TAN and Criminal Justice Commission

Application number:
1996 S0058
Decision date:
Monday, Aug 16, 1999

TAN and Criminal Justice Commission
(1996 S0058, 16 August 1999) 

The applicant sought access to a number of documents relating to the investigation of a complaint of assault made against him in 1993, and to the investigation of a subsequent complaint made by the applicant's father in 1994 about the conduct of the Queensland Police Service (QPS in its investigation of the assault complaint. 

As a result of concessions made by the applicant, the respondent and a number of third parties, the only matter remaining in issue consisted of segments of records of interviews with two officers of the QPS given during the investigation of the 1994 complaint; a summary of those segments of the interviews in the final report on that investigation; and the service history of one of the officers. 

The Information Commissioner found that the segments of matter from the interviews, as well as the service record of the QPS officer, were not exempt from disclosure under s.46(l).  The Information Commissioner also found that none of the matter remaining in issue was exempt under s.40(c), as its disclosure could not reasonably be expected to have a substantial adverse effect on the future management or assessment by the QPS of its personnel.  The Information Commissioner also found that none of the matter remaining in issue was exempt under s.44(l) of the FOI Act. 

The Information Commissioner was satisfied that the bulk of the matter in question related to the employment affairs of the QPS officers rather than their personal affairs.  Furthermore, the Information Commissioner was satisfied that the small amount of matter which was properly to be characterised as information concerning the personal affairs of persons other than the applicant was already known to the applicant, and, in addition, that its disclosure was integral to an understanding of some of the other mater in issue.