FRQK and Secretary, Department of Human Services (Freedom of information)

This matter concerned an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for review of a decision by the Australian Information Commissioner. The applicant sought access to documents from Centrelink, which had been refused on the grounds that they were conditionally exempt under section 47F of the *Freedom of Information Act 1982* (Cth) (the Act). The core of the dispute was whether the disclosure of the documents would involve an unreasonable disclosure of personal information, or whether disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the documents contained personal information, and if so, whether their disclosure would constitute an unreasonable disclosure of that personal information. This involved considering the definition of "personal information" under the Act, which adopts the meaning from the *Privacy Act 1988* (Cth), and applying the factors outlined in section 47F(2) of the Act. The Tribunal also had to consider the Australian Information Commissioner's Guidelines, which have a statutory foundation and must be had regard to when exercising powers under the Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that the documents in question, specifically a letter from Centrelink requesting evidence of care arrangements for the applicant's son, contained personal information. In assessing whether disclosure would be unreasonable, the Tribunal considered the relevant factors under section 47F(2), including the extent to which the information was well known, the association of the individual with the matters in the document, and the availability of the information from public sources. The Tribunal found that the disclosure of this information would involve an unreasonable disclosure of personal information and would be contrary to the public interest.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision of the Australian Information Commissioner.