Frost v Commissioner of Police [2020] NSWCATAD 62

Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Frost v Commissioner of Police [2020] NSWCATAD 62 Hearing dates: 28 January 2020 Date of orders: 28 January 2020 Decision date: 21 February 2020 Jurisdiction: Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division Before: K Ransome, Senior Member Decision: (1) Application for recusal refused. (2) Application for non-publication order refused. (3) Application for order that mechanism be set up for respondent and respondent's solicitor to provide certain information to the applicant refused. Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – recusal – non-publication – information to be provided outside Tribunal process Legislation Cited: Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Julie Frost (Applicant) Commissioner of Police (Respondent) Representation: Solicitors: Applicant (Self Represented) Crown Solicitor (Respondent) File Number(s): 2019/00353931 Publication restriction: Nil

REASONS FOR DECISION 1. On 11 November 2019 Ms Julie Frost sought review by the Tribunal of a decision made by the Commissioner of Police under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). 2. On 19 December 2019 the matter came before the Tribunal, constituted by S Cole DCJ, at a case conference. Following the case conference the matter was remitted to the respondent for reconsideration as the respondent had located further information relevant to Ms Frost's request. Also at the case conference an application by Ms Frost that her name, her address, her phone number, her email address and the names of her family members be the subject of a non-publication order was refused. 3. The matter then came before me for directions on 28 January 2020. Ms Frost appeared at the directions hearing by telephone and the respondent was represented by a solicitor from the Crown Solicitor's Office. At the beginning of the directions hearing I introduced myself and Ms Frost immediately asked me to recuse myself. While Ms Frost's reasons for making the request were a little unclear, it appeared that she believes that I would not be impartial as I had previously been a member of an Appeal Panel which had dismissed her appeal from interlocutory decisions in an unrelated matter. I declined to recuse myself. 4. Ms Frost also asked that a non-publication order be made in this application. I declined to make that order and advised Ms Frost that she should put any further request for a non-publication order in writing. 5. Ms Frost also sought an order that a mechanism be put in place so that the respondent and its legal representatives would be required to provide her with certain information. I declined to make such an order. 6. The directions hearing proceeded and directions were made for the filing and exchange of evidence and the matter set down for hearing on 11 May 2020. 7. Ms Frost has sought written reasons for the decisions I made during the directions hearing other than the procedural directions which were in fact made.