Chopra v Department of Education and Training

[2019] VSC 488

Supreme Court of Victoria

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Catchwords

1. Administrative Law
2. › Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
3. › Appeal from Tribunal
4. › Leave to appeal
5. › Real prospect of success test
6. › Whether leave should be granted for appeal against procedural orders
7. › Whether appeal would fragment proceeding
8. › Whether appeal pointless where orders already complied with
9. › Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (Vic), s 148
1. Freedom of Information
2. › Deemed refusal of access
3. › Interaction between FOI Act and VCAT Act
4. › Whether s 51A of VCAT Act inconsistent with s 53 of FOI Act
5. › Whether Tribunal can invite reconsideration under s 51A in deemed refusal proceeding
6. › Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), ss 25A, 50(1)(ea), 53
7. › Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (Vic), ss 51A, 159
1. Freedom of Information
2. › Voluminous requests
3. › Refusal under s 25A(1)
4. › Whether Tribunal can consider s 25A grounds on review of deemed refusal
5. › Whether agency can initiate s 25A(6) consultation after statutory time limit
6. › Nature of Tribunal's review jurisdiction
7. › Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), ss 25A, 53
1. Administrative Law
2. › Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
3. › Procedure
4. › Whether Tribunal committed procedural error
5. › Whether fairness required further directions hearing
6. › Whether Tribunal misled self-represented litigant
7. › Obligations to self-represented litigants
8. › Adequacy of reasons for interlocutory orders
9. › Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (Vic), ss 96, 100, 117

Quick Take

Section 51A of the VCAT Act operates in aid of the Tribunal's review jurisdiction under the FOI Act and is not inconsistent with s 53(5) of the FOI Act; the two provisions are complementary. When reviewing a deemed refusal under s 53(1), VCAT can consider whether access should be refused under s 25A(1), provided the agency has complied with s 25A(6), regardless of whether the agency acted within the 30-day time limit in s 21(1). An agency is not precluded from initiating s 25A(6) consultation after the statutory time limit or after the applicant has applied for review of a deemed refusal.