Sergent v Land and Property Management Authority [2010] NSWADT 50

Sergent v Land and Property Management Authority [2010] NSWADT 50

The Department failed to establish exemptions based on prejudice to future supply of information or substantial adverse effect on the State or agency's financial or property interests, because the Tribunal did not accept that proponents would withhold future EOIs where considerable commercial gain remained available and the evidence showed no more than a mere risk of adverse effect. However, parts of the EOIs specific to the redevelopment contained commercially valuable information concerning proponents' business, professional, commercial or financial affairs, and disclosure to the Applicant in the circumstances should be treated as disclosure to the world at large, which could reasonably...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
17 February 2010
Procedural Posture
Freedom of Information External Review / On the Papers; Decision on Review of Refusal of Access to Expressions of Interest
Outcome
Decision under review set aside and matter remitted to the Respondent for reconsideration.
Legal Topics
['exempt Documents' 'documents Affecting Business Affairs' 'commercial Value' 'confidential Material' 'financial or Property Interests of the State' 'public Interest' 'tender and Expression of Interest Documents']
['administrative Law' 'freedom of Information'] ['exempt Documents' 'documents Affecting Business Affairs' 'commercial Value' 'confidential Material' 'financial or Property Interests of the State' 'public Interest' 'tender and Expression of Interest Documents']

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Procedural Posture

Freedom of Information External Review / On the Papers; Decision on Review of Refusal of Access to Expressions of Interest

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the six expressions of interest for the redevelopment of Wollongong Harbour were exempt documents under clauses 7(1)(b), 7(1)(c), 13(b) or 15 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 1989.' "Whether disclosure could reasonably be expected to destroy or diminish commercial value or have an unreasonable adverse effect on the proponents' business, professional, commercial or financial affairs." 'Whether disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the future supply of such information to Government or an agency.' 'Whether the expressions of interest were obtained in confidence.' 'Whether public interest considerations justified release of exempt parts of the documents.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Department failed to establish exemptions based on prejudice to future supply of information or substantial adverse effect on the State or agency's financial or property interests, because the Tribunal did not accept that proponents would withhold future EOIs where considerable commercial gain remained available and the evidence showed no more than a mere risk of adverse effect. However, parts of the EOIs specific to the redevelopment contained commercially valuable information concerning proponents' business, professional, commercial or financial affairs, and disclosure to the Applicant in the circumstances should be treated as disclosure to the world at large, which could reasonably...

Court Disposition

Decision under review set aside and matter remitted to the Respondent for reconsideration.

Orders

  • ['The decision under review is set aside.' 'The matter is remitted for reconsideration by the Respondent pursuant to section 63(3)(d) of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997.']