DNM v NSW Ombudsman

Civil and Administrative Tribunal

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	DNM v NSW Ombudsman [2018] NSWCATAD 186
Hearing dates:	On the papers
Date of orders:	20 August 2018
Decision date:	20 August 2018
Jurisdiction:	Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division
Before:	P H Molony, Senior Member
Decision:	(1)   The decision of the Ombudsman that DNM’s application was invalid is affirmed. (2)   No order as to costs.
Catchwords:	Administrative Law – administrative review - Government Information (Public Access) – whether information relating to the monitoring and reporting function of the Ombudsman under s 6B(1)(e) of the Public Interest Disclosures Act is excluded information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 – consequence of access application seeking excluded information – access application invalid
Legislation Cited:	Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994
Cases Cited:	Associated Newspapers v Wavish (1956) CLR 226 Drake v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs [1979] AATA 179; (1979) 46 FLR 409 Osborne v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Service [2000] NSWADTAP 10 Pertsinidis v Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District [2014] NSWCATAD 130 Re Licensing Ordinance (1968) 13 FLR 143 Sinclair v Psychology Council [2017] NSWCATAD 8 Yee v Medical Council of NSW [2017] NSWCATAD 370
Category:	Procedural and other rulings
Parties:	Applicant - DNM Respondent - NSW Ombudsman
Representation:	Applicant in person Respondent – M Smith, Legal Counsel, NSW Ombudsman
File Number(s):	2018/0020278
Publication restriction:	An order under s 64(1)(a) of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW) prohibiting the broadcast or disclosure of the applicant’s name

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. DNM has applied to the Tribunal for administrative review under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (the GIPA Act) of a decision made by the NSW Ombudsman, on internal review on 11 October 2017, that his access application made on 11 September 2017 is invalid under s 43(2) of the GIPA Act.

Procedural Background

2. On 11 September 2017 DNM made an access application under the GIPA Act to the NSW Ombudsman seeking:

All records your office holds relating to the monitoring exercise undertake by your office as communicated by letter of 24 June 2014.

3. In order to understand what DNM was seeking in his access application it is necessary to have regard to the letter dated 24 June 2014. It was from the Deputy Ombudsman to DNM regarding, “Monitoring of public interest disclosures (PIDs) and purported PIDs made to [an agency]”. Relevantly, it said:

On 19 June 2014, this office received a letter from [Name, title and agency], requesting advice regarding the handling and assessing of reports purporting to be PIDs made to {the agency], primarily by you. [Name] has advised me that, to date, you have lodged 43 PIDs with [the agency]. In addition you have made around 75 requests for information and complaints covering a wide range of topics. You have also made complaints to a number of external bodies including this office, the Information and Privacy Commissioner, State Records and the…