Villanueva and Department of Health

Villanueva and West Moreton District Health Service (Department of Health)
(2000 S0190, 31 May 2001) 

This application for review raised a 'sufficiency of search' issue relating to an autopsy report concerning the applicant's newborn son.  The applicant contended that the one page autopsy report that had been disclosed to her did not comprise the entire report.  As well as giving consideration to material lodged by the agency and the applicant, inquiries were made with the pathologist who performed the autopsy.  The pathologist confirmed that the one page report to which the applicant had been given access was the entire report. 

Applying the principles stated in Shepherd and Department of Housing, Local Government & Planning (1994) 1 QAR 464, the Assistant Information Commissioner decided that there were no reasonable grounds to believe that an autopsy report, other than the one page report that had already been disclosed to the applicant, existed in the possession or control of the agency.