Newton v Newcastle City Council [2022] NSWCATAD 18

Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Newton v Newcastle City Council [2022] NSWCATAD 18 Hearing dates: On the papers Date of orders: 14 January 2022 Decision date: 14 January 2022 Jurisdiction: Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division Before: P French, Senior Member Decision: (1) Pursuant to section 50(2) of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013, a hearing of the application is dispensed with. (2) The agency's decision to refuse to release to the applicant the name of the complainant is affirmed. (3) No order as to costs Catchwords: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – administrative review of a reviewable decision – decision to refuse access to information – redaction of name of person who made a 'customer request' (complaint) to a local authority – whether public interest considerations against disclosure outweigh public interest considerations in favour of disclosure – prejudice the supply to an agency of confidential information that facilitates the effective exercise of that agency's functions (Table to s 14 clause 1(d)) – prejudice the effective exercise by an agency of the agency's functions (Table to s 14 clause 1(f)) – reveal an individual's personal information (Table to s 14 consideration 3(a)) COSTS – whether there are special circumstances that justify an award of costs Legislation Cited: Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997 Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 Local Government Act 1993 Cases Cited: Ansoul v City of Sydney [2017] NSWCATAD 65 Arian n Nguyen [2001] NSWCA 5 Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force v Camilleri (GD) [2012] NSWADTAP 19 Director of Public Prosecutions v Smith [1991] VR 63 Fahey v NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing [2012] NSWADT 181 Flack v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police [2011] NSWADT 286 Hurst v Wagga City Council [2011] NSWADT 307 JY v Commissioner for Police (2008) NSWADT 306 Leech v Sydney Water Corporation [2010] NSWADT 298 Newcastle City Council v Newcastle East Residents Action Group [2018] NSWCATAP 254 Profitability Consulting Pty Ltd v Thorpe [2018] NSWCATAP 41 Re Attorney-General's Department and Australian Iron and Steel Pty Limited v Peter Cockcroft G260 of 1985 Administrative Law [1986] FCA 35 Roberts v Chan & Naylor Parramatta Pty Ltd aft Chan & Naylor Parramatta Trust [2018] NSWCATAP 240 Rock v Legal Aid NSW [2021] NSWCATAD 308 Transport for NSW v Searle [2018] NSWCATAP 93 Williams v Department Industry and Investment [2012] NSWADT 192 Texts Cited: Nil Category: Principal judgment Parties: John Newton (Applicant) Newcastle City Council (Respondent) Representation: John Newton – self-represented Sam Bright, solicitor, Respondent File Number(s): 2021/00075334 Publication restriction: Nil