Labor loses an appeal over coalition deal

A Labor MP's lawyers have lost the fight for access to the Liberal-National coalition agreement, created after Tony Abbott was ousted as prime minister in 2015.

Lawyers for a Labor MP have lost their bid to view secret documents at the centre of a legal challenge against Malcolm Turnbull.

Federal opposition frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon is seeking access to the Liberal-National coalition agreement, which was made to form government after Tony Abbott was ousted as prime minister in 2015.

Mr Fitzgibbon has taken his fight to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal after the government refused his request for the document under freedom of information laws.

But on Thursday in the Federal Court in Sydney, Mr Fitzgibbon appealed an interlocutory decision by the Tribunal which prevents his lawyers from being able to confidentially view the agreement.

Mr Fitzgibbon's lawyer Matthew Albert argued he'd been denied procedural fairness as his legal team couldn't read "the very document which is the subject of the dispute".

However, Justice Alan Robertson dismissed the application, saying he didn't believe the Tribunal had erred in concluding it didn't have the power to allow Mr Fitzgibbon's lawyers to inspect the agreement.

Mr Fitzgibbon was denied access to the agreement in 2015 on the basis it was a private document, the court heard.

However, the Tribunal will consider whether or not it is in fact an official document.