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We can receive subpoenas requesting us to produce personal information for use in civil or criminal court proceedings. By law, we must comply with the request unless the court or party who issued the subpoena can be persuaded to set it aside. Subpoenas can be submitted via this form, or directed to the General Counsel of 1800RESPECT at [email protected].
All subpoena requests received by 1800RESPECT are reviewed and assessed by both legal and clinical specialists to determine the appropriate next steps. Requests are handled using strict procedures and considered alongside the safety of service users.
We will take reasonable steps to contact you if we receive a subpoena requiring disclosure of your personal information. When a subpoena or search warrant is served to 1800RESPECT, the service may be required to provide case notes, transcripts, or copies of records.
If we know that you are concerned about the request, or if we believe that disclosure might cause you further harm or distress, we will use whatever legal grounds may be available to us to object to the disclosure of the documents or inspection of the documents by a/any party/ies to the proceedings.
In this situation, you may also wish to obtain your own independent legal advice. If you do not currently have legal advice, information of legal services in your area can be found on the 1800RESPECT Service Directory.
If you have a personal right or privilege that is affected by information relevant to the subpoena – for example, the Sexual Assault Communications Privilege (SACP) – you may be entitled to lodge a notice of objection, an application to set aside or an objection to inspection of the documents requested under the subpoena.
We generally cannot produce information provided anonymously or under a pseudonym in response to a subpoena.
If information requested through a subpoena is required to be provided, it is provided only directly to the courts. Information is accompanied by a cover letter from 1800RESPECT indicating the sensitive content, and we request that the judge review the content provided in chambers prior to any disclosure.
