Where am I now? Lawlink > Administrative Decisions Tribunal of NSW > Practice and Procedures > Practice Notes > Practice Note Number 13

<< Back to Practice Notes index

Practice Note Number 13

All Divisions: Publication, Anonymisation and Suppression

Practice Note for Date:

09/03/2003

ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS TRIBUNAL

PRACTICE NOTE No. 13 (PN13/03)

All Divisions: Publication, Anonymisation and Suppression

1. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1.1 The Tribunal routinely publishes information about the cases it hears.

1.2 This usually occurs in these ways:
· The Tribunal’s daily hearing lists are published in the daily newspapers, on the Tribunal’s website and are displayed at the Tribunal.
· The Tribunal’s decisions are routinely published on the Tribunal’s website, on the CaseLaw NSW website and by other web based and text publishers.

1.3 Hearings of the Tribunal are open to the public, including the media. Members of the public and the media can request copies of decisions and access them on the website. The media can publish information about cases unless specific legislation or a suppression order restricts publication.

1.4 If a party or witness wishes to have any aspect of a case suppressed, including their name, they need to make a formal application to the Tribunal under section 75 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997. The application will be considered by the Tribunal, which ordinarily would give all parties the opportunity to make submissions on the scope of suppression and any restrictions on publication.

1.5 The Tribunal may make a suppression order of its own motion.

1.6 If a party advises the Registry in writing of an intended application for suppression, the party’s name will not be published in the Tribunal’s list on that occasion.

2. Community Services Division, Guardianship and Protected Estates List and PRIVACY MATTERS

2.1 Statutory restrictions apply to publication by persons (other than by the Tribunal) in certain types of cases.

2.2 Section 126 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997 provides:

Publication of names or identification of persons involved in certain proceedings

(1A) This section applies only to the following:

(a) proceedings in the Community Services Division of the Tribunal,

appeals to an Appeal Panel from a decision made by the Tribunal in the Community Services Division,

(b1) proceedings in relation to an external appeal made under section 67A of the Guardianship Act 1987 or section 21A of the Protected Estates Act 1983,

(b2) proceedings in relation to a reviewable decision made under the Guardianship Act 1987 or the Protected Estates Act 1983,

(c) such other proceedings (or class or classes of proceedings) as may be prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section.

(1) A person must not, except with the consent of the Tribunal, publish or broadcast the name of any person:

(a) who appears as a witness before the Tribunal in any proceedings, or

(b) to whom any proceedings before the Tribunal relate, or

whether before or after the proceedings are disposed of.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.

(2) This section does not prohibit the publication or broadcasting of an official report of the proceedings that includes the name of any person the publication or broadcasting of which would otherwise be prohibited by this section.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a reference to the name of a person includes a reference to any information, picture or other material that identifies the person or is likely to lead to the identification of the person.

Note – These provisions do not prevent the publication or broadcasting of an official report of the proceedings.

2.3 Additionally it is the Tribunal’s policy to anonymise the name of the applicant in certain types of cases. The applicant’s name is replaced with a set of initials that are not those of the applicant. In some instances this anonymisation will extend to other parties or witnesses in the case, depending on the circumstances. Anonymisation routinely occurs in the following matters:

2.3.1 Applications under the

Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998

the applicant’s name is anonymised in lists and decisions. Also relevant is section 578A of the

Crimes Act

1900

which prohibits the publication of any matter, which identifies, or is likely to lead to, the identification of the complainant victim in a prescribed sexual offence.

2.3.2 In matters under the

Guardianship Act

1987

and the

Protected Estates Act 1983

the person subject of the order and any family members’ names are anonymised in lists and decisions.

2.3.3 [Deleted]

2.3.4 In all applications under the

Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998

and the

Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002

the applicant’s names are anonymised in lists and decisions. An applicant may agree to having his or her name published.

3. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT MATTERS

3.1 In those applications under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 involving the personal affairs exemption the practice is to consider the question of anonymisation or suppression at the planning meeting. The Tribunal lists will show the applicant’s name until a decision is made about anonymisation, or a suppression order is sought (see 1.4).

Original issued 3 September 2003
Re-issued with amendments 8 December 2004
Re-issued with amendments 12 October 2005
Re-issued with amendments 20 February 2006
Re-issued with amendments 30 April 2007

Judge KEVIN O’CONNOR
President

Previous Page | Back to Lawlink Home | Top of Page

Last Updated 2 May 2007

Hosted by