KBN and Department of Families, Youth and Community Care

Application number:
1995 S0095
Decision date:
Tuesday, Jun 30, 1998
Reported:
(1998) 4 QAR 422

KBN and Department of Families, Youth and Community Care
(1995 S0095, 30 June 1998) 

The applicant sought access to portions of adoption records held by the respondent agency which contained identifying information concerning the individual identified by the applicant's birth mother as being the applicant's natural father. 

Applying the principles in Stewart and Department of Transport (1993) 1 QAR 227 and B and Brisbane North Regional Health Authority (1994) 1 QAR 279, the Information Commissioner held that the matter in issue concerned the 'shared personal affairs' of the access applicant and the individual named as being her 'putative father', and thus was prima facie exempt under s.44(1) of the FOI Act, subject to the application of the public interest balancing test in s.44(1). 

The Information Commissioner held that the matter in issue was exempt under s.44(1), on the basis that the public interest considerations favouring disclosure of the matter in issue were not strong enough to outweigh the public interest (inherent in the satisfaction of the test for prima facie exemption under s.44(1) of the FOI Act) in safeguarding the privacy of information concerning the personal affairs of a person other than the access applicant.