Applicant: CR
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Internal Review of FOI Request: Freedom of Information Request No. LEX5527
I refer to your email of 24 November 2023 in which you requested internal review of the decision
notified to you on 25 September 2023 and 24 October 2023 about your FOI Request
LEX4640.
I am an authorised decision-maker under section 23 of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act).
This letter is to notify you of my decision and the outcome of my internal review.
Your FOI Request
1. On 25 August 2023 you wrote to the Australian Electoral Commission (
AEC) seeking access
under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to:
1. Al documents pertaining to the design of the 2023 referendum ballot paper.
This includes, but is not limited to, internal and external communications, drafts, memos,
guidelines, and any other pertinent materials. I am particularly interested in any
communication between the AEC and external bodies concerning the design, layout, or
content of the ballot paper.
2. Al documents, reports, evaluations, or assessments carried out by the AEC or
external parties concerning the "YES/NO" voting method for the 2023 referendum ballot
paper. This specifically includes materials exploring the use of "YES/NO" as opposed to
traditional methods such as marking, ticking, or crossing boxes.
3. Al documents pertaining to the application of savings provisions concerning 'ticks' and
'crosses' on the ballot papers. This extends to legal advice, guidance, memos, and any
other relevant material.
2. On 31 August 2023, you consented to an extension for your request until 25 October 2023.
3. On 25 September 2023, Andrew Johnson, Chief Legal Of icer, provided you with a decision
letter in response to Item 3 of your FOI request.
4. On 24 October 2023 Andrew Johnson, Chief Legal Of icer, provided you with a decision letter
in response to Items 1 and 2 of your FOI request.
Documents considered under FOI Request LEX4807 2. 101 documents were identified to be within the scope of your initial FOI request. As the FOI
request was dealt with in two Parts, I have continued to deal with it in two Parts to ensure
consistency of numbering of documents.
3. References in my decision to:
•
Part 1 of the FOI Request refer to the decision made on 25 September 2023 with respect
to Item 3 of your request.
•
Part 2 of the FOI Request refer to the decision made on 24 October 2023 with respect to
Items 1 and 2 of your request.
The scope of your internal review request
4. Your internal review request outlined a number of contentions regarding the application of
exemptions to the 101 documents identified. I have considered those contentions, the retrieval
process and each of the documents retrieved.
5. Following additional searches an additional document was retrieved. This is provided as
Document 82 to Part 1.
Decision 6. I have decided to provide:
Part 1 (Attachment A.1)
• Grant access in full: Document Nos. 2, 6a, 7a, 39, 56a, 57, 61, 81
• Grant access in part: Document Nos. 1, 3-18a, 20-38, 40-44, 47-56, 58, 59, 60, 62-
63a, 67a, 67b, 67c, 70f, 71, 72, 73, 76, 80, 82
• Refuse in full: Documents Nos. 19, 45, 45a, 45b, 46, 64-67, 68-70g, 74, 75, 77-79A.
Part 2 (Attachment A.2)
• Grant access in full: Document Nos. 17, 19a, 19b
• Grant access in part: Document Nos. 1, 1a, 3, 5, 6, 7, 18, 19, 20
• Refuse in full: Documents Nos.1b, 1c, 2, 3a, 4, 4a, 4b, 5a, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 7a, 7b, 8-16
7. The reasons for this decision are outlined in
Attachment B – Reasons.
8. I have identified where I have differed from the initial decision-maker in the schedules to be found
at
Attachments A.1 and A.2.
Review and other rights 9. I explain in
Attachment C to this letter your right to seek a review of my decision by the
Information Commissioner and your right to complain about the way the AEC has processed your
FOI Request.
Yours sincerely
Joanne Reid
Assistant Commissioner
Disclosure, Party Registration and Distribution
19 December 2023
