Smith and Thuringowa City Council

Application number:
1993 L0014
Decision date:
Monday, Apr 29, 1996

Smith and Thuringowa City Council
 (1993 L0014, 29 April 1996)

The matter in issue was parts of two letters of complaint concerning toilet facilities at an airpark operated by the applicant. Applying the principles set out in McEniery and Medical Board of Queensland (1994) 1 QAR 349, the Information Commissioner found that the matter in issue was exempt under s.42(1)(b) (confidential source of information).  The Information Commissioner found that the Council was in a position to investigate the complaint without disclosure of the information in the complaint and that, in the circumstances of the case, there was a common implicit understanding that the author's identity would be kept confidential.

The Information Commissioner found that the information communicated by the author related to the enforcement or administration of the law (the Sanitary Conveniences and Nightsoil Disposal Regulations 1976) and that disclosure of the matter in issue could be expected to identify the source.