4.
Governor-General[1]. By convention and practice, the Official Secretary is the Secretary of the Order.
9 The procedure in respect of a nomination for an appointment or award in the Order of Australia was summarised by the Full Court[2] and does not need to be repeated here, save to note that the nomination forms contain criteria and state that all nominations are "strictly confidential". Appointments to the Order and awards of the Medal of the Order are made "with the approval of The Sovereign, by Instrument signed by the Governor-General and sealed with the Seal of the Order."[3] The features of the Order described above ensure that the grant of honours in the General Division is rendered independent of government and politics.
Relevant legislative provisions
10 This appeal concerns the proper construction of s 6A of the FOI Act. In particular, it concerns the meaning of the phrase "unless the document relates to matters of an administrative nature" in s 6A(1), which identifies the only documents of the Official Secretary which are subject to the operation of the FOI Act. Before turning to the text of s 6A and the statutory scheme of which it is a part, it is convenient to say something more about the Governor-General and the statutory functions of the Official Secretary.
The Governor-General
11 Section 61 in Ch II of the Australian Constitution vests the executive power of the Commonwealth in the Queen and provides that such power is exercisable by her representative in Australia, the Governor-General. The grant of honours, once regarded as part of the prerogative of the Crown[4], is now encompassed in the executive power conferred by s 61[5]. These proceedings are
- ↑ The Constitution, s 6(2).
- ↑ Kline v Official Secretary to the Governor-General (2012) 208 FCR 89 at 92 [11].
- ↑ The Constitution, s 9.
- ↑ R (Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 2) [2008] QB 365 at 398–399 [44]–[46].
- ↑ Cadia Holdings Pty Ltd v New South Wales (2010) 242 CLR 195 at 226 [86]; [2010] HCA 27; Williams v Commonwealth (2012) 86 ALJR 713 at 723 [24] per
(Footnote continues on next page)
