OFFICIAL
Andrew Terhost
Office of General Counsel
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
GPO Box 367
CANBERRA CITY ACT 2601
www.airservicesaustralia.com
Dear Mr Terhost
ABN 59 698 720 886
FOI 23-07 - Decision on Access
I refer to the request made under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (
FOI Act) to
Airservices Australia (
Airservices) on 17 April 2023 (
the request) and refined on that same date.
It seeks access to:
the final approval brief (including any briefing and attachments) that affected (or effected)
the move of the Hobart Airport Runway 30 flight path from Dunalley to Carlton Bluff
I am authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act and the Airservices Instrument of Delegation and
Authorisation to make decisions on primary requests under the FOI Act.
Decision
I have decided to grant access to the documents sought by the request in part as they contain]
material that is conditionally exempt under sections 47F (personal privacy) of the FOI Act, and
access to that conditional y exempt material would be contrary to the public interest.
The documents and my decision in relation to each are set out in the schedule of documents at
Attachment A (
the Schedule).
The reasons for my decision are set out in the Statement of Reasons at
Attachment B.
Review rights and complaints
Information about your rights of review and how you can make a complaint about the handling of
your request is at
Attachment C.
Contact
If you wish to discuss my decision please contact me at
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.
Yours sincerely
Alan Hilvert-Bruce
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
OFFICIAL
ATTACHMENT A
SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS
Doc No. Description
Decision
1.
Final Report
Release in full
Hobart Airspace Design Review
March 2019
2.
Email
Release in part
Subject: ACP - Route amendments - Hobart
Section 47F – names and direct contact information of Airservices staff
2a.
Airspace Change Proposal Form
Release in part
Section 47F – names and direct contact information of Airservices staff
2b.
AIP Supplement
Release in full
AIRAC H92/19 (V1)
2c.
Safety Case Assessment and Reporting Determination
Release in part
Hobart Airspace Design Review – CTA Changes (C, D and E)
Section 47F – names of Airservices staff
2d.
Community Engagement Report
Release in part
Tasmanian High Level Routes Changes
Section 47F – names and signature of Airservices staff
2e.
Stakeholder Engagement Plan
Release in part
Tasmanian High Level Route Changes
Section 47F – names and signatures of Airservices staff
2f.
Environmental Assessment
Release in part
Environmental Assessment of the Proposed New Route Structure
Section 47F – names of Airservices staff
for Hobart Airport
2g.
ATS Route Changes
Release in full
Hobart Airspace Design Review
3.
Standard Form of Recommendation
Release in part
Of ice of Airspace Regulation
Section 47F – names and signatures of CASA staff
OFFICIAL
Doc No. Description
Decision
4.
AIP Supplement
Release in full
AIRAC H92/19 (V2)
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OFFICIAL
ATTACHMENT B
STATEMENT OF REASONS
Material on which the decision is based
I relied on the following material in coming to this decision:
• the terms of the request;
• the documents subject to the FOI request;
• advice from subject matter specialists within Airservices Australia (
Airservices) regarding
the nature and sensitivity of the documents subject to the request;
• the FOI Act; and
• the guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of the
FOI Act (
FOI Guidelines).
Section 47F - personal privacy
Section 47F of the FOI Act relevantly provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its
disclosure under this Act would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about
any person (including a deceased person). Access to the conditionally exempt document may only
be withheld where it is contrary to the public interest.
Certain documents subject to the request (identified in the Schedule) contain personal information,
specifically the names, signatures and direct contact details of Airservices and CASA staff. I am
satisfied that this personal information is not publicly available, nor are the individuals concerned
well known to be involved in the mat ers described in the documents.
I therefore find that disclosure of this personal information would be unreasonable and conditionally
exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.
When considering whether access to this personal information is contrary to the public interest I
acknowledge that access would inherently promote the objects of the FOI Act, demonstrating full
transparency of government. However, providing access to this personal information would also
intrude on the privacy of the individuals to whom the personal information relates whilst also not
providing great insight into the decision making processes of Airservices. This adverse effect
outweights any benefit that could flow from disclosing that personal information.
As a result, I am satisfied that access to the personal information would be contrary to the public
interest, and have decided to withhold access to it.
OFFICIAL
ATTACHMENT C
INFORMATION ON REVIEW RIGHTS
The
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (
the FOI Act) gives you the right to apply for a review of this
decision. Under sections 54 and 54L of the FOI Act, you can apply for a review of this decision by:
(a)
an internal review officer in Airservices Australia; or
(b)
the Australian Information Commissioner (
Information Commissioner).
Internal Review
If you apply for internal review, it wil be carried out by a different decision-maker who will make a
fresh decision on your application. An application for review must be:
(c)
made in writing;
(d)
made within 30 days of receiving this letter; and
(e)
sent to xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.
No particular form is required, but it is desirable to set out in the application the grounds upon which
you consider the decision should be reviewed.
If the internal review officer decides not to grant you access to all of the documents to which you
have requested access, you have the right to seek a review of that decision by the Information
Commissioner. You wil be further notified of your rights of review at the time you are notified of the
internal review decision.
Please note that if you apply for an internal review and a decision is not made by an internal review
officer within 30 days of receiving the application, you have the right to seek review by the
Information Commissioner for a review of the original FOI decision on the basis of a ‘deemed
refusal’ decision. An application for Information Commissioner review in this situation must be made
within 60 days of the date when the internal review decision should have been made (provided an
extension of time has not been granted or agreed).
Information Commissioner review
If you want to seek direct review by the Information Commissioner (and not internal review), you
must apply in writing within 60 days of the receipt of the decision letter and you can lodge your
application in one of the following ways:
Online: www.oaic.gov.au
In person:
Post: GPO Box 2999, Canberra ACT
Level 3,
2601
175 Pitt Street,
Fax: +61 2 9284 9666
Sydney NSW 2000
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
An application form is available on the website at
www.oaic.gov.au. Your application should include
a copy of the notice of the decision that you are objecting to (if one was provided), and your contact
details. You should also set out why you are objecting to the decision.
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OFFICIAL
Complaints to the Commonwealth Ombudsman and Information Commissioner
Commonwealth Ombudsman
You may complain to the Ombudsman concerning action taken by an agency in the exercise of
powers or the performance of functions under the FOI Act. There is no fee for making a complaint. A
complaint to the Ombudsman may be made in person, by telephone or in writing. The
Ombudsman’s contact details are:
Phone:
1300 362 072
Website:
www.ombudsman.gov.au
The Commonwealth Ombudsman generally prefers applicants to seek review before complaining
about a decision.
Information Commissioner
You may also complain to the Information Commissioner concerning action taken by an agency in
the exercise of powers or the performance of functions under the FOI Act. There is no fee for
making a complaint. A complaint to the Information Commissioner must be made in writing. The
Information Commissioner’s contact details are:
Telephone: 1300 363 992
Website:
www.oaic.gov.au
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Document Outline
