VO and Queensland Health (Department of Health)
(2002 S0006, 17 June 2002)
The applicant sought access to his file from QH's Drugs of Dependence Unit (the DDU). QH refused the applicant access to a number of documents under s.42(1)(e) of the FOI Act, on the ground that disclosure would prejudice the effectiveness of some of the DDU's methods for detecting and investigating breaches of the Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996 in relation to drugs of dependence.
Assistant Commissioner Barker decided that the matter in issue qualified for exemption under s.42(1)(e), as its disclosure would not only reveal certain methods or procedures used by the DDU to prevent, detect, investigate or deal with contraventions of the Regulation in respect of dangerous drugs, but would also be useful to any person who wanted to avoid being detected in obtaining unlawful access to a dangerous drug.
