The Information and Privacy Commissioner of New South Wales ('IPC') issued, on 22 May 2022, a summary of EIG v North Sydney Council [2022] NSWCATAD 127. In particular, the IPC highlighted that the case concerned the remote attendance by the applicant of a council meeting of North Sydney Council, owing to medical reasons, and that the applicant could not disclose such data as health information under the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 ('HRIP').

In addition, the IPC noted that the medical personal information was collected so that the respondent may consider the applicant's request to attend meetings remotely, but was disclosed on the respondent's website for the secondary purpose of placing the relevant information on public record, without the applicant's consent and in circumstances where the applicant would not expect such information to be publicly disclosed.

More specifically, the IPC outlined that the Tribunal supported the applicant's use of the word 'medical', and the context in which it was used was information about the physical or mental health or disability of an individual, coming under the scope of the HRIP. Accordingly, the IPC provided that the respondent was found to have breached Health Privacy Principles ('HPP') 4 and 11 of the HRIP, with the respondent correctly conceding to have breach both HPP principles.

You can read the summary here and the case here.