Tunchon v Commissioner of Police, New South Wales Police Service [2000] NSWADT 73

CITATION: Tunchon v Commissioner of Police, New South Wales Police Service [2000] NSWADT 73 DIVISION: General Division APPLICANT Phillip James Tunchon PARTIES: RESPONDENT Commissioner of Police, New South Wales Police Service FILE NUMBER: 003071 HEARING DATES: 22/05/00, 23/05/00 SUBMISSIONS CLOSED: 05/23/2000 DATE OF DECISION: 06/07/2000

BEFORE: Smith MB - Judicial Member APPLICATION: access to documents - Freedom of Information Act - access to documents MATTER FOR DECISION: Principal matter LEGISLATION CITED : Freedom of Information Act 1989 Re Bartl and Secretary, Department of Employment, Education Training and Yoouth Affairs (1998) 28 AAR 140 CASES CITED: Commissioner of Police v District Court of New South Wales (1993) 31 NSWLR 606 Re Chapman and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (1996) 23 AAR 142 Mangoplah Pastoral Company Pty Ltd v Great Southern Energy [1999] NSWADT 93 APPLICANT REPRESENTATION: A Hatcher, barrister RESPONDENT P Singleton, barrister ORDERS: 1. The decision under review is affirmed.; 2. Subject to any further order of the Tribunal, the confidential exhibits 3 and 4 are not to be disclosed to any person and are to be returned pursuant to s 140 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997 (NSW) personally to the solicitor for the respondent, Mr Gary Doherty.

REASONS FOR DECISION 1 This case requires me to balance the public interest on whether secrecy should be lifted from an important Report obtained by the Commissioner of Police from independent management consultants which gave detailed advice on how he could restructure the Police Service's "Human Resources Services" ("HRS"). This branch or "command" of the Service comprises numerous civilian employees and police officers who provide the Police Service with a very wide range of personnel services, including on policy, recruitment, promotions, industrial relations, workers' compensation, health and welfare matters. The Commissioner has announced a commitment to implement sweeping changes by reference to this Report. Many changes have been completed and more are known to be under deliberation. However, the Commissioner has declined to make the Report public. 2 The applicant is an employee and past President of the Police Association. On 7 December 1999 he made a request "on behalf of the Police Association of NSW" under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 (NSW), seeing access to "Morgan & Banks Review Report and Recommendations relating to the Police Service Human Resource Command". 3 On 17 December 1999 Inspector CL Langburne responded on behalf of the Police Commissioner, stating that he had identified "a document prepared by Morgan and Banks entitled Report to the New South Wales Police Service – Review of Human Resources and Development Command and its Functions." He said: