LDW and Department of Education

LDW and Department of Education
(1997 S0112, 27 November 1997) 

This was a 'reverse FOI' application in which the applicant, a teacher, objected to the disclosure to another teacher of information the applicant had conveyed to their school principal during the course of a casual conversation. 

The applicant claimed that the matter in issue was communicated in confidence and therefore was exempt under s.46(1)(a) or (b) of the FOI Act.  The Information Commissioner applied the principles stated in B and Brisbane North Regional Health Authority(1994) 1 QAR 279 in deciding that the matter in issue was not communicated by the applicant in circumstances attended by an express or implicit mutual understanding that the matter would be kept confidential by the respondent. 

The Information Commissioner therefore found that the matter in issue did not qualify for exemption under either s.46(1)(a) or (b) of the FOI Act.