Colussi v General Manager, Ku-Ring-Gai Council [2004] NSWADT 224

Colussi v General Manager, Ku-Ring-Gai Council [2004] NSWADT 224

The complainant's name, address, email address, contact details and other identifying matter concerned personal affairs and their disclosure would be unreasonable and would also identify a confidential source of information given for law enforcement or administration purposes. Disclosure of the complainant's identity was not, on balance, in the public interest. However, some non-identifying content in the 13 May 2003 email and the 8 September 2003 Council letter could practicably be disclosed with exempt material deleted, while the handwritten 22 August 2003 letter could not practicably be disclosed with deletions because the handwriting might identify the complainant.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
07 October 2004
Procedural Posture
Application for Review of a Decision Refusing Access to Documents Under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 / Principal Matter Determined on the Papers
Outcome
The Council's decision was affirmed in respect of the handwritten letter dated 22 August 2003, set aside in respect of the email dated 13 May 2003 and letter dated 8 September 2003, and those two documents were remitted to the Council for reconsideration in accordance with the Tribunal's reasons.
Legal Topics
['access to Documents' 'exempt Documents' 'personal Affairs Exemption' 'law Enforcement and Public Safety Exemption' 'confidential Source of Information' 'deletion of Exempt Matter']
['administrative Law' 'freedom of Information' 'privacy'] ['access to Documents' 'exempt Documents' 'personal Affairs Exemption' 'law Enforcement and Public Safety Exemption' 'confidential Source of Information' 'deletion of Exempt Matter']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Application for Review of a Decision Refusing Access to Documents Under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 / Principal Matter Determined on the Papers

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the requested documents contained information concerning the personal affairs of the complainant and whether disclosure would be unreasonable under cl.6(1) of Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 1989.' 'Whether the documents contained matter whose disclosure could reasonably be expected to enable the identity of a confidential source of information in relation to the enforcement or administration of the law to be ascertained under cl.4(1)(b) of Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 1989.' 'Whether disclosure of the documents would, on balance, be in the public interest under cl.4(2)(b) of Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 1989.' 'Whether it was practicable to give access to copies of the documents with exempt material deleted under s.25(4) of the Freedom of Information Act 1989.']

Ratio Decidendi

The complainant's name, address, email address, contact details and other identifying matter concerned personal affairs and their disclosure would be unreasonable and would also identify a confidential source of information given for law enforcement or administration purposes. Disclosure of the complainant's identity was not, on balance, in the public interest. However, some non-identifying content in the 13 May 2003 email and the 8 September 2003 Council letter could practicably be disclosed with exempt material deleted, while the handwritten 22 August 2003 letter could not practicably be disclosed with deletions because the handwriting might identify the complainant.

Court Disposition

The Council's decision was affirmed in respect of the handwritten letter dated 22 August 2003, set aside in respect of the email dated 13 May 2003 and letter dated 8 September 2003, and those two documents were remitted to the Council for reconsideration in accordance with the Tribunal's reasons.

Orders

  • ['The decision of the Council in respect of the letter dated 22 August 2003 is affirmed.' 'The decision of the Council in respect of the email dated 13 May 2003 and the letter dated 8 September 2003 is set aside.' 'The email dated 13 May 2003 and the letter dated 8 September 2003 is remitted to the Council for...