Diana Beere v National Australia Bank
Federal Court of Australia | NSD715/2024
In response to media enquiries about this matter we provide the following background.
About the claim
Diana Beere, long-term shareholder in the National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), filed an application in the Federal Court of Australia on 5 June 2024, seeking access to internal company documents under section 247A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act).
Ms Beere seeks access to documents held by NAB in relation to the bank’s reported corporate loan financing to the following companies that have or are proposing new thermal coal projects:
- New Hope Ltd,
- Whitehaven Coal Ltd.
Documents are sought in the context of NAB’s commitment to no longer finance new thermal coal projects. The commitment was first announced in late 2017.
In addition, Ms Beere’s concerns extend to NAB’s potential contribution to adverse human rights impacts arising from its reported financing of:
- the Coastal GasLink gas pipeline project in Canada by way of a project finance loan,
- Santos Limited and its Barossa gas project near the Tiwi Islands, by way of a corporate loan facility that was rolled over from an acquisition loan for the Barossa project.
Internal NAB documents are sought arising from concerns that the bank did not adequately carry out human rights due diligence on the projects in accordance with its human rights policy.
The request to inspect the books
An application made under section 247A of the Corporations Act allows members (shareholders) of a company to apply to the Court to make an order authorising the shareholder to inspect the books of the company.
Ms Beere and NAB have been engaging about her concerns since early 2022. Ms Beere has already obtained a number of documents from NAB under a confidentiality deed. Ms Beere understands that NAB requires a court order or its clients’ consent in order to provide her a number of documents.
Ms Beere seeks relevant board and committee packs, loan and project assessments, and loan documents. In the case of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, amongst other things, Ms Beere seeks access to independent third party assessments on the project’s compliance with human rights requirements under the Equator Principles.
Next steps
On 12 September 2024, the Court made orders for evidence about any confidentiality concerns and the exchange of submissions, and set the matter down for a final hearing. Those orders are available here.
The hearing of Ms Beere’s application is scheduled for 25 November 2024 in Sydney.
The legal team
Diana Beere is represented by Equity Generation Lawyers.
Alice Zheng is the plaintiff’s counsel.
