Stage 1: Prepare

Following the initial announcement of a royal commission, there are a number of steps an organisation can take immediately to prepare.

• Establish core project team and governance protocols
  • Engage external legal representation and preferred barristers on retainer
  • Implement legal professional privilege, governance and data management protocols
• Initial briefing for senior management
• Adopt robust document management system (eg the Ringtail system) and establish structure and protocols
• Establish processes which will apply upon receipt of document or information requests from the Commission
• Identify key document retrieval processes
• Obtain professional indemnity and directors’ and officers’ insurance review advice (if required).

Stage 2: Engage

Following the announcement of a royal commission's terms of reference, an organisation should conduct strategic risk analysis and plan defensive response to high risk issues. Key steps at this stage include the following:

• Work through Terms of Reference
• Conduct analysis of governance, risk and conduct issues in response to Terms of Reference
  • Identify key document and information sources based on areas of focus under Terms of Reference
• Strategic planning of objectives for the Commission and how to engage effectively
• Media management strategy (if required)
• Consider where proactive engagement for effective submissions to address areas of interest is appropriate
• Consider whether to commence any document or information retrieval on a proactive basis in anticipation of future requests

Stage 3: Respond

Once a royal commission has commenced, you may be required to respond to the its processes and procedures, including a request for documents.

• Engagement might entail:
  • Production of documents through ‘notices to produce’ through to participation in a full public hearing involving the examination on oath of current or former employees as witnesses
• Management of the efficient searching and collection of documents.
• The State Agencies will need to be able to identify relevant documents with confidence and sometimes in short timeframes.
• It will be important to be able to verify that internal searches have been comprehensive.