Knight and Commonwealth Ombudsman (Freedom of Information)

The applicant, Knight, sought to issue a summons against the Commonwealth Ombudsman. The dispute concerned the Ombudsman's refusal to issue a summons for documents that Knight contended were relevant to the research and development of his case. The matter came before Deputy S A Forgie P.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the documents sought by the applicant had sufficient evidentiary value to warrant the issue of a summons. This required an assessment of whether the documents could reasonably be expected to be relevant to the applicant's case, and if so, whether their evidentiary value justified the compulsory production of documents from the Ombudsman.

Deputy S A Forgie P reasoned that the purpose of a summons in this context is to obtain evidence that is likely to be admissible and relevant to the proceedings. The Tribunal found that the documents requested by the applicant, which related to the research and development of his case, did not possess the requisite evidentiary value. Consequently, the request to issue a summons was refused.