Saggers v Environment Protection Authority [2013] NSWADT 109

Saggers v Environment Protection Authority [2013] NSWADT 109

The Respondent discharged its burden of showing that its decision that no further information was held was justified because the searches undertaken were reasonable, sufficient and adequate in the circumstances, and it was improbable that further searches would locate additional documents. The absence of expected documents reflected the Respondent's licensing and record keeping processes rather than inadequate searches. The requirements for a section 112 referral were not met because the alleged deficiencies concerned licence review and variation record keeping, not a lack of good faith in exercising functions under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, and there was no...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
20 May 2013
Procedural Posture
Application for External Review of an Access Application Determination Under the Government Information (public Access) Act 2009 / Principal Judgment
Outcome
The decision under review was affirmed and the application for a referral under section 112 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 was refused.
Legal Topics
['access to Government Information' 'reasonable Searches by Agency' 'decision That Information Is Not Held by Agency' 'section 112 Referral for Alleged Improper Conduct' 'environment Protection Licence Variation']
['administrative Law' 'government Information Access' 'environmental Regulation'] ['access to Government Information' 'reasonable Searches by Agency' 'decision That Information Is Not Held by Agency' 'section 112 Referral for Alleged Improper Conduct' 'environment Protection Licence Variation']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Application for External Review of an Access Application Determination Under the Government Information (public Access) Act 2009 / Principal Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Respondent undertook reasonable searches sufficient to comply with section 53(2) of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.' "Whether there were reasonable grounds to believe that further documents within the scope of the Applicant's access application existed and were held by the Respondent." 'Whether the Tribunal should bring the matter to the attention of the Minister under section 112 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.' 'Whether alleged deficiencies in the licence variation process or record keeping could be determined in this application.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Respondent discharged its burden of showing that its decision that no further information was held was justified because the searches undertaken were reasonable, sufficient and adequate in the circumstances, and it was improbable that further searches would locate additional documents. The absence of expected documents reflected the Respondent's licensing and record keeping processes rather than inadequate searches. The requirements for a section 112 referral were not met because the alleged deficiencies concerned licence review and variation record keeping, not a lack of good faith in exercising functions under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, and there was no...

Court Disposition

The decision under review was affirmed and the application for a referral under section 112 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 was refused.

Orders

  • ['The decision under review is affirmed.' 'The application for a referral pursuant to section 112 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 is refused']