New South Wales Trustee and Guardian v Clark [2019] NSWCATAP 257

New South Wales Trustee and Guardian v Clark [2019] NSWCATAP 257

Documents prepared by the NSW Trustee and Guardian between 1 May 2015 and 10 December 2015 for the purpose of applying for letters of administration are 'excluded information' under the GIPA Act, as they relate to its functions as trustee or administrator—roles which the NSW Trustee and Guardian held as a matter of...

Source-derived case information.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
14 October 2019
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Appeal Decision
Outcome
Appeal allowed; original Tribunal decision set aside.
Legal Topics
['excluded Information' 'government Information Access' 'trustee Capacity' 'letters of Administration']
['administrative Law' 'estate Law' 'information Law'] ['excluded Information' 'government Information Access' 'trustee Capacity' 'letters of Administration']

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Procedural Posture

Appeal / Appeal Decision

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether documents prepared by the NSW Trustee and Guardian between 1 May 2015 and 10 December 2015 for the purpose of obtaining letters of administration are 'excluded information' under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW)" "Whether Mr Clark's application for such documents is a valid access application under the Act"]

Ratio Decidendi

Documents prepared by the NSW Trustee and Guardian between 1 May 2015 and 10 December 2015 for the purpose of applying for letters of administration are 'excluded information' under the GIPA Act, as they relate to its functions as trustee or administrator—roles which the NSW Trustee and Guardian held as a matter of law from the death of the deceased, even prior to the grant of letters of administration. As such, Mr Clark's access application for these documents was not valid under the Act.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; original Tribunal decision set aside.

Orders

  • ['The appeal is allowed.' 'The decision of the Tribunal dated 30 April 2019 is set aside.' "Mr Clark's application for release to him under the GIPA Act of documents prepared by NSW Trustee and Guardian for the purpose of obtaining letters of administration with respect to the estate of Ms Reiner from 1 May 2015 to...