Our reference:
FOIREQ23/00170
Attention:
Thomas
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Freedom of Information Request – FOIREQ23/00170
Dear Thomas,
I refer to your request for access to documents made under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act). Your Freedom of Information (FOI request)
was received by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) on 29
August 2023.
I am writing to inform you of my decision.
I have made the decision to refuse your request on the basis that all reasonable steps
have been taken by the OAIC to find the documents in scope of your FOI request, and
I am satisfied that the documents do not exist.
In accordance with section 26(1)(a) of the FOI Act, the reasons for my decision and
findings on the material questions of fact are provided below.
Background
Scope of your request
Your FOI request sought access to the following information:
Under the FOI Act, I seek copies of al documents recording exchanges between the
OAIC and the Attorney General or his office over the period from 7:30am on 21 August to
6:00pm on 29 August (inclusive) which relate to the Senate Legal and Constitutional
Affairs References Committee inquiry into the operation of the FOI system.
I am particularly interested in text messages (such as messages sent via the Signal
messenger app, SMS or WhatsApp) but would also like to see any records of meetings or
email exchanges.
1300 363 992
T +61 2 9284 9749
GPO Box 5218
www.oaic.gov.au
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
F +61 2 9284 9666
Sydney NSW 2001
ABN 85 249 230 937
Request timeframe
Your request was made on 29 August 2023.
This means that a decision on your request is due to be decided by 28 September
2023.
Decision and reasons for decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in
relation to FOI requests on behalf of the OAIC.
I have made the decision to refuse your request on the basis that documents do not
exist.
Material taken into account
In making my decision, I have had regard to the following:
• your FOI request dated 29 August 2023;
• the FOI Act, in particular sections 3, 11, 11A, 15, 24A and 26 of the FOI Act;
• the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under
section 93A of the FOI Act to which regard must be had in performing a
function or exercising a power under the FOI Act (FOI Guidelines)
• consultation with line areas of the OAIC in relation to your request
Documents cannot be found, do not exist or have not been received – Section 24A of
the FOI Act
Section 24A(1) of the FOI Act provides that an agency may refuse a request for access
to documents requested under the FOI Act if all reasonable steps have been taken to
find the document and the agency is satisfied that the document cannot be found or
does not exist.
I have made the decision to refuse your request under section 24A of the FOI Act on
the basis that all reasonable steps have been taken to find the documents you have
requested, and no documents exist.
The FOI Act requires that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate documents
within scope of an FOI request.
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Searches Undertaken
In response to your request, the OAIC conducted reasonable searches for documents
relevant to you request with:
• Executive level staff members potentially involved in preparation for FOI
inquiry and who may have contact with the Attorney-General’s Office.
Searches were conducted across the OAIC’s various document storage systems
including:
• the OAIC’s case management system - Resolve
• the OAIC’s document holding system – Content Manager
• OAIC’s email system
The following search terms were used when undertaking electronic records
searches:
• AG;
• Attorney-General;
• Dreyfus;
• AGO;
• Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee inquiry; and
• @ag.gov.au
The OAIC staff members potentially involved in preparation for FOI inquiry and who
may have contact with the Attorney-General’s Office confirmed that no documents
were located.
Having consulted with the relevant line areas and having undertaken a review of the
records of the various search and retrieval efforts, I am satisfied that a reasonable
search has been undertaken in response to your request and that no relevant
documents exist.
Conclusion
Based on the terms of your request and searches undertaken, I am satisfied that all
reasonable steps have been taken to find documents that fall within the scope of
your request and am satisfied that no documents exist.
I have made the decision to refuse your request for access to documents under
section 24A(1)(b)(i ) of the FOI Act, on the basis that no documents exist.
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Please see the following page for information about your review rights in relation to
this FOI request and information about the OAIC's disclosure log.
Yours sincerely,
Emily Elliott
Senior Lawyer
28 September 2023
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If you disagree with my decision
Internal review
You have the right to apply for an internal review of my decision under Part VI of the
FOI Act. An internal review will be conducted, to the extent possible, by an officer of
the OAIC who was not involved in or consulted in the making of my decision. If you
wish to apply for an internal review, you must do so in writing within 30 days. There
is no application fee for internal review.
If you wish to apply for an internal review, please mark your application for the
attention of the FOI Coordinator and state the grounds on which you consider that
my decision should be reviewed.
Applications for internal reviews can be submitted to:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5288
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Alternatively, you can submit your application by email t
o xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx, or by fax
on 02 9284 9666.
Further review
You have the right to seek review of this decision by the Information Commissioner
and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).
You may apply to the Information Commissioner for a review of my decision (IC
review). If you wish to apply for IC review, you must do so in writing within 60 days.
Your application must provide an address (which can be an email address or fax
number) that we can send notices to, and include a copy of this letter. A request for
IC review can be made in relation to my decision, or an internal review decision.
It is the Information Commissioner’s view that it will usually not be in the interests of
the administration of the FOI Act to conduct an IC review of a decision, or an internal
review decision, made by the agency that the Information Commissioner heads: the
OAIC. For this reason, if you make an application for IC review of my decision, and the
Information Commissioner is satisfied that in the interests of administration of the
Act it is desirable that my decision be considered by the AAT, the Information
Commissioner may decide not to undertake an IC review.
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Section 57A of the FOI Act provides that, before you can apply to the AAT for review
of an FOI decision, you must first have applied for IC review.
Applications for IC review can be submitted online at:
https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=ICR_
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Alternatively, you can submit your application to:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5288
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Or by email t
o xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx, or by fax on 02 9284 9666.
Accessing your information
If you would like access to the information that we hold about you, please contact
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. More information is available on the Access our information page
on our website.
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Document Outline
