Guimaraes v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force

In the matter of Guimaraes v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force, the Civil and Administrative Tribunal (CAT) was tasked with resolving a dispute between the applicant, Mr Guimaraes, and the Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force. The central issue in the case was whether certain information, disclosed under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, could be considered publicly disclosed for the purposes of section 63 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977. Mr Guimaraes sought to have certain information, which had been provided to him under the aforementioned act, released to the public, while the Commissioner opposed such a release on the basis that it would constitute a breach of privacy and public interest.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the information provided to Mr Guimaraes under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 had been publicly disclosed for the purposes of section 63 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977. This required a consideration of the definitions of "publicly disclosed" and "information" within the relevant acts, as well as the implications of a finding that the information had been publicly disclosed. The Tribunal also had to consider the effect of section 63 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 on the disclosure of information obtained under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.

The Tribunal held that the information provided to Mr Guimaraes had not been publicly disclosed for the purposes of section 63 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977. In reaching this decision, the Tribunal considered the definitions of "publicly disclosed" and "information" within the relevant acts, and concluded that the information had not been made available to the general public. The Tribunal further found that the effect of section 63 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 was to prevent the disclosure of information obtained under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, unless such disclosure was in the public interest. Given the sensitive nature of the information in question, the Tribunal determined that it was not in the public interest for the information to be disclosed.

In light of the Tribunal's findings, it ordered that the publication and disclosure of the confidential material provided by the Commissioner of Police, NSW Police be prohibited. Furthermore, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, upholding the Commissioner's decision not to release the information to the public.