I know we get criticised for googling, but what a useful tool that is! This is what I found. It took some time, but it gives the essence of what it means.
"Courts have often recognised that rules of practice are the servants and not the masters of justice. Whilst rules of practice prescribe and articulate a purposive concept for pleadings, they will not be prescriptive if in the circumstances the administration of justice requires the exercise of a court’s discretion to dispense with the application of the rules to a particular proceeding"
SP1 Price at posting:
$1.07 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held