Patrick v Australian Information Commissioner

In the case of Patrick v Australian Information Commissioner, the appellant sought a declaration that the legal limits of the Australian Information Commissioner’s authority had been exceeded and his right to an Information Commissioner review had been unlawfully delayed. The dispute arose from several ongoing applications before the Commissioner for review of decisions made by Commonwealth agencies, which experienced significant delays. The central legal issues were whether there had been unreasonable delay by the Commissioner in making decisions in the sense required by section 7(1) of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (ADJR Act), and whether the appellant would have been entitled to declaratory relief if he was prima facie entitled to that relief.

The court examined the relevant provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), which outline a flexible process for review and resolution, subject to certain requirements and the principle of conducting reviews in as timely a manner as possible. The court noted that the Information Commissioner's discretion in conducting reviews was balanced with the need to consider the requirements of the FOI Act and other laws, as well as to properly consider the matters before the Commissioner. The court assessed the conduct of each review in question, ultimately finding that the primary judge was not satisfied that unreasonable delay had been established in any of the six reviews considered. The court addressed potential misinterpretations of previous case law regarding resourcing and its impact on the assessment of unreasonable delay, ultimately concluding that the primary judge's approach was correct.

The court dismissed the appeal, finding no unreasonable delay for the purposes of section 7(1) of the ADJR Act. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the respondent’s costs, to be agreed or assessed.