No new ground in an FOI decision this week by the NSW ADT (Curtin v University of NSW (No.2) (2006) NSWADT 56) on what constitutes a reasonable search for documents. The Tribunal confirmed that the basic issues are whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that the requested documents exist and are documents of the agency, and that reasonable steps in the circumstances have been taken to locate them.
The Tribunal notes that in another case heard but not yet determined, an agency has raised an objection on jurisdictional grounds to the ADT conducting an inquiry into sufficiency of search.
In this case the parties accepted that the Tribunal had jurisdiction.
This blog takes an interest in issues associated with Freedom of Information (FOI) and privacy legislation in Australia. Information contained on this site is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Follow Peter Timmins on Twitter: @foiguru Follow the open government cause through the Australian Open Government Partnership Network. www.opengovernment.org.au and @opengovau
No comments:
Post a Comment