South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts (1) In this
section—
"interested person", in relation to a review, means a person who should, under
Division 2 of Part 3, be consulted in relation to an application for
access to a document the subject of the review;
"relevant review authority", in relation to a determination, means—
(a) if
the determination was not made by a person described in paragraph
(b)—the Ombudsman; or
(b) if
the determination was made by a police officer or the Minister responsible for
the administration of South Australia Police in that capacity—the Police
Complaints Authority.
(2) A person—
(a) who
is aggrieved by a determination of an agency following an internal review; or
(b) who
is aggrieved by a determination that is not liable to internal review,
may apply to the relevant review authority for a review of the determination.
(3) Subject to
subsection (4), an application under this section must be made—
(a)
where there has been a review of the determination by the agency—within
30 days after notice of the decision on review of the determination is
given to the applicant; or
(b) in
any other case—within 30 days after the date of the determination.
(4) The
relevant review authority may, in its discretion, extend the time for making
an application under this section.
(5) In conducting a
review under this section, the relevant review authority—
(a) may
carry out an investigation into the subject matter of the application (and for
the purposes of such an investigation may exercise the same investigative
powers as are conferred on the Ombudsman by the Ombudsman Act 1972 in
relation to an investigation duly initiated under that Act, including the
powers of a commission as defined in the Royal Commissions Act 1917 );
and
(b) may,
if it appears to the relevant review authority that the agency has failed to
properly sort or compile documents relevant to the review or to undertake
consultations relevant to the review that should have been undertaken by the
agency—
(i)
require the agency to sort or compile the documents or
undertake the consultations; or
(ii)
require officers of the agency to attend at a time and
place specified by the relevant review authority for the purpose of sorting
and compiling the documents or undertaking the consultations; and
(c)
may—
(i)
try to effect a settlement between the participants to a
review at any time during the review; and
(ii)
at the request of the agency, suspend proceedings under
this section at any time to allow an opportunity for a settlement to be
negotiated.
(6) Section 21 of the
Ombudsman Act 1972 does not apply in relation to a review under this
section.
(7) The agency and the
applicant must cooperate in the process proposed by the
relevant review authority for the purposes of the conduct of a review under
this section (including any attempt of the relevant review authority to effect
a settlement between the participants), and must do all such things as are
reasonably required to expedite the process.
(8) The
relevant review authority may dismiss an application if the
relevant review authority considers that the applicant has failed to comply
with subsection (7).
(9) If, in determining
an application for a review under this section—
(a) the
relevant review authority is advised that the determination of the agency was
made on grounds of the public interest; and
(b) the
Minister administering this Act makes known to the relevant review authority
the Minister's assessment of what the public interest requires in the
circumstances of the case subject to the review,
the relevant review authority must, in determining the application, uphold
that assessment unless satisfied that there are cogent reasons for not doing
so.
(10) A
relevant review authority must not make a determination to the effect that
access is to be given to a document to which Division 2 of Part 3 applies
unless the relevant review authority has taken steps as are reasonably
practicable to obtain the views of any interested person as to whether or not
the document is an exempt document under a provision of Part 2 of Schedule 1.
(11) On an application
under this section, the relevant review authority may (based on the
circumstances existing at the time of the review) confirm, vary or reverse the
determination the subject of the review.
(12) If, in conducting
a review under this section, the relevant review authority is satisfied that a
document is an exempt document, the relevant review authority does not have
power to make a determination to the effect that access is to be given to the
document (but may, if it thinks fit, offer, together with its reasons for its
determination, reasons why the agency might give access to the document
despite its exempt status).
(13) On making a
determination on a review under this section, the relevant review authority
must notify each of the following persons of the determination and the reasons
for the determination:
(a) the
applicant;
(b) the
agency;
(c)
if—
(i)
the determination is to the effect that access is to be
given to a document; and
(ii)
the relevant review authority—
(A) is aware that the views of an
interested person are that the document is an exempt document under a
provision of Part 2 of Schedule 1; or
(B) after having taken reasonable steps to
obtain the views of an interested person, has been unable to obtain the views
of the person,
the interested person.
(14) If the
relevant review authority considers it to be in the public interest or the
interests of an agency to do so, the relevant review authority may publish, in
such manner as the relevant review authority thinks fit, the reasons for a
determination made on a review under this section.
(15) A
relevant review authority should avoid disclosing in its reasons for a
determination any matter that the agency claims is exempt matter (whether or
not the relevant review authority agrees with that claim).
(16) In publishing
reasons for a determination, a relevant review authority may comment on any
unreasonable, frivolous or vexatious conduct by the applicant or the agency.
(17) If, after
conducting a review under this section, a relevant review authority is of the
opinion that there is evidence that a person, being an officer of an agency,
has been guilty of a breach of duty or of misconduct in the administration of
this Act and that the evidence is, in all the circumstances, of sufficient
force to justify it doing so, the relevant review authority may bring the
evidence to the notice of—
(a) if
the person is the principal officer of a State Government agency—the
responsible Minister; or
(b) if
the person is the principal officer of an agency other than a State
Government agency—the agency; or
(c) if
the person is an officer of an agency but not the principal officer of the
agency—the principal officer of that agency.