Roberts-Smith and Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (Freedom of information)

This matter concerned an application for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) by Mr. Roberts-Smith. The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) had refused access to certain diary and calendar entries. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to review this decision.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the requested documents were exempt from disclosure under specific provisions of the FOI Act. These included whether disclosure would reveal the existence or identity of a confidential source under section 37(1)(b), whether disclosure would be contrary to a direction given by the Assistant IGADF under section 46(b), and whether disclosure would involve an unreasonable disclosure of personal information under section 47F, requiring a public interest balancing test. Mr. Roberts-Smith also challenged the validity of certain directions issued by the IGADF under the IGADF Regulation, though the Tribunal noted it lacked the power to determine this validity directly.

The Tribunal considered the application of section 37(1)(b) and found that the mere existence of a diary or calendar entry evidencing dealings with a person did not automatically mean that person was a confidential source, nor did it necessarily mean the confidentiality had been lost. Regarding section 46(b), the Tribunal focused on whether disclosure would be contrary to directions given by the Assistant IGADF, rather than the underlying validity of those directions. The Tribunal ultimately found that the diary entries and calendar entry were conditionally exempt under section 47F, as their disclosure would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about a person, and on balance, this disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse access to the documents. It concluded that the diary entries and calendar entry were exempt under sections 37(1)(b) and 46(b) of the FOI Act, and were also conditionally exempt under section 47F.