Kent and Department of Health

Kent and Sunshine Coast District Health Service (Department of Health)
(2001 S0124, 28 February 2002) 

This case raised a ‘sufficiency of search’ issue concerning a document relating to the applicant's medical treatment that she contended should be in the possession or control of the Health Service.  The contents of the applicant's clinical file were disclosed to her. Extensive searches were undertaken, but no additional document could be located. 

Applying the principles detailed in Shepherd and Department of Housing, Local Government & Planning (1994) 1 QAR 464, Assistant Commissioner Shoyer decided the search efforts undertaken to locate the document of concern to the applicant had been reasonable in all the circumstances of the case.