Court Orders Plaintiff To Provide Authority To Obtain Centrelink Records

Judgment date: 6 August 2009

El-Helou v Smith [2009] NSW SC 741

Supreme Court of NSW¹

In Brief

• Section 208 of the Social Security (Administration) Act (Cth) 1999 permits the disclosure of Centrelink records where the recipient of Centrelink benefits provides an authority.

• In court proceedings, s 56 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 places a duty on all parties to assist the Court to further the overriding purpose of facilitating the just, quick and cheap resolution of the real issues in the proceedings.

• Section 56 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 empowers the Court to make an order that the plaintiff provide an authority for the release of his or her Centrelink records where the contents are relevant to the issues in dispute and promote the fair resolution of the proceedings.