Queensland Government Bulletin Part 1: The Implied Undertaking – Implications For Government Entities

The legal obligation known as the 'implied undertaking' or the 'Harman undertaking' has been in the spotlight due to the ongoing litigation surrounding Bruce Lehrmann. In recent months, Mr Lehrmann was accused of passing confidential and privileged documents that were protected by a Harman undertaking to Channel Seven during his defamation trial. Justice Lee of the Federal Court of Australia ultimately found that Mr Lehrmann disclosed protected information in violation of his Harman undertaking owed to the Court.

Harman undertaking – a brief overview

What is it?

The term 'Harman undertaking', also referred to as the 'implied undertaking', was coined in the English case Harman v Secretary of State for Home Department [1983] 1 AC 280. Essentially, the obligation (owed to the Court) prevents parties from using documents obtained in Court proceedings in other settings, unless it was in evidence and therefore publicly available. That is, documents can only be used