Turner v Corrective Services NSW (No 2) [2013] NSWADT 232

Turner v Corrective Services NSW (No 2) [2013] NSWADT 232

The Respondent bore the onus of establishing that public interest considerations against disclosure applied and outweighed the public interest in disclosure. Although the Tribunal accepted the general need to maintain correctional centre security, the Respondent did not provide the Tribunal with the footage or evidence explaining how the asserted security risks would arise, and the Applicant was already aware of the identities of officers in footage previously provided with pixilation. The balance therefore favoured granting access by allowing the Applicant to view or inspect the videos, without retaining a copy. As to other video material, the evidence satisfied the Tribunal that no...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
21 October 2013
Procedural Posture
Review of Decision Concerning Access to Government Information Under the Government Information (public Access) Act 2009 / On the Papers; Principal Judgment Following Earlier Decision
Outcome
The Respondent's decision concerning the identified videos was set aside and substituted with a decision granting access to view them; the Respondent's decision was otherwise affirmed.
Legal Topics
['access to Government Information' 'overriding Public Interest Against Disclosure' 'form of Access' 'correctional Centre CCTV Footage' 'information Not Held']
['administrative Law' 'government Information Access'] ['access to Government Information' 'overriding Public Interest Against Disclosure' 'form of Access' 'correctional Centre CCTV Footage' 'information Not Held']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Review of Decision Concerning Access to Government Information Under the Government Information (public Access) Act 2009 / On the Papers; Principal Judgment Following Earlier Decision

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether there was an overriding public interest against disclosure of the CCTV footage identified as WCCVID.097, WCCVID.098 and WCCVID.099.' 'Whether access to the videos should be provided by allowing the Applicant to view or inspect the footage rather than retain a copy.' 'Whether any other video footage was held by the Respondent or whether further searches or action were required.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Respondent bore the onus of establishing that public interest considerations against disclosure applied and outweighed the public interest in disclosure. Although the Tribunal accepted the general need to maintain correctional centre security, the Respondent did not provide the Tribunal with the footage or evidence explaining how the asserted security risks would arise, and the Applicant was already aware of the identities of officers in footage previously provided with pixilation. The balance therefore favoured granting access by allowing the Applicant to view or inspect the videos, without retaining a copy. As to other video material, the evidence satisfied the Tribunal that no...

Court Disposition

The Respondent's decision concerning the identified videos was set aside and substituted with a decision granting access to view them; the Respondent's decision was otherwise affirmed.

Orders

  • ['The decision of the Respondent in regard to the videos identified as WCCVID.097, WCCVID.098 and WCCVID.099 is set aside.' 'In substitution thereof a decision is made to grant the Applicant access to view the videos. Within 30 days from the publication of these reasons the Respondent is to provide the Applicant...