Combet & Anor v Commonwealth of Australia & Ors

The applicants, Mr. Combet and Mr. Smith, sought to bring proceedings against the Commonwealth of Australia and various other respondents, including the Attorney-General and the Minister for Defence. The dispute concerned the alleged unlawful disclosure of confidential information by officers of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) to a journalist, which the applicants claimed breached their implied constitutional right to privacy and their rights under the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977* (Cth). The matter came before Gummow J of the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the applicants had established a cause of action for breach of an implied constitutional right to privacy, and whether the actions of ASIO officers in disclosing information to a journalist constituted an unlawful act for the purposes of judicial review under the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977* (Cth). The applicants also sought to argue that the disclosure was an abuse of power.

Gummow J considered the existing jurisprudence on implied constitutional rights, noting that while the High Court has recognised implied rights such as freedom of political communication, it has not definitively established a broad implied constitutional right to privacy. His Honour examined the nature of the alleged disclosure and the scope of the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977* (Cth), concluding that the applicants had not demonstrated that the alleged conduct of ASIO officers fell within the ambit of the Act or that a novel constitutional right to privacy, as asserted, was applicable in this context. The Court found that the applicants had failed to establish a sufficient legal basis for their claims.