retained for each project, including hardcopy documents held in archives.
5. Preserve relevant material. Instruct employees to retain all potentially relevant documents and to cease the destruction of any documents in accordance with standard document retention policies.

Beyond document collection

Preparing for a notice is not only a document management exercise. It can also provide an opportunity to test whether an organisation can readily identify how key decisions were made, who was responsible for them and where the supporting records are held.

As part of this preparation, organisations should consider:

• can significant decisions relating to relevant projects be readily identified and evidenced?
• are responsibilities and reporting lines for those decisions clear?
• where are records relating to procurement, contractors and other third-party relationships held?
• can significant risks and issues, including how they were escalated and addressed, be traced through the organisation's records?
• do the organisation's governance and record-keeping processes operate effectively in practice?

Preparing to respond

The Royal Commission requires documents (including all associated metadata) to be produced by the time prescribed in the notice to produce in accordance with the document management protocol set out in Practice Direction 4.

Organisations that may fall within scope should not wait for a notice to test their readiness. Taking practical steps now to understand where relevant records are held and how they can be identified, preserved and produced will put organisations in a stronger position to respond if a notice is issued.

The Commission will hold its first block of public hearings from Monday 9 November to Friday 20 November 2026, inclusive. You can find out more about our expertise in relation to Royal Commissions here.

If your organisation may be affected by the Royal Commission, or you are served with a notice to produce and require advice on your response, contact our team linked below.

[1] s17 Inquiries Act

[2] PN4 [17]

[3] s32

[4] s33

[5] s23

[6] s46