Cessnock City Council v EMF [2022] NSWCATAP 72

Cessnock City Council v EMF [2022] NSWCATAP 72

A Council may not, in reliance on its Code of Conduct Procedures or Privacy Statement, use personal information in a confidential complaint for a different purpose (including routine complaints management) if the complaint was explicitly marked confidential for the addressee only and the complainant's intentions were clearly for it to be treated as a code of conduct complaint. PPIPA overrides internal routine processes in these circumstances.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
21 March 2022
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Decision on Appeal
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
['privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (nsw)' 'information Protection Principles' 'code of Conduct for Local Councils' 'limits on Use of Personal Information' 'obligations of Confidentiality']
['administrative Law' 'privacy Law' 'local Government Law'] ['privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (nsw)' 'information Protection Principles' 'code of Conduct for Local Councils' 'limits on Use of Personal Information' 'obligations of Confidentiality']

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Procedural Posture

Appeal / Decision on Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether Cessnock City Council breached Information Protection Principle 10 (as modified by the Privacy Code of Practice for Local Government) in its handling of a confidential complaint marked for the General Manager' "The effect of s 440AA(5) of the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) and the Council's Code of Conduct Procedures on Council's use and disclosure of confidential complaint information" "Whether the Council's actions were permitted by equity or public interest under the law of confidentiality" "Whether the Council's Privacy Statement permitted the handling of the complaint for purposes other than for which it was collected"]

Ratio Decidendi

A Council may not, in reliance on its Code of Conduct Procedures or Privacy Statement, use personal information in a confidential complaint for a different purpose (including routine complaints management) if the complaint was explicitly marked confidential for the addressee only and the complainant's intentions were clearly for it to be treated as a code of conduct complaint. PPIPA overrides internal routine processes in these circumstances.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed

Orders

  • ['The appeal is dismissed.' 'Orders 2, 3, 4 and 5 made by the Tribunal on 27 July 2021 in proceedings 2020/00358935 shall have effect as if the date of the Reasons for Decision were 21 March 2022.' 'Pursuant to s 50(1)(c) of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW) a hearing in respect of the costs of...