14/08/2026
In courtrooms across Australia, the private counselling notes of sexual assault victim-survivors can be subpoenaed and used to discredit them. Many women only find out their notes have been handed to the person who assaulted them when they walk into court. The New South Wales Government has now commissioned research into how often this is happening, and whether the law should change.
That research, led by Professor Rita Shackel at the University of Sydney, will report to the Department of Communities and Justice by June 2027. It will examine how often counselling notes are subpoenaed, how that affects victim-survivors and their willingness to seek support, and whether stronger models, including absolute privilege, should apply. We welcome it.
When this campaign called for change, our network of doctors backed it. In May we shared Nina Funnell's Don't Subpoena Our Support campaign and added the voice of our network to the call. This week our Founder, Dr Karen Williams, Consultant Psychiatrist, was quoted in News.com.au as that campaign continues to build.
Sexual assault survivors already face multiple barriers to disclosure, and the threat of a subpoena makes seeking support harder still. As Dr Williams put it:
"As a doctor, I don't really want to tell a traumatised woman, by the way, these notes are not really confidential, they may be subpoenaed by your abuser in five years time, but please, do go on."
Counselling confidentiality is not a legal nicety. It is a matter of life and death.
The protection that is supposed to prevent this is not holding. In New South Wales, counselling records cannot be produced in preliminary criminal proceedings. But once a matter reaches trial, they are covered only by qualified privilege. A court can still order their release if it decides the records have substantial probative value, that other evidence is not available, and that the public interest in disclosure outweighs the public interest in keeping them private. Qualified privilege leaves that door open. Absolute privilege closes it.
Our ask is simple. We want New South Wales to move to absolute privilege, not another qualified compromise, once this research reports. We call on the other states, and on the Federal Attorney-General, Michelle Rowland MP, to follow, so that a sexual assault survivor anywhere in Australia can tell a counsellor what happened to her and know that conversation is safe, in the same way it would be if she had spoken to her own lawyer.
We are proud to keep supporting the Don't Subpoena Our Support campaign led by Nina Funnell, Unions NSW, and survivor advocates. Sign the petition, and share it widely. This one matters: https://www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/don-t-subpoena-our-support-keep-counselling-confidential
If you or someone you know needs support:
1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 (24hr)
DVConnect: 1800 811 811 (24hr)
Full Stop Australia: 1800 424 017 (24hr)
Rainbow DV Helpline: 1800 497 212 (24hr)
13YARN: 13 92 76 (24hr)
MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978 (24hr)
Emergency: 000
