Victorian Law Reform Commission’s model

8.27 The VLRC’s 2008 Civil Justice Review recommended special masters ‘be appointed by the court to assist in the case management of discovery issues in complex cases’.^[35] The VLRC’s model of a special master would:

• provide court supervised intervention in the discovery aspect of the dispute;

• actively endeavour to case manage and assist in the resolution of any dispute between the parties in relation to discovery; and/or

• investigate and report to the court on any issue in relation to discovery.^[36]

8.28 The VLRC said the special master should be a judicial officer or a senior legal practitioner.

Preferably, the appointee would have experience or expertise in the areas that are the subject of the litigation. In some cases special expertise may be desirable, for example, in matters involving electronic discovery.^[37]

8.29 The costs of an externally-appointed special master under the VLRC’s model would be set at the discretion of the court, ‘and on an interim basis may be ordered to be costs in the cause’.^[38] When appointing a special master, the court would have to consider whether the financial stakes or resources of the parties justify imposing the expense of managing discovery issues on the parties.^[39]