Cudmore and Department of Police

Cudmore and Queensland Police Service
(1999 S0024, 11 April 2000) 

The applicant sought review of a decision by the respondent that it did not hold any documents which specifically authorised officers of the respondent to fax documents containing information about the applicant to the Department of Human Services (the DHS) in Victoria.  The respondent maintained that no such documents would ever have existed, as the respondent's Operational Procedures Manual (OPM) contained general authorities for officers to provide information to other government agencies, for use by those agencies in carrying out their official functions. 

Although the applicant insisted that a general authority was insufficient, in view of the nature of the information involved, the Information Commissioner found no evidence that any specific documentation relevant to the applicant was necessary, or that it ever existed.  As the Information Commissioner found that the authority contained in the OPM constituted a sufficient authority for the respondent to provide the documents in issue to the DHS, the Information Commissioner affirmed the respondent's decision.