Bulletin – Ombudsman Tasmania, August 2023

Right to Information Decision Bulletin – Ombudsman Tasmania

Celebrating 30 Years of RTI in Tasmania  

1 January 2023 marked the 30th anniversary of a Tasmanian statutory right for members of the community to access information held by public authorities. Initially this was under the Freedom of Information Act 1991, which came into force in 1993, and later followed by the Right to Information Act 2009.

To mark the milestone and coinciding with International Access to Information Day, Ombudsman Tasmania has organised an afternoon celebration on 28 September 2023 from 2pm to 3pm. Cleo Hansen-Lohrey, Administrative Law Lecture from the University of Tasmania will moderate a discussion about RTI with esteemed panellists Richard Connock, Tasmanian Ombudsman; Jenny Gale, Head of the State Service; and Claire Bookless, Managing Lawyer of the Environmental Defenders Office.

The event will be held at the Hobart Function Centre but streamed online. We are inviting questions from the community and public authorities to be posed to the panel. This will afford maximum participation with the panel by the broadest audience. Please email any questions to us at [email protected].

Full details are provided in the attached invitation. Please RSVP to [email protected] by 26 September 2023 to receive the link for online access or for in person attendance at the Hobart Function Centre as places are limited. Also please email us if you have any access requirements for attending or participating remotely.

RTI decisions

General information about the RTI jurisdiction and the Right to Information Act 2009 (the Act) is available on our website: Ombudsman Tasmania.

The Ombudsman’s external review decisions since 2016 are published at www.ombudsman.tas.gov.au/right-to-information/reasons-for-decisions. The most recent decisions are available here by date of release or to view decisions by section of the Act click on Decisions By Section.

Please find following the summaries of decisions from July and August 2023 (full decisions in links):

O and Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management (No 2) (Aug 2023)

On 10 November 2019, O made an application for assessed disclosure, under the Right to Information Act 2009 (the Act) to the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management (the Department), for information related to the death of her sister. On 22 November 2019, the Department refused O’s request on the basis the information was otherwise available (s12) or a repeat application (s20a). O sought internal review and the Department affirmed its decision on 3 December 2019. O then sought external review.

The Ombudsman has already considered the correct application of s6 in a previous decision relating to the same parties in O and the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management No 1 (June 2023) and found that it had been incorrectly applied in the past.

The Ombudsman determined that the Department:

  • was not entitled to rely on s20(a) to refuse the application as a repeat, but was not required to reassess the relevant information as it is excluded under s6 of the Act;
  • did not undertake a sufficient search for information responsive to O’s request, but has now taken appropriate steps to rectify this issue; and
  • was entitled to refuse to provide information in relation to the remainder of O’s request, as this was otherwise available under s12(3)(c)(i) or did not exist.

O and Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management (No 3) (Aug 2023)

On 13 August 2020, O made an application for assessed disclosure under the Right to Information Act 2009 (the Act) to the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management (the Department). The information sought by O was records of phone calls made to St Helens Police Station over a particular period. The Department refused the request on the basis that recordings were not available. The decision was affirmed on internal review and O sought external review.

On 1 August 2023, following assisted resolution under ss47(1)(g) and (k) of the Act, the Department provided a better explanation to O about the lack of call records and provided different information in an effort to assist her.

The Ombudsman determined that:

  • the information sought by the applicant was not in existence on the day the application was made; and
  • the Department did not initially undertake a sufficient search for information responsive to the request, but had taken appropriate steps to rectify this by the conclusion of this external review.

Linda Poulton and Meander Valley Council (Aug 2023)

Concerned Westbury resident and President of community group ‘Westbury Region Against the Prison’, Ms Linda Poulton, submitted two applications for assessed disclosure under the Right to Information Act 2009 (the Act) requesting information relating to the proposed northern prison project. Ms Poulton lodged her first application to the Department of Justice on 25 February 2020, which was transferred to Meander Valley Council (Council) on 26 February 2020. Ms Poulton submitted her second application to Council on 19 May 2020.

On 19 May 2020, Ms Poulton also sought external review in relation to her first application, as a decision had not been received within the required timeframe.

On 24 June 2020, Council issued a single decision in relation to both applications and released some information. On 15 July 2020, Council released further information to Ms Poulton. Information was also claimed to be exempt under ss36 and 39 of the Act.

On 23 July 2020, Ms Poulton confirmed she wished to continue with her application for external review on both requests, which were considered jointly.

The Ombudsman determined that:

  • Exemptions claimed by Council pursuant to s36 were varied; and
  • Exemptions claimed by Council pursuant to s39 were upheld.