Dear Ms Torrens

I apologise for not responding to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) before now.

Your request was in these terms:

"I am seeking information and documents related to cases involving the application of the following Acts as noted in the Imperial Acts Application Act 1969 (Act 30 of 1969):

14 George III c 48--The Life Assurance Act 1774.

19 George II c 37--The Marine Insurance Act 1745; 28 George III c 56--The Marine Insurance Act 1788.

8 and 9 William III c 11--The Administration of Justice Act 1696 (s 8).

60 George III and 1 George IV c 8--The Criminal Libel Act 1819 (ss 1, 2 and 8).

18 Edward I St 1 (Quia Emptores) cc 1 and 3; 34 Edward III c 15.

18 and 19 Charles II c 11--The Cestui que Vie Act 1666; 6 Anne c 72 (or c 18)--The Cestui que Vie Act 1707.

44 George III c 102--The Habeas Corpus Act 1804.

Specifically, I request access to the following:

Court documents, judgments, and any related materials involving the application or interpretation of the aforementioned Acts.

Any legal briefs, submissions, or memos submitted to the court concerning these Acts.

Transcripts of hearings or proceedings where these Acts were discussed or applied.

Any internal notes, reports, or correspondence regarding the application of these Acts within the court’s rulings.

I request that the information be provided in electronic format if possible."

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (‘the Act’) has limited application to courts and court registries. The Act does not apply to any request for access to a document unless the document relates to matters of an “administrative nature”. Section 5 of the Act provides:

(1) For the purposes of this Act:

(a) a court (other than a court of Norfolk Island) shall be deemed to be a prescribed authority;

(b) the holder of a judicial office (other than a judicial office in a court of Norfolk Island) or other office pertaining to a court (other than a court of Norfolk Island) in his or her capacity as the holder of that office, being an office established by the legislation establishing the court, shall be deemed not to be a prescribed authority and shall not be included in a Department; and

(c) a registry or other office of a court (other than a court of Norfolk Island), and the staff of such a registry or other office when acting in a capacity as members of that staff, shall be taken as a part of the court;

but this Act does not apply to any request for access to a document of the court unless the document relates to matters of an administrative nature.

In the High Court decision of Kline v Official Secretary to the Governor General [2013] HCA 52 the Court stated at [41]-[47]:

…the exception of a class of document which relates to ‘matters of an administrative nature’ connotes documents which concern the management and administration of office resources, examples of which were given above [such as financial and human resources and information technology].

Each of the category of documents you refer to (Court documents, judgments, and any related materials involving the application or interpretation of the aforementioned Acts, any legal briefs, submissions, or memos submitted to the court concerning these Acts, transcripts of hearings or proceedings where these Acts were discussed or applied, any internal notes, reports, or correspondence regarding the application of these Acts within the court’s rulings) are not documents of an administrative nature, but concern the judicial functions of the Court. On this basis, your freedom of information request falls outside the scope of the Act.

It should also be noted that even if your request did fall under the Act, s 12(1)(b) of the Act provides that a person is not entitled to obtain access to “a document that is open to public access, as part of a public register or otherwise, in accordance with another enactment, where that access is subject to a fee or other charge.” Under Rule 4.07.4 of the High Court Rules, you can search the records of the Court to obtain the information, if it exists, you seek upon payment of the prescribed fees. Information on searching High Court case files can be found here: https://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/registr...

If you wish further review of this decision, you may seek internal review under Part VI of the Act and review by the Information Commissioner under Part VII of the Act. For further information, see:
telephone: 1300 363 992
email: [email address]
write: GPO Box 2999, Canberra ACT 2601
or visit the website at www.oaic.gov.au

Yours sincerely

Ben Wickham
Executive Registrar & Head of Public Affairs
High Court of Australia
T: (02) 6270 6893; E: [email address]

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