Martin v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police

The case of Martin v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police involved an application by the plaintiff for access to certain information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW). The primary dispute centred around the release of personal details from an event summary and statements related to a police investigation. The matter was heard and determined by the Information and Privacy Commission of New South Wales.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether certain personal information could be disclosed to the plaintiff under the Act and, if so, to what extent. Specifically, the Commission had to decide which pieces of information were exempt from disclosure under the Act and which could be released. The Commission also needed to determine whether the Commissioner of Police had correctly exercised his discretion in redacting certain personal information.

The Commission found that some of the deletions made by the Commissioner were not justified under the Act. The Commission held that the deletions relating to the victim's name and address and the victim's and witness' CNI Number and sex should not have been made, and thus set aside the Commissioner's decision in this respect. However, the Commission affirmed the Commissioner's decision regarding the deletions of the name and address of the witness and the victim's and witness' date of birth, driver licence number, home telephone number and mobile telephone number as these were appropriately redacted to protect personal privacy. The Commission also set aside the Commissioner's decision in respect of the statements and remitted the matter back for reconsideration in light of the Commission's findings.

The orders of the Commission included setting aside certain deletions made by the Commissioner and affirming others, with a direction for the Commissioner to provide the plaintiff with the relevant documents within 28 days. Additionally, the Commission ordered that the Commissioner reconsider his decision in respect of the statements and provide a new decision within the same timeframe.