FHH v Port Stephens Council [2023] NSWCATAD 101

FHH v Port Stephens Council [2023] NSWCATAD 101

The Tribunal found that almost all information in Council's PowerPoint presentation was contained in publicly available publications (published tribunal decisions), and thus was exempt from being 'personal information' for the purposes of the PPIP Act. The only exception was reference to the mediation in the anti-discrimination matter involving FTU, which was not publicly available; this amounted to a minor breach of s 18 of the PPIP Act, but given its minor nature, the Tribunal exercised its discretion under s 55(2) of the PPIP Act to take no action.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
02 May 2023
Procedural Posture
Administrative Review – Privacy / Principal Judgment After Hearing and Submissions
Outcome
Application dismissed – minor breach found but no action taken
Legal Topics
['information Protection Principle' 'personal Information' 'publicly Available Publication Exemption' 'disclosure of Personal Information' 'limits on Disclosure and Use' 'open Justice' 'administrative Review' 'minor Breach' 'tribunal Jurisdiction']
['administrative Law' 'privacy Law'] ['information Protection Principle' 'personal Information' 'publicly Available Publication Exemption' 'disclosure of Personal Information' 'limits on Disclosure and Use' 'open Justice' 'administrative Review' 'minor Breach' 'tribunal Jurisdiction']

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Procedural Posture

Administrative Review – Privacy / Principal Judgment After Hearing and Submissions

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether Council disclosed personal information of FHH and FTU in breach of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act)' "Whether the information disclosed was exempt as 'personal information' because it was contained in a publicly available publication under section 4(3)(b) of the PPIP Act" 'Whether the presentation included information about mediation of anti-discrimination proceedings not publicly available' 'Whether a minor breach of section 18 of the PPIP Act occurred']

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal found that almost all information in Council's PowerPoint presentation was contained in publicly available publications (published tribunal decisions), and thus was exempt from being 'personal information' for the purposes of the PPIP Act. The only exception was reference to the mediation in the anti-discrimination matter involving FTU, which was not publicly available; this amounted to a minor breach of s 18 of the PPIP Act, but given its minor nature, the Tribunal exercised its discretion under s 55(2) of the PPIP Act to take no action.

Court Disposition

Application dismissed – minor breach found but no action taken

Orders

  • ["Pursuant to s 44(1) of the NCAT Act FHH's spouse FTU is joined as a party (applicant) to these proceedings." 'Pursuant to s 55(2) of the PPIP Act, on reviewing the conduct of the respondent public sector agency, the Tribunal decides not to take any action on the matter.']