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ARTICLE · 13 SEPTEMBER 2024

Is An "Unfortunate" Delay An "Unreasonable" Delay?

Government delays can be an unfortunate feature of administrative decision-making. Australians and Australian businesses waiting on a government decision, such as a freedom of information ("FOI") request...

AustraliaGovernment, Public Sector

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Section 7(1) of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth) enables persons to apply to the Federal Court (or Federal Circuit and Family Court) for an order of review in respect of a government agency's "failure to make the decision on the ground that there has been unreasonable delay in making this decision". In assessing whether Mr Patrick experienced an "unreasonable delay" in receiving his FOI review decisions, the Federal Court outlined that the statutory and factual context of the case at hand must be considered. The Court held that, while Mr Patrick's delays were "unfortunate", they were not unreasonable. The agency's under-resourcing was a valid explanation for the delay.

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