Patrick v Australian Information Commissioner (No 2)

In Patrick v Australian Information Commissioner (No 2), the applicant sought orders under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth) (ADJR Act) directing the Australian Information Commissioner to make decisions on reviews of requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) by a specified date. The case concerned significant delays in the Commissioner's reviews of several ongoing applications by the applicant for review of decisions made by Commonwealth agencies. The legal issues at the heart of this case revolved around whether there had been unreasonable delay by the Commissioner in making decisions, and whether such delay would result in an improper exercise of power. Additionally, the court had to determine whether certain sections of the ADJR Act applied to the delays in making decisions on internal complaints reviews.

The court meticulously examined the legislative framework, the resources available to the Information Commissioner, and the procedures followed in the IC reviews. It considered the statutory obligations placed on the Information Commissioner, the discretion afforded by the FOI Act, and the factors that inform the determination of unreasonable delay under the ADJR Act. The court found that the delays experienced by the applicant did not constitute unreasonable delay as per the ADJR Act, and that the Commissioner's conduct would not result in an improper exercise of power. Furthermore, the court held that the sought orders would involve inappropriate judicial interference with the decisional freedom of an executive body, which is generally disfavored in judicial review proceedings.

As a result of this reasoning, the application was dismissed. The court did not find merit in the applicant's claims and did not grant the relief sought. The decision underscores the importance of deference to the discretion of the Information Commissioner in managing the workload and resources in conducting internal complaints reviews under the FOI Act.