Important VCAT decision on CCTV and FOI

VCAT says don't process request for CCTV footage

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ("VCAT") has ruled that an agency was not required to process a request for access to CCTV footage form two cameras in side the Dandenong Magistrates' Court.

In Parker v Court Services Victoria [2021] VCAT 461, the VCAT accepted the argument from Court Services Victoria ("CSV") that it should be permitted not to process a request for access for 2 hours of footage from 2 cameras behind a counter at the Court on a particular date.  It affirmed the decision of CSV to refuse access to documents without processing the request for access.  That decision was made under s 25A(5) of the Victorian Freedom of Information Act 1982 (“FOI Act”).  

Section 25A(5) of the FOI Act allows an agency to refuse access to documents without having identified any or all of the documents if:

(a)  it is apparent from the nature of the documents described in the request that all of the documents would be exempt; and

(b)  there was no obligation to provide access to edited copies of the documents either because it was apparent from the documents sought no obligation would arise, or the request stated (or the applicant indicated) they did not want access to an edited copy.

The CSV witness provided extensive and comprehensive evidence, without having viewed the CCTV footage, about the nature of CCTV footage in courts, including the Court in question, personal privacy issues and court security issues that would arise from disclosure.

It accepted that the CCTV footage would be exempt under:

1.    Section 33(1) of the FOI Act - unreasonable disclosure of personal affairs; and

2.    Section 31(1)(d) of the FOI Act - disclosing procedures for preventing, detecting or dealing with matters arising out of breaches or evasions of the law, prejudicing the effectiveness of the procedures.

We acted for CSV in this case.

If you require advice about what this VCAT decision means for your agency, please do not hesitate to contact us.