Administrative Decisions Tribunal Appeal Panel v Director-General, Department of Commerce & Ors [2008] NSWCA 140

Administrative Decisions Tribunal Appeal Panel v Director-General, Department of Commerce & Ors [2008] NSWCA 140

The Administrative Decisions Tribunal's jurisdiction is relevantly limited to determinations under s 24 of the Freedom of Information Act 1989; the formation of an opinion by an agency that it does not hold a document is not a determination for the purposes of s 24, and the Tribunal's jurisdiction conferred by s 53 does not extend to review of the adequacy of searches undertaken by the agency in response to requests for documents.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
19 June 2008
Procedural Posture
Referral of Question of Law From Tribunal (administrative Appeal) / Court of Appeal Determination on Referred Question
Outcome
Appeal allowed; question answered in the negative
Legal Topics
['freedom of Information Act 1989' 'access to Government Documents' 'jurisdiction of Administrative Decisions Tribunal']
['administrative Law'] ['freedom of Information Act 1989' 'access to Government Documents' 'jurisdiction of Administrative Decisions Tribunal']

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Procedural Posture

Referral of Question of Law From Tribunal (administrative Appeal) / Court of Appeal Determination on Referred Question

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether a notification under s 28(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 1989 that an agency does not hold a document is a determination reviewable by the Administrative Decisions Tribunal' 'Whether the Tribunal has power to review adequacy of agency searches for documents']

Ratio Decidendi

The Administrative Decisions Tribunal's jurisdiction is relevantly limited to determinations under s 24 of the Freedom of Information Act 1989; the formation of an opinion by an agency that it does not hold a document is not a determination for the purposes of s 24, and the Tribunal's jurisdiction conferred by s 53 does not extend to review of the adequacy of searches undertaken by the agency in response to requests for documents.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; question answered in the negative

Orders

  • ['The jurisdiction of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal is relevantly limited to determinations under s 24 of the Freedom of Information Act 1989.' 'The formation of an opinion that an agency does not hold a document is not a determination for the purposes of s 24.' 'The jurisdiction of the Tribunal conferred by...