The $6000 Transcript That Broke My Bank Account

The transcripts used in my Tribunal proceedings were produced by Pacific Transcription under a judge’s order requiring the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) and me to share the cost. I paid my half, $6000, believing I was funding an official certified record of the hearings. But Pacific Transcription has now confirmed in writing that the HCCC alone was their client, not the Tribunal or both parties, and that the transcripts were provided only in editable Word format, not certified PDF. In plain terms, the documents relied on in my case were never official Tribunal transcripts.
Pacific Transcription also admitted that they altered the structure of the transcript at the HCCC’s direction, excluded sections they personally deemed “not relevant,” and omitted an important exchange where my proposed lay advocate was asked to leave the bar table, later conceding that omission was an “error.” They further confirmed that the service commissioned by the HCCC was not the process they would use for official Tribunal records. This means the transcripts relied upon by NCAT were incomplete, editable, and produced under the control of one party rather than the Tribunal itself.
This is not a minor procedural flaw. It goes to the very core of justice. The Tribunal, its President, and its members are bound by law to uphold natural justice and ensure that proceedings are conducted on a complete, certified, and impartial record. A decision cannot lawfully stand when it rests on documents that are unofficial, altered, or controlled by one litigant. This is not just about me. It is about the integrity of the Tribunal system, the accountability of those who administer it, and the public’s right to trust that justice in New South Wales is carried out according to law.