Johnson v Wollondilly Shire Council

In the case of Johnson v Wollondilly Shire Council, the plaintiff sought access to information held by the council under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW). The plaintiff alleged that the council refused to provide certain documents on the basis that their disclosure would diminish the competitive commercial value of the information, prejudice any person’s legitimate business interests, or prejudice the effective exercise of the council’s functions. The matter was brought before the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales for review.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the council’s decision to withhold the information was justified under the exceptions provided by the Act. Specifically, the court had to determine if the council could demonstrate that disclosure would have one or more of the specified adverse effects. The court also needed to weigh the public interest in access to government information against the potential harm identified by the council.

The court found that while the council had correctly identified that disclosure of the information could potentially prejudice its business interests, it had failed to adequately demonstrate that the harm would be significant. The court held that the council’s concerns were speculative and not supported by concrete evidence. The council also did not provide sufficient information to show that disclosure would prejudice the effective exercise of its functions. Consequently, the court concluded that the council’s decision to withhold the information was not justified and set aside the decision in relation to the information that had already been released. The court affirmed the decision in all other respects.

The court ordered that the decision under review was set aside insofar as it related to information that had subsequently been released. The decision was otherwise affirmed. This outcome highlights the importance of providing concrete evidence to support claims of harm when withholding information under freedom of information laws.