Koala Blue Tours and Environmental Protection Agency

Application number:
2001 S0047
Decision date:
Tuesday, Apr 29, 2003

Koala Blue Tours and Environmental Protection Agency
(2001 S0047, 29 April 2003) 

The applicant sought access to documents concerning the fees paid by permit holders, and the numbers of tourists taken by those permit holders into Springbrook National Park. 

Applying the principles established in Cannon and Australian Quality Egg Farms Limited (1994) 1 QAR 491, Assistant Commissioner Moss found that the matter in issue concerned the business, commercial or financial affairs of the permit holders, but she was not satisfied that its disclosure could reasonably be expected to have an adverse effect on those business, commercial or financial affairs, nor that disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the future supply of such information to government. 

AC Moss recognised a strong public interest in giving the community the opportunity to scrutinise the matter in issue so as to ensure that the terms of agreements entered into by the respondent on behalf of the community were being  complied with, and that the Park was being properly managed on behalf of the community.  Accordingly, AC Moss decided that the matter in issue did not qualify for exemption under s.45(1)(c) of the FOI Act.