Gear v the Information Commissioner

The case of Gear v the Information Commissioner involves the applicant, Mr Gear, who filed privacy complaints against three manufacturers of alcohol ignition interlock devices. These manufacturers were alleged to have breached various Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) under the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld). The Information Commissioner (OIC), acting as the decision-maker, declined to deal with the complaints, finding them to be "lacking in substance" under section 168(1)(c) of the IP Act. Mr Gear sought judicial review of these decisions. The primary legal issue before the court was whether the delegate's decision to decline to deal with the privacy complaints was subject to error on any of the grounds for review as outlined in section 20(2) of the Judicial Review Act 1991 (Qld).

The court found that the delegate had concluded that the privacy complaints were not arguable and declined to deal with them based on the belief that they were "lacking in substance." The delegate's decision hinged on the belief that there were more appropriate mechanisms available to address the complaints, specifically an application to the contracting agency under Chapter 3 of the IP Act. However, the court found that the delegate had overlooked the necessity of demonstrating that the criteria for refusing access to personal information under Chapter 3 were met. The court held that the decision was affected by error because the delegate did not consider whether the criteria for refusing access were present in the circumstances of Mr Gear's requests. The delegate's reasoning process concerning the substance of the complaints was flawed, and the decision was quashed on the basis that it was made in error.

The final orders of the court were that the decisions of the Information Commissioner made on 11 November 2024 in proceedings 16324, 16326, and 16327 of 2024 were quashed. This outcome mandates that the Information Commissioner revisit the privacy complaints made by Mr Gear against the three manufacturers.