McDonald v Ku-ring-gai Council [2022] NSWCATAD 17

McDonald v Ku-ring-gai Council [2022] NSWCATAD 17

Although there were strong public interest considerations in favour of disclosure because the Lindfield Village Hub project was significant, long-running and involved substantial public expenditure, most withheld cost, feasibility and RFT information was connected with ongoing procurement negotiations and disclosure...

Source-derived case information.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
14 January 2022
Procedural Posture
Administrative Review of Decisions Refusing Access to Government Information Under the Government Information (public Access) Act 2009 (nsw) / Principal Judgment After Hearing
Outcome
The Council's decisions were varied in part to require release of specified documents and otherwise affirmed.
Legal Topics
['gipa Act Access Application' 'public Interest in Favour of Disclosure' 'public Interest Against Disclosure' 'overriding Public Interest Against Disclosure' 'confidential Tender and Procurement Documents' 'commercial Confidentiality' 'ncat Administrative Review']
['administrative Law' 'government Information Access' 'local Government'] ['gipa Act Access Application' 'public Interest in Favour of Disclosure' 'public Interest Against Disclosure' 'overriding Public Interest Against Disclosure' 'confidential Tender and Procurement Documents' 'commercial Confidentiality' 'ncat Administrative Review']

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Procedural Posture

Administrative Review of Decisions Refusing Access to Government Information Under the Government Information (public Access) Act 2009 (nsw) / Principal Judgment After Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the respondent's decisions refusing access to withheld cost and feasibility studies and RFT documents were justified under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW)." 'Whether public interest considerations against disclosure under s 14 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW), including cll 1(f), 1(g), 4(a) and 4(d), outweighed public interest considerations in favour of disclosure.' 'Whether the Tribunal should receive confidential evidence and hear argument in the absence of the applicant and her counsel under s 107 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW).' 'Whether particular documents should be released because the public interest considerations against disclosure were not sufficient to outweigh the public interest in disclosure.']

Ratio Decidendi

Although there were strong public interest considerations in favour of disclosure because the Lindfield Village Hub project was significant, long-running and involved substantial public expenditure, most withheld cost, feasibility and RFT information was connected with ongoing procurement negotiations and disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice Council's effective exercise of its functions, place it at a competitive disadvantage, disclose some information provided in confidence, and prejudice legitimate business, commercial or financial interests. For most documents, those considerations outweighed the public interest in disclosure. However, the considerations against...

Court Disposition

The Council's decisions were varied in part to require release of specified documents and otherwise affirmed.

Orders

  • ['In proceeding 2020/00304261, the decision of the respondent dated 28 August 2020 is varied such that documents 4.0, 6.0, 7.0 and 15.0 are released to the applicant.' 'In proceeding 2020/00304261, the decision of the respondent is otherwise affirmed in relation to the documents listed in the Schedule to these...