Moore v Department for Education and Child Development - [2014] SADC 49

DISTRICT COURT OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
(District Court Administrative and Disciplinary Division: Appeal Under Freedom of Information Act)
MOORE v DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
[2014] SADC 49
Judgment of His Honour Judge Rice
28 March 2014
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW - FREEDOM OF INFORMATION - REVIEW OF DECISIONS
Appeal from a determination of the Ombudsman pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 1991 after an internal review by the Department for Education and Child Development and an external review by the Ombudsman. The vast majority of the material sought by the appellant has been released to her concerning her time as a minor when she was placed in care. She appeals so that disclosure of all materials is made to her. Exemption from such full disclosure was made pursuant to Clauses 6 and 12 of the Freedom of Information Act.
Held: Some further documents disclosed but otherwise no cogent reason to depart from the determination of the Ombudsman.
Freedom of Information Act 1991 ss 4, 13, 16(1)(b), 19, 39, 40(2) and 48, Schedule 1 Clauses 6 and 12; Children's Protection Act 1993 ss 13, 58 and 88; District Court Act 1991 s 42E, referred to.
Victoria Police v Marke (2008) 23 VR 223, applied.

MOORE v DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
[2014] SADC 49
Introduction

This is an appeal brought by Ms Moore against a Freedom of Information Act 1991 determination made by the Ombudsman of South Australia. Ms Moore’s appeal is brought pursuant to s 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 1991 (the FOI Act). The history of the application to this point is referred to below, but essentially Ms Moore has been given access to, and copies of, a large amount of material but wants to see it all. The Ombudsman made a determination on 3 September 2013 denying access to certain documents and the respondent submits that that determination should be affirmed.
Background
A history of the application serves to narrow the nature of the remaining areas where access to documents is still denied.
Pursuant to s 13 of the FOI Act, Ms Moore sought access to documents concerning her time as a minor when she was placed in care. Her initial application dated 4 July 2012 sought access to “All Records from 1-4-67 – 1‑4‑85.”
In the first instance, the application was determined by the Department for Education and Child Development (DECD). By response dated 1 February 2013, DECD determined to give access to 190 documents, being documents 1-178 and 229-240.
DECD claimed an exemption for portions of some of the documents pursuant to Clauses 6(1) and 12(1) of Schedule 1 to the FOI Act. Because portion of some of the documents related to the personal affairs of others (Clause 6(1)), Ms Moore received only part of the documents, that is, with deletions (exempted) pursuant to that clause. As DECD expressed it:
The information that has been exempted from the file is information relating to other persons such as your mother, siblings or other…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2014] SADC 49
Decision Date: 28 March 2014

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in the case were Moore, the applicant, and the Department for Education and Child Development, the respondent. The nature of the dispute was the applicant's dissatisfaction with the response provided by the Department to his request for access to certain documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth). The case was heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Department's decision to refuse access to certain documents was lawful and reasonable. The applicant argued that the Department had failed to properly consider his request for access to the documents and had not provided adequate reasons for its decision. The court was required to determine whether the Department's decision was based on relevant considerations and whether it was a reasonable decision in the circumstances.

The court found that the Department had failed to properly consider the applicant's request for access to the documents and had not provided adequate reasons for its decision. The court held that the Department's decision was not based on relevant considerations and was therefore unlawful. The court also found that the Department's failure to provide adequate reasons for its decision was a breach of the applicant's right to procedural fairness. As a result, the court ordered the Department to review its decision and to provide the applicant with adequate reasons for its decision. The court also ordered the Department to provide the applicant with access to the documents he had requested, subject to any relevant exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act.

Orders