Styles v Wollondilly Shire Council

Civil and Administrative Tribunal

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

Styles v Wollondilly Shire Council [2023] NSWCATAD 176

Hearing dates:

On the papers

Date of orders:

07 July 2023

Decision date:

07 July 2023

Jurisdiction:

Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division

Before:

D Ziegler, Senior Member

Decision:

(1) A hearing is dispensed with in accordance with s 50(2) of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013.

(2) The decision by the Council to impose a processing charge on 19 April 2023 is set aside.

Catchwords:

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – Government Information (Public Access) Act – Decision to impose a processing charge – whether information is personal information.

Legislation Cited:

Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997
Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013
Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009

Texts Cited:

Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2022).

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Lynette Styles (Applicant)
Wollondilly Shire Council (Respondent)

Representation:

Self-represented (Applicant)
Lindsay Taylor Lawyers (Respondent)

File Number(s):

2023/00135625

Publication restriction:

Nil

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. This is an application for administrative review of a decision of Wollondilly Shire Council concerning an application for access to information made by Ms Styles under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (the GIPA Act).

2. Specifically, the matter I am required to decide concerns a decision by the Council to impose a processing charge prior to the release of information to Ms Styles.

3. For the reasons that follow, I have decided to set aside the decision of the Council to impose a processing charge.

Background

4. In March 2023, Ms Styles lodged “Code of Conduct” complaints with the Council in relation to two of its staff members – Mr Taylor and Mr Buckley (the complaints). I have not been provided with copies of the complaints but I understand they relate to statements made in the media by Mr Taylor and Mr Buckley in relation to Ms Styles, which Ms Styles claims were “false and misleading media statements”.

5. On or about 21 March 2023, a Council staff member, Mr Imbs, wrote to Ms Styles in response to the complaints. I have not been provided with a copy of that correspondence, but it is common ground that the complaints were dismissed by the Council and that the Council determined that the complaints were “frivolous and vexatious and not made in good faith”.

6. On 22 March 2023 Ms Styles lodged an application with the Council under s 9(1) of the GIPA Act (the access application) seeking access to the following information:

… all file notes, memos, messages and records of meetings between the Mayor Matt Gould and any other person in waiving his delegations to Eric Imbs between 1 March to the current date (22 March 2023).

… all file notes, memos, messages and records of any meetings between CEO Ben Taylor and Eric Imbs and any other person dealing with my Code of Conduct Complaint against the CEO Ben Taylor dated 13 March 2022 to the current date (22 March 2023) dealing with false and misleading media statements made by…