NIA and Cairns City Council

NIA and Cairns City Council
(1999 L0019, 21 October 1999) 

The applicant sought access to information that would disclose the identities of persons who had lodged complaints with the respondent about a suspected rat infestation at the applicant's home, and the alleged conduct of an illegal business from his home. 

Applying the principles stated in McEniery and Medical Board of Queensland (1994) 1 QAR 349, the Information Commissioner decided that the complainants were confidential sources of information, that the information communicated by the complainants related to the enforcement or administration of the law, and that disclosure of the matter in issue would enable the applicant to ascertain the identities of the complainants. 

The Information Commissioner therefore found that the matter in issue was exempt under s.42(1)(b) of the FOI Act.  The Information Commissioner also decided, applying the principles in Stewart and Department of Transport (1993) 1 QAR 227, that the fact that the complainants had lodged complaints with the respondent was a matter concerning the complainants' personal affairs.  The Information Commissioner therefore found that the matter in issue was prima facie exempt under s.44(1) of the FOI Act.  The Information Commissioner was not satisfied that disclosure of the matter in issue would, on balance, be in the public interest.