NW v New South Wales Fire Brigades (No 2)

NW sought judicial review of the New South Wales Fire Brigades' conduct regarding the use and disclosure of personal information in occurrence books. The application was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The primary legal issue before the court was whether the New South Wales Fire Brigades' handling of personal information in the occurrence books was compliant with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. Specifically, the court needed to determine if the respondent agency had adequately formulated a statement of practice concerning the use and disclosure of personal information contained in the occurrence books.

The court found that the New South Wales Fire Brigades did not have a formal statement of practice in relation to the use and disclosure of personal information contained in the occurrence books. It was determined that such a statement was necessary to ensure compliance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. The court ordered the respondent agency to formulate a statement of practice after appropriate consultation with relevant stakeholders. The order specified that this statement must be formulated within six months and be placed in the occurrence books or in a nearby location for easy reference. Furthermore, any variation of the terms of this order would only be permissible if approved by the Office of Privacy Commissioner.

In addition to the aforementioned order, the court also ruled that the applicant, NW, was to pay the respondent's costs of counsel's attendance on 8 August 2005, provided the counsel had been briefed prior to 2 August 2005.