A man claimed police acted unlawfully in forcing him to drive to Gundagai under police escort. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) has backed a NSW Police decision to give a man view-only access and not video footage of his interaction with an officer near Gundagai.
On 9 April 2023, Andrew Higgins was driving to the ACT via the Hume Highway with his wife and child when he was stopped by police.
An officer said he found the child was in a non-compliant car seat and directed Mr Higgins to drive to Gundagai while being escorted by the police officer. The man then drove alone to Wagga Wagga, bought a new car seat, fixed it and resumed his journey.
Mr Higgins alleged the officer acted unlawfully in forcing him to drive to Gundagai under police escort.
While he did not necessarily object to being fined for a non-compliant car seat, he alleged that being made to drive “up the highway under police lights” was “irregular” conduct by the officer. He said he and his wife had never experienced anything like it in either Australia or the UK.
NSW Police officers have been using body-worn video equipment since 2013 to allow them to gather information and evidence on incidents, which can later be used in court.
Under freedom of information laws, Mr Higgins requested access to the footage capturing his interaction with the officer to try and prove his case of alleged “irregular” conduct.
NSW Police decided it would give Mr Higgins view-only access to the video, not the file. This decision was affirmed by NCAT in 2024.
Mr Higgins appealed the decision and NCAT senior member Everton MacIntyre considered his argument to obtain the file again in 2025.
NSW Police denied that the officer in question had “acted unreasonably, illegally or even impolitely”.
Mr MacIntyre did not make a ruling on the appropriateness of the police officer’s conduct but instead considered the public interest case for and against Mr Higgins being provided the video file of the interaction.
“It is clear that the way in which police officers carry out their functions of law enforcement is a matter of public interest,” Mr Macintrye wrote in a ruling published on Thursday (4 September).
“It should not be a controversial proposition that public debate on how they do so is a public interest consideration that favours disclosure.”
Ultimately though, Mr Macintyre decided NSW Police made the right call in granting Mr Higgins view-only access to the video. This means that the footage can’t be republished, which is against the law.
“Granting view-only access to the BWV footage is the correct and preferable decision,” Mr Macintyre ruled.
