Becky
By Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Our Reference: LEX 621
Freedom of Information request
1. I am writing about your Freedom of Information (FOI) request under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) made
12 August 2023 for access to documents held
by the Australian Public Service Commission (Commission).
2. The FOI Act and all other Commonwealth legislation referred to in this letter are
publicly available from www.legislation.gov.au.
Documents relevant to your request
3. You requested access to the following:
“I request access to all freedom of information decisions made by officials in the
Australian Public Service Commission between 1 January 2023 and 30 June 2023,
inclusive.”
4. On
17 August 2023, you agreed to re-scope the terms of your request to decision
notices from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023.
5. In making this decision I have had regard to:
the terms of your request.
the FOI Act; and
the FOI Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner
Decision on your FOI request
6. I am authorised under subsection 23(1) of the FOI Act to make FOI decisions.
7. I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to find documents within
scope of your request.
8. On
30 August 2023, I notified you of third party consultation which extended the due
date to
Friday 29 September 2023.
9. I have identified eleven (11) documents in scope of your request.
10. I have decided to refuse access to seven (7) documents and grant partial access to four
(4) documents.
11.
Attachment A sets out the grounds on which the documents are partially exempt.
12. My reasons are set out in
Attachment B.
Deletion of exempt matter or irrelevant material
13. Section 22 of the FOI Act requires an agency to provide access to an edited version
of a document where it is reasonably practicable to edit the document to remove
exempt material or material that is irrelevant to the scope of the request.
14. Relevant to deleting exempt or irrelevant content from a document, the FOI
Guidelines provide:
3.98 Applying those considerations, an agency or minister should take a common sense
approach in considering whether the number of deletions would be so many that the
remaining document would be of little or no value to the applicant. Similarly, the
purpose of providing access to government information under the FOI Act may not
be served if extensive editing is required that leaves only a skeleton of the former
document that conveys little of its content or substance.
15. I consider the objects of the FOI Act will not be served by providing access to an
edited version of the exempt documents because extensive editing is required that
would leave only a skeleton of the former documents, conveying little content or
substance.
Contacts
16. If you require clarification on matters in this letter please contact the Commission’s
FOI Officer by telephone on (02) 6202 3813 or by email at xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Review rights
17. You are entitled to seek review of this decision. Your review rights are set out at
Attachment C.
Yours sincerely,
Melanie McIntyre
FOI decision maker
27 September 2023
ATTACHMENT A
SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS
Document Description
Exemptions
1
LEX 510 – Decision Notice (11/04/23) Refuse s 22 - s 47E, s 47F
2
LEX 511 – Decision Notice (11/04/23) Refuse s 22 - s 47E, s 47F
3
LEX 520 – Decision Notice (24/04/23) Refuse s 22 - s 47E, s 47F
4
LEX 521 – Decision Notice (26/04/23) Refuse s 22 - s 47E, s 47F
5
LEX 532 – Decision Notice (28/04/23) Refuse s 22 - s 47E, s 47F
6
LEX 547 – Decision Notice (23/05/23) Refuse s 22 - s 47E, s 47F
7
LEX 550 – Decision Notice (26/05/23) Refuse s 22 - s 47E, s 47F
8
LEX 558 – Decision Notice (09/06/23) Partial s 47F
9
LEX 564 – Decision Notice (14/06/23) Partial s 47F
10
LEX 571 – Decision Notice (27/06/23) Partial s 47F
11
LEX 559 – Decision Notice (30/06/23) Partial s 47F
ATTACHMENT B
Reasons for Decision
1. In making my decision on your request, I have had regard to:
the terms of your request;
the contents of the documents;
the views of the relevant third parties; and
the FOI Act
Section 47E – Certain operations of agencies
2. Subsection 47E(d) of the FOI Act provide that a document is conditionally exempt
from disclosure if its disclosure would, or could be reasonably expected to, have a
substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of an
agency.
3. I consider that releasing the content of certain requests in the decision notices would
likely have a larger effect of inhibiting or discouraging Commission staff and other
Commonwealth staff to freely and effectively communicate on matters relating to
Secretaries Board; Code of Conduct investigations; and the PID Act, including in the
consideration and assessment of material subject to a Public Interest Disclosure
investigation.
4. Therefore, I have decided to conditionally exempt sections of the documents because
disclosure of this information would, or could reasonably be expected to, have a
substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the Commission’s
operations.
Section 47F – Personal Privacy
5. Section 47F of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if it
would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person.
6. Personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual,
or an individual who is reasonably identifiable whether:
the information or opinion is true or not; and
the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.
7. I consider that the documents contain such matter; specifically, the names and email
addresses of other individuals.
8. I have had regard to the matters I must consider under subsection 47F(2) of the FOI
Act in determining whether the disclosure of the personal information would involve
the unreasonable disclosure of personal information.
9. In considering what is unreasonable, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in
Re
Chandra and Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs [1984] AATA 437 at [51]
stated:
…whether a disclosure is ‘unreasonable’ requires… a consideration of all the
circumstances, including the nature of the information that would be disclosed, the
circumstances in which the information was obtained, the likelihood of the
information being information that the person concerned would not wish to have
disclosed without consent, and whether the information has any current relevance…
and to weigh that interest in the balance against the public interest in protecting the
personal privacy of a third party…
10. I have identified the following factors that, in my view, do not support the release of
this personal information under section 47F of the FOI Act:
the individuals’ personal information, in particular their name, will identify
them;
the personal information is unique and relates specifically to the individuals,
and is generally not well known or publicly available; the FOI Act does not
control or restrict the subsequent use or dissemination of information released
under the FOI Act;
release of the individuals’ personal information may cause stress for them or
other detriment; and
disclosure would prejudice the individuals’ right to privacy.
Section 11A – public interest test
11. Subsection 11A(5) of the FOI Act provides that an agency must give access to a
document if it is conditionally exempt unless access to the document would, on
balance, be contrary to the public interest.
12. I have considered the public interest exemption factors in favour of disclosure at
subsection 11B(3) of the FOI Act, including the extent to which access to the
documents would promote the objects of the FOI Act and inform debate on a
matter of public importance.
13. I have identified the following factors as weighing against disclosure:
Disclosure of any third party individual’s personal information will not
advance any scrutiny of any decisions falling within scope of your FOI
request;
disclosure would prejudice the third party individual’s right to privacy; and
the disclosure of certain information have a substantial adverse effect on the
proper and efficient conduct of the operations of the Commission.
ATTACHMENT C
Rights of Review
Asking for a full explanation of a Freedom of Information decision If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you may seek review. Before you seek review of a
Freedom of Information (FOI) decision, you may contact us to discuss your request and we will
explain the decision to you.
Seeking review of a Freedom of Information decision If you still believe a decision is incorrect, the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) may
give you the right to apply for a review of the decision. Under sections 54 and 54L of the FOI Act,
you can apply for a review of an FOI decision by seeking:
1. an internal review by an different officer of the Australian Public Service Commission;
and/or
2. external review by the Australian Information Commissioner.
There are no fees applied to either review option.
Applying for a review by an Internal Review Officer If you apply for internal review, a different decision maker to the departmental delegate who
made the original decision will carry out the review. The Internal Review Officer will consider all
aspects of the original decision and decide whether it should change. An application for internal
review must be made in writing within 30 days of receiving this letter to:
Email: xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Post: The FOI Officer
Australian Public Service Commission
B Block, Treasury Building
GPO Box 3176
Parkes Place West
PARKES ACT 2600
You do not need to fill in a form. However, it is a good idea to set out any relevant submissions
you would like the Internal Review Officer to further consider, and your reasons for disagreeing
with the decision.
Applying for external review by the Australian Information Commissioner If you do not agree with the original FOI decision or the internal review decision, you can ask the
Australian Information Commissioner to review the decision. You have 60 days to apply in
writing for a review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (the OAIC) from
the date you received this letter or any subsequent internal review decision.
You can
lodge your application:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au Post: Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Email: xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
The OAIC encourage applicants to apply online. Where possible, to assist the OAIC you should
include your contact information, a copy of the related FOI decision and provide details of your
reasons for objecting to the decision.
Complaints to the Information Commissioner and Commonwealth Ombudsman
Information Commissioner You may 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
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
