Courts split over FOI defamation threat to whistleblowers

摘要

[Introduction]: Suppose you are a 'whistleblower' and you write a letter to a government department that defames a person. And suppose that person retrieves the document by virtue of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI Act). The whistle blower would be protected by the Act from a defamation action, right? Wrong. Or, more correctly, it depends on what state you live in. As a result of recent decisions in Queensland and New South Wales, 'authors of documents subject to discovery under the FOI Act may findudthey are not 'protected from actions for defamation'.'