AGU v Commonwealth of Australia [2012] NSWADT 179

Administrative Decisions Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: AGU v Commonwealth of Australia [2012] NSWADT 179 Hearing dates: 4 June 2012 Decision date: 30 August 2012 Jurisdiction: General Division Before: Judicial Member N Isenberg Decision: The Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear the application. Catchwords: Privacy - Health - Centrelink - whether a public sector agency - intention to bind the Commonwealth Legislation Cited: Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 Cases Cited: Commonwealth v Anti-Discrimination Tribunal (Tas) [2008] FCAFC 104; 169 FCR 85 Telstra Corporation Ltd v Worthing (1999) 197 CLR 61 Category: Interlocutory applications Parties: AGU (Applicant) Commonwealth of Australia (Respondent) Representation: Surry Hills Legal Centre (Applicant) Australian Government Solicitor (Respondent) File Number(s): 113309

reasons for decision

Background 1In the course of applying for a disability support pension, the Applicant, "AGU", disclosed to Centrelink, a Commonwealth agency, that he had a chronic medical condition. Subsequently, the Applicant utilised the services of Jobfind, a disability employment services provider. The Applicant discovered that his electronic file at Jobfind included information about his medical condition, that information having been (presumably) disclosed to Jobfind by Centrelink. The Applicant formed the view that, since he had neither consented to, nor been advised of, the disclosure, the information had been inappropriately disclosed. 2By Application for Review of Conduct of a Public Sector Agency filed 3 November 2011(the Application), the Applicant: * alleged that the Respondent contravened Health Privacy Principles (HPPs)4(1)(d), 10(1)(a), (b) and 11(1)(a), (b), which are set out in Sch 1 to the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act);and * sought relief under ss 55(2)(a), (b) and (d) of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act), including compensation for humiliation and reputational harm, an order requiring the Respondent to refrain from any conduct in contravention of the HPPs, and reimbursement for relocation expenses. 3The Applicant subsequently withdrew his claims for monetary and/or other compensation.