McGrath and Department of Health

McGrath and West Moreton District Health Service (Department of Health)
(2005 F0453, 28 February 2006)

s.44(1) – personal affairs

The applicant sought access to the medical records of her maternal grandfather. The documents in issue were 2 folios of medical records relating to her grandfather, who had died in 1924.  The applicant is researching her family history and also plans to produce a documentary which would focus, in part, on the life of her grandfather as an Aboriginal person in the early 1900's. 

Assistant Commissioner Barker determined that the matter in issue was properly characterised as concerning the personal affairs of the applicant's grandfather.  AC Barker discussed the public interest considerations raised by the applicant, and accepted that a public interest consideration exists in making accurate historical and cultural research available to the public.  However, AC Barker found that the documents in issue were not of a type that would assist the applicant's research and forthcoming documentary.  AC Barker found that there were not sufficient public interest considerations to favour disclosure of the matter in issue, and that it qualified for exemption under s.44(1) of the FOI Act.