Australian Associated Press Pty Limited and Secretary, Department of Home Affairs (Freedom of information)

This matter concerned a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by Australian Associated Press Pty Limited (AAP) to the Secretary, Department of Home Affairs, for access to documents. The dispute centred on whether the disclosure of the requested information would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information and be contrary to the public interest. The decision was made by Senior Member Chris Puplick AM.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the requested documents, which arose from decisions made by the Minister under section 195A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), constituted "personal information" and, if so, whether their disclosure would be contrary to the public interest, thereby attracting an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act. Section 195A allows the Minister to grant a visa to a person in detention if the Minister believes it is in the public interest to do so, with specific provisions regarding the tabling of information about such grants in Parliament, which exclude identifying details of the visa recipient.

The Tribunal reasoned that the specific privacy exemption within the Freedom of Information Act indicated a clear public interest in protecting privacy. In this instance, granting access to the information sought by AAP would result in the disclosure of "personal information" in a manner that would make an individual "reasonably identifiable." Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that such disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision of the Information Commissioner.