Director General, Department of Community Services -v- S [2000] NSWADTAP 27

Director General, Department of Community Services -v- S [2000] NSWADTAP 27

The Appeal Panel held that the Tribunal made no material error of law. It was open to the Tribunal to find the impugned passages misleading because they conveyed an unfounded adverse impression about S's care and cooperation, even if the officers' concerns were genuinely held. The statutory power to amend records under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 was not confined to adding a notation and could include obliteration or deletion of misleading passages. The agency was not denied procedural fairness because partial obliteration was within the predictable range of possible outcomes. The order was varied only to reserve liberty to apply about implementation.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
19 December 2000
Procedural Posture
Internal Appeal to an Appeal Panel of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Concerning Amendment of Agency Records Under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 / Appeal From the General Division Decision in S V Director General, Department of Community Services [2000] NSWADT 24
Outcome
Appeal dismissed except for a variation adding liberty to apply; decision and order under appeal affirmed as varied.
Legal Topics
['amendment of Agency Records' 'misleading Personal Information' 'procedural Fairness' 'obliteration or Deletion of Records' 'internal Appeal Error of Law']
['administrative Law' 'freedom of Information' 'statutory Interpretation'] ['amendment of Agency Records' 'misleading Personal Information' 'procedural Fairness' 'obliteration or Deletion of Records' 'internal Appeal Error of Law']

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Procedural Posture

Internal Appeal to an Appeal Panel of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Concerning Amendment of Agency Records Under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 / Appeal From the General Division Decision in S V Director General, Department of Community Services [2000] NSWADT 24

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Tribunal erred in law in its interpretation and application of the word "misleading" in the Freedom of Information Act 1989.' 'Whether the Tribunal erred in law in holding that amendment under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 could include obliteration or deletion of offending passages from agency records.' 'Whether the Tribunal failed to accord procedural fairness by not inviting submissions on the proposed form of orders before making final orders.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Appeal Panel held that the Tribunal made no material error of law. It was open to the Tribunal to find the impugned passages misleading because they conveyed an unfounded adverse impression about S's care and cooperation, even if the officers' concerns were genuinely held. The statutory power to amend records under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 was not confined to adding a notation and could include obliteration or deletion of misleading passages. The agency was not denied procedural fairness because partial obliteration was within the predictable range of possible outcomes. The order was varied only to reserve liberty to apply about implementation.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed except for a variation adding liberty to apply; decision and order under appeal affirmed as varied.

Orders

  • ["The decision and order under appeal is affirmed, with one variation, being the addition of a further term to the order as follows: '6. Liberty is reserved to any party to apply to the Tribunal for further orders clarifying or concerning the implementation of the above.'"]