NEW SOUTH WALES COURT ISSUES JUDGEMENT FOR RICHARD WILLIAM BUTTROSE V/S NSW TRUSTEE AND GUARDIAN CASE

Australia, June 16 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement May 16:

1. Mr Buttrose (the Applicant) made an application to the NSW Trustee and Guardian (the Respondent) for access to a document under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (the GIPA Act).

2. Mr Buttrose previously sought access to the same document and access was refused by the Respondent. That document was the opinion of counsel acting for his mother in Supreme Court proceedings for the sanction of a compromise settlement. Mr Buttrose was a respondent in those Supreme Court proceedings.

3. The Respondent decided to refuse to deal with the application to access the document a second time and Mr Buttrose seeks review by the Tribunal of the Respondent's decision.

4. Mr Buttrose wants the Tribunal to set aside the Respondent's decision to refuse to deal with the application and order that he be given access to the document.

5. Because this is a review of a second application for the same document, the issue for determination is whether there are no reasonable grounds for believing that the agency would make a different decision. For the reasons which follow, the Tribunal has concluded that there are no reasonable grounds and the agency's decision should be affirmed.

Background

Current application

6. Mr Buttrose made an application to the Respondent for access to information under the GIPA Act in September 2024, following the death of his mother.

7. On 9 October 2024 the Respondent decided to refuse to deal with Mr Buttrose's application (the current application).

8. In refusing to deal with Mr Buttrose's current application the Respondent relied on s 60(1)(b) of the GIPA Act. The grounds were that it had already decided a previous application made by Mr Buttrose for the same information and there were no reasonable grounds for believing that the agency would make a different decision on the current application.

Information sought by the Applicant

9. Mr Buttrose sought access to "Exhibit JCB-1" to an affidavit of Ms Brouwer (the document), prepared for proceedings in Buttrose v Buttrose, Supreme Court (NSW) Case 2021/327367 (the Supreme Court proceedings).

10. The Respondent commenced the Supreme Court proceedings on behalf of Mr Buttrose's mother. Mr Buttrose was the second defendant to the Supreme Court proceedings.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/196d10bfb436b1fdd3026506)

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