The Copyright Act: long, complex, outdated, and a potential trapdoor for local councils when dealing with documents accompanying a development application. The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal has recently handed down a decision which illustrates the difficulties for councils in…
The use of information technology systems for internal management functions, to provide services and information to their communities and to exercise regulatory functions is integral to the day to day operation of governmental organisations. External providers are commonly used to…
The power in s 60 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) to refuse to deal with an access application is a power often under-utilised by public sector agencies. In this blog, we consider whether recent amendments to the…
The Government Information (Public Access) Regulation 2018 (GIPA Reg 2018) commenced on 1 September 2018. The GIPA Reg 2018 repealed and replaced the Government Information (Public Access) Regulation 2009 (GIPA Reg 2009). The main difference between GIPA Reg 2018 and its…
In the recent matter of Shoebridge v Office of Environment and Heritage [2018] NSWCATAP 144, the Appeal Panel of the NCAT considered whether a government agency was obliged to determine an application for a discount to a processing charge before…
Is disclosure of personal information within an agency a breach of the Privacy and Personal Information Act 1998?
30 May, 2018
The Civil and Administrative Tribunal of NSW (‘NCAT’) has recently considered if in setting up an electronic rule within its email system, the result of which was to automatically redirect all emails sent from a particular person’s known email addresses…
The Commonwealth Government’s recent reforms to the Privacy Act 1988 have taken effect, heralding new obligations for a number of organisations across the country. This article will consider what those obligations are, who is affected, and how organisations will be required…
In a recent decision of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), an application for review of an agency’s decision to refuse access to documents requested under the Government Information (Public Acccess) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) which was lodged out of time…
With the increasing use of CCTV cameras to monitor and record activities, media organisations and others are increasingly seeking access to that information. A recent NCAT decision considers whether the CCTV is ‘personal information’ and whether it should be released…
In a period of a week, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) has handed down two judgements addressing whether a person should have access to copies of plans received by a Council as part of a development application. The…
Restraint Orders under the GIPA Act – an update
7 Jun, 2016
Last year, LTL wrote about a decision of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Pittwater Council v Walker) in which restraint orders were made under s110 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) preventing Mr Walker from lodging access applications…
In two recent cases, the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) has made orders (Restraint Orders) restraining individuals from making access applications to Councils, without first obtaining the Tribunal’s permission. The decisions in Pittwater Council v Walker [2015]…