Styles v Wollondilly Shire Council [2017] NSWCATAP 108

Styles v Wollondilly Shire Council [2017] NSWCATAP 108

The Tribunal below erred in law by making order 1 setting aside the respondent's refusal to deal decision because the appellant had not applied for review of that administratively reviewable decision and the order was not ancillary or consequential to determining the advance deposit review. However, the error had no practical effect because the respondent had conceded the refusal decision was wrongly made. The Tribunal did not otherwise err: the appellant's access application, as amended on 26 November 2015, was open to be found broad enough to include microfiche and TRIM searches, those searches were reasonable and necessary under the GIPA Act, and the advance deposit decision was...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
17 May 2017
Procedural Posture
Appeal From Administrative Review Decision Concerning a GIPA Act Access Application Advance Deposit / Appeal Panel Decision on Appeal and Application for Leave to Appeal
Outcome
Appeal allowed in part; application for leave to appeal refused; respondent awarded costs of the appeal and application for leave to appeal.
Legal Topics
['government Information (public Access) Act 2009 Access Application' 'advance Deposit for Processing Charges' 'scope of Access Request' 'reasonable Searches by Agency' 'tribunal Jurisdiction on Administrative Review' 'leave to Appeal' 'special Circumstances Costs']
['administrative Law' 'government Information Access' 'civil Procedure' 'costs'] ['government Information (public Access) Act 2009 Access Application' 'advance Deposit for Processing Charges' 'scope of Access Request' 'reasonable Searches by Agency' 'tribunal Jurisdiction on Administrative Review' 'leave to Appeal' 'special Circumstances Costs']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Appeal From Administrative Review Decision Concerning a GIPA Act Access Application Advance Deposit / Appeal Panel Decision on Appeal and Application for Leave to Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to set aside the respondent's refusal to deal decision when that decision was not the subject of the appellant's external review application." "Whether the Tribunal erred in affirming the respondent's request for an advance deposit under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009." "Whether the respondent's microfiche and TRIM searches were reasonable and necessary having regard to the scope of the access application." 'Whether the appellant established errors of law, factual error, denial of procedural fairness, or grounds for leave to appeal.' 'Whether special circumstances warranted an award of costs in favour of the respondent.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal below erred in law by making order 1 setting aside the respondent's refusal to deal decision because the appellant had not applied for review of that administratively reviewable decision and the order was not ancillary or consequential to determining the advance deposit review. However, the error had no practical effect because the respondent had conceded the refusal decision was wrongly made. The Tribunal did not otherwise err: the appellant's access application, as amended on 26 November 2015, was open to be found broad enough to include microfiche and TRIM searches, those searches were reasonable and necessary under the GIPA Act, and the advance deposit decision was...

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed in part; application for leave to appeal refused; respondent awarded costs of the appeal and application for leave to appeal.

Orders

  • ["The appellant's appeal is allowed in part." 'Order 1 made by the Tribunal below is set aside.' 'Order 2 made by the Tribunal below is varied by deleting the words "16 June 2016" at the end of the second sentence and inserting the words "21 days after the publication of the Appeal Panel\'s decision."' "The...