Unions NSW & Ors v State of New South Wales

Unions NSW and others (the applicants) sought judicial review of a decision by the State of New South Wales (the respondent) to refuse to grant them access to certain documents under the *Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009* (NSW) (GIPA Act). The applicants had requested access to documents relating to the respondent's decision to enter into a contract with a private company for the provision of services at the Sydney Football Stadium. The respondent claimed that the documents were exempt from disclosure under the GIPA Act, citing provisions related to commercial-in-confidence information and the public interest.

The primary legal issue before Bell J was whether the respondent had lawfully refused access to the requested documents. This required the court to consider the proper interpretation and application of the exemptions claimed by the respondent under the GIPA Act, particularly those concerning information subject to a duty of confidence and information that could prejudice the commercial interests of any person. The court also had to assess whether the respondent had adequately discharged its obligation to consider the public interest in favour of disclosure when making its decision.

Bell J found that the respondent had failed to demonstrate that the documents were properly exempt from disclosure. The court held that the respondent had not sufficiently established that the information was subject to a duty of confidence or that its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests. Furthermore, the respondent had not adequately considered the public interest considerations favouring disclosure, such as the public's right to know about government contracts and the expenditure of public funds. Consequently, the decision to refuse access was found to be unlawful.