Berryman v Murray River Council [2023] NSWCATAD 70

Berryman v Murray River Council [2023] NSWCATAD 70

Due to significant public interest considerations in favour of disclosure, balanced against copyright held by Centium and lack of evidence supporting public interest considerations against disclosure, the respondent was justified in not providing a copy of the Centium report but not justified in refusing view-only access. Providing view-only access avoids infringement of copyright and satisfies the public interest requirements under the GIPA Act.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
24 March 2023
Procedural Posture
Administrative Review / Final Determination
Outcome
Respondent's decision set aside; substituted decision made
Legal Topics
['government Information (public Access)' 'public Interest Test' 'disclosure of Government Information' 'copyright Infringement' 'forms of Access']
['administrative Law' 'copyright Law'] ['government Information (public Access)' 'public Interest Test' 'disclosure of Government Information' 'copyright Infringement' 'forms of Access']

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Procedural Posture

Administrative Review / Final Determination

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the Centium report under s 14 of the GIPA Act' 'Whether disclosure of the report would infringe copyright under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth)' 'Appropriate form of access to government information under the GIPA Act']

Ratio Decidendi

Due to significant public interest considerations in favour of disclosure, balanced against copyright held by Centium and lack of evidence supporting public interest considerations against disclosure, the respondent was justified in not providing a copy of the Centium report but not justified in refusing view-only access. Providing view-only access avoids infringement of copyright and satisfies the public interest requirements under the GIPA Act.

Court Disposition

Respondent's decision set aside; substituted decision made

Orders

  • ['The Respondent is to provide the applicant with view-only access to the Centium report pursuant to s 72(1)(a) of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW).']