BFR and BFS v Moree Plains Shire Council [2014] NSWCATAD 197

BFR and BFS v Moree Plains Shire Council [2014] NSWCATAD 197

The Tribunal found that the applicants' contact details were included in publicly available Council meeting minutes and thus were not 'personal information' under the Act, and that identification as complainants was reasonably likely to have been known by Dreyfus due to their history of public opposition and previous complaints. The Council's disclosure of the email was directly related to investigating the applicants' complaint, and as such, did not contravene the information protection principles.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
14 November 2014
Procedural Posture
Privacy Complaint Review / Final Decision on the Papers
Outcome
Application dismissed; no action to be taken under s.55(2) of the PIPP Act.
Legal Topics
['unsolicited Complaint' 'information Collected' 'breach of Privacy' 'disclosure of Personal Information']
['administrative Law' 'privacy Law'] ['unsolicited Complaint' 'information Collected' 'breach of Privacy' 'disclosure of Personal Information']

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Procedural Posture

Privacy Complaint Review / Final Decision on the Papers

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Did the Council breach its obligations to the applicants under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 by disclosing their personal information to a third party without consent?']

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal found that the applicants' contact details were included in publicly available Council meeting minutes and thus were not 'personal information' under the Act, and that identification as complainants was reasonably likely to have been known by Dreyfus due to their history of public opposition and previous complaints. The Council's disclosure of the email was directly related to investigating the applicants' complaint, and as such, did not contravene the information protection principles.

Court Disposition

Application dismissed; no action to be taken under s.55(2) of the PIPP Act.

Orders

  • ['The Tribunal decides to take no action in this matter under s.55(2) of the PIPP Act.']