NSW Henry George Foundation v Director General, Department of Attorney General and Justice (NSW)

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal heard an appeal from the Henry George Foundation, a charitable trust, against the Director General of the Department of Attorney General and Justice regarding the disclosure of its annual financial statements. The Foundation objected to the release of its financial statements to the access applicant, asserting that the information was not government information and that it had demonstrated a public interest consideration against disclosure. The tribunal was tasked with determining whether the financial statements constituted government information and whether the Foundation had sufficiently demonstrated a public interest consideration against disclosure.

The tribunal considered whether the annual financial statements of the Henry George Foundation constituted government information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009. The tribunal held that the financial statements did indeed constitute government information as they were records of a government agency. The tribunal then examined whether the Foundation had established a prescribed public interest consideration against disclosure. The tribunal concluded that the Foundation had not adequately demonstrated such a consideration, as it had not shown how disclosure would harm its ability to function effectively.

The tribunal affirmed the Director General's decision to release the financial statements with the exception of the names of the trustees. The tribunal found that the Foundation had not established a public interest consideration against the disclosure of its financial statements, apart from the names of the trustees. Consequently, the tribunal ordered the Director General to provide the access applicant with the financial statements for the years 2004 to 2010, with the names of the trustees redacted. The tribunal also set aside the Director General's decision concerning the names of the trustees and directed the Director General to reconsider this matter in accordance with the tribunal's reasons for decision.

The final orders of the tribunal were to affirm the Director General's decision, except for the information that is the names of the trustees, and to provide the access applicant with the financial statements for the years 2004 to 2010 with the names of the trustees deleted. The tribunal also set aside the Director General's decision concerning the names of the trustees and directed the Director General to reconsider this matter in accordance with the tribunal's reasons for decision.