Cianfrano v Director General, Attorney Genera's Department (No 2)

In this case, the applicant, Cianfrano, sought access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) from the Director General, Attorney General's Department. The dispute centred on the adequacy of the search conducted by the Department in response to the applicant's request for access to certain documents, which the applicant claimed were relevant to both personal and business affairs, as well as potentially privileged documents. The matter was heard and determined by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

The primary legal issues before the AAT were whether the Department had conducted a sufficient search for the documents requested and whether the Department was required to disclose documents that were subject to legal professional privilege. The applicant argued that the Department's search was inadequate and that privileged documents should not be withheld. The Department contended that the search was thorough and that privileged documents were properly withheld.

The AAT found that the Department had conducted a comprehensive search and that the applicant had not demonstrated that additional documents existed which had been overlooked. The AAT further determined that documents subject to legal professional privilege were correctly withheld as they were not relevant to the matters the applicant sought to pursue. Consequently, the AAT upheld the Department's decision to deny access to the documents in question.

In accordance with the reasons provided in the earlier decision, the AAT affirmed the decision under review.