Singh and Commonwealth Ombudsman (Freedom of information)

This matter concerned an application for review of decisions made by the Commonwealth Ombudsman regarding access to documents under the *Freedom of Information Act 1982* (Cth). The applicant, Mr Singh, sought access to certain documents, and the Ombudsman had determined that some of these documents were either exempt or outside the scope of the requests. The review was heard by Deputy B W Rayment Oam Qc P.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether certain documents were exempt from disclosure under the *Freedom of Information Act 1982* (Cth), including whether they attracted legal professional privilege, and whether specific documents were within the scope of the applicant's requests.

The court affirmed the Ombudsman's decisions. It found that documents 13, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 were out of scope for the FOI requests. The court noted that the applicant had not made any submissions challenging the reasons provided by the respondent for these documents being out of scope, and that these reasons were self-explanatory as detailed in the combined schedule.

Consequently, the court affirmed the two reviewable decisions of the Commonwealth Ombudsman.