AEC v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force

The applicant, AEC, sought judicial review of a decision made by the respondent, the Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force, regarding the disclosure of information. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The central issue before the Court was whether the Tribunal had the jurisdiction to review the decision of the Commissioner. Additionally, the Court needed to determine whether the application for review was made within the requisite time frame.

The Court found that the Tribunal did indeed have jurisdiction to review the decision made by the Commissioner, as it was a decision that could be considered an "administrative decision" under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth). The Court considered that the decision made by the Commissioner was one that affected the rights, obligations or interests of the applicant, and as such, it was a decision that fell within the scope of the Act. Furthermore, the Court noted that the applicant had made the application for review within the requisite time frame, as set out in the Act. The Court was satisfied that the application for review was made within the time limit of 28 days from the date of the decision.

Accordingly, the Court allowed the application for judicial review and found that the Tribunal had jurisdiction to entertain the application. The matter was then listed for a planning meeting on 28 February 2012 at 2pm. The Court did not make any orders regarding the merits of the application for review, as it was only concerned with the question of jurisdiction and the timeliness of the application. The Court did not comment on the merits of the decision made by the Commissioner, as that was not within its purview at that stage of the proceedings.