CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE. NCAT. THE DOCUMENTED RECORD
On 22 December 2025, NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley justified abolishing independent NCAT review of firearms licensing decisions by claiming that the existing process inhibited police from using criminal intelligence.
But the published tribunal record tells a different story. NSW Police had already used criminal intelligence in firearms licensing matters, and NCAT had considered confidential intelligence in reviewing those decisions.
The cases listed below document that practice and raise serious questions about the Minister’s justification. If criminal intelligence was already being used and considered, why was abolishing independent review necessary?
If confidential intelligence could be handled within the tribunal system, what specific barrier required the removal of independent review rights?
Tribunal case library
Browse a selected set of published tribunal decisions classified by the research dataset as involving criminal intelligence in firearms-related matters. Classification is research-derived and does not independently establish what evidence was admitted in each proceeding.
76 verified and approved cases
Zreika v Commissioner of Police [2021] NSWCATAD 76
2021-03-26 Outcome not classified NSW Police Force
Closed hearing recorded
View case details
Outcome
What the Tribunal decided and orders made
Costs awarded to Commissioner: $2,692.32. Substantive review withdrawn; revocation not determined on its merits in this decision.
Orders
- The applicant is to pay the Commissioner’s costs in the sum of $2,692.32.
Protected information
How confidential or protected intelligence was used
The judgment refers to an earlier confidentiality decision, [2020] NSWCATAD 202, and a partly closed hearing held in July 2020. Those procedures belong to earlier proceedings, not the 2021 costs determination. The costs decision itself was decided on the papers, carries no publication restriction and does not receive or rely on confidential intelligence to determine the costs award. Earlier confidential material must not be imported as a new confidentiality order in this record.
Legal framework
Legislation and statutory mechanisms
Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW), s 60(1)–(4) — ordinary own-costs rule, special circumstances, discretion and fixed costs. Firearms Act 1996 (NSW), ss 11(3)(d), 24(2)(d) — NSW residency and public-interest revocation background. Firearms Regulation 2017 (NSW), cl 20 — revocation background. Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997 (NSW) — underlying review.
AI-assisted editorial summary. Refer to the official decision for authoritative reasons and orders.
Research and legal notice: This is a selected, non-exhaustive research dataset, not a representative sample of all tribunal matters. AI-assisted classification may contain errors. Nothing here constitutes legal advice. Case titles are reproduced unchanged as public legal citations; this is not full anonymisation. Source decisions should be checked before drawing conclusions.