Our ref: FOI-2025-80098-IR
22 October 2025
Robert By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Robert
Freedom of Information request- Internal review decision
1. On 1 October 2025 you requested a review of the decision made on 24 September
2025 in relation to your request for information under the
Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (FOI Act).
2. I am an officer authorised under s 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to
FOI requests.
The original decision and your request for review
3. Your original request was made in the fol owing terms:
Under the FOI Act 1982 (Cth), I request access to Penny McKay's notification of
resignation, and any other documents setting out her reasons for resignation.
4. The original decision was to grant part access to one document with exemptions
being made for material subject to s47F (personal privacy) and s47E(d) (certain
operations of agencies) of the FOI Act.
5. You have requested review for the following reasons:
"The partially released document contains ‘personal information’ being, Ms
Penny McKay's signature ...
In considering whether disclosure would be unreasonable, subsection 47F(2) of
the FOI Act requires that I take into account:
• the extent to which the information is wel known
Helping people, improving government
Page
1 of
6
1300 362 072 ombudsman.gov.au GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601
• whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have
been) associated with the matters dealt with in the document, and
• the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources, and any
other matter considered relevant.
With regards to the signature of Ms McKay . . this information is not wel known,
nor is it readily available from public sources."
Your statement is false.
Penny McKay's signature is published on government websites and on this very
website.
For example:
a) in the annual report of the Commonwealth Ombudsman for the 2020-21
financial year ( https://www.transparency.gov.au/publications/attorney-
general-s/office-of-the-commonwealth-ombudsman/office-of-the-
commonwealth-ombudsman-annual-report-2020-21/transmittal-letter/letter-
of-transmittal ), such report being published to the world on the
Commonwealth Government's transparency website; and
b) on this very website in documents released by the APSC (
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/9867/response/31994/attach/15/18%20
March%202022%20McKay%20to%20Woolcott.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 ) - see
decision notice here (
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/11097/response/42895/attach/15/20250
819%20Decision%20Notice%20LEX%201542.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 ); and
c) in submissions made to the Commonwealth Parliament on various matters,
which have been published on the website of the Office of the Commonwealth
Ombudsman (
https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0035/286928/Inquiry-
into-NDIS-amendment-participant-service-guarantee-bill-2021-submission.pdf
).
Helping people, improving government
Page
2 of
6
1300 362 072 ombudsman.gov.au GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601
Therefore, your claims that section 47F of the FOI Act applies to Penny McKay's
signature are false because your claims are controverted by evidence
published to all the world.
Since Penny McKay's signature is accessible online, from a variety of locations,
please ensure that the redaction applied to Penny McKay's signature is removed
from the resignation letter.
6. As highlighted in my correspondence of 8 October 2025, I understand the scope of
your request for review to only be the application of s47F to Ms McKay's signature in
her resignation letter and not the email addresses in the document.
7. I have decided to
affirm the original decision.
8. In making my decision, I have considered:
a. Your application for internal review
b. The scope of your FOI request (including any revision of that request).
c. The content of the documents that fal within the scope of your request.
d. Relevant provisions of the FOI Act.
e. The Guidelines issued by the Office of Australian Information Commissioner
under s 93A of the FOI Act.
Reasons for decision
9. I have decided to affirm the primary decision to redact the handwritten signature of
Ms McKay from the document under s47F of the FOI Act. Section 47F provides:
(1) A document is conditional y exempt if its disclosure under this Act would
involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person
(including a deceased person).
(2) In determining whether the disclosure of the document would involve the
unreasonable disclosure of personal information, an agency or Minister must
have regard to the fol owing matters:
Helping people, improving government
Page
3 of
6
1300 362 072 ombudsman.gov.au GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601
(a) the extent to which the information is wel known;
(b) whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be
(or to have been) associated with the matters dealt with in the
document;
(c) the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources;
(d) any other matters that the agency or Minister considers relevant.
10. The term personal information is defined in as information or an opinion about an
identified individual who is reasonably identifiable. A person's handwritten signature
clearly meets that definition. Whilst Ms McKay's name and position are wel known,
their signature is a unique identifier that distinguishes her personal y and is not
merely information about her public duties.
11. In assessing whether the disclosure would be unreasonable, I have had regard to
the matters in s47F(2) including the nature of the information, the circumstances of
its col ection and whether the person would reasonably expect it to be disclosed. A
signature is col ected by an agency for the limited administrative purpose of
authenticating documents. It is not col ected with the expectation that it would be
published or distributed widely. Disclosure under the FOI Act is, in effect, disclosure to
the word at large, and once released, the signature could be copied, digitally
manipulated or used for unauthorised purposes. I do note that Ms McKay's signature
may appear in limited public contexts as you have highlighted, however that limited
availability does not negate the privacy interest in preventing broader
dissemination through FOI.
Public interest test
12. Having found the information conditional y exempt under s47F(1), I must consider
the public interest test under s11A(5).
13. In favour of disclosure, I acknowledge the general public interest in promoting
transparency and accountability of government decision-making. However, in this
case, those interests are adequately met by the release of Ms McKay's, title and
substance of the letter. Disclosure of their handwritten signature would not
material y enhance public understanding of the agency's operations.
Helping people, improving government
Page
4 of
6
1300 362 072 ombudsman.gov.au GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601
14. Against disclosure, I attach significant weight to the public interest in protecting
individuals from identity theft and other misuse of personal identifiers, and in
maintaining the privacy of public servants in respect of information not relevant to
their official functions.
15. On balance, I am satisfied that the public interest in withholding this information
outweighs the interest in disclosure. Therefore I affirm the primary decision to redact
the signature under s47F of the FOI Act.
Review rights
Information Commissioner review or complaint
16. You have the right to seek IC review of this decision. An application for IC review
must be made in writing within 60 days of the decision.
17. If you are not satisfied with the way we have handled your FOI request, you can lodge
a complaint with the OAIC. However, the OAIC suggests that complaints are made
to the agency in the first instance.
18. While there is no particular form required to make a complaint to the OAIC, the
complaint should be in writing and set out the reasons for why you are dissatisfied
with the way your request was processed. It should also identify the Ombudsman’s
Office as the agency about which you are complaining.
19. You can make an IC review application or make an FOI complaint in one of the
following ways:
• online at https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-
complaints/
• via email to
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
• by mail to GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001, or
• by fax to 02 9284 9666.
20. More information about the Information Commissioner reviews and complaints is
available at its website:
www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-review-
process.
Helping people, improving government
Page
5 of
6
1300 362 072 ombudsman.gov.au GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601
Yours sincerely,
TY
Legal Director
Helping people, improving government
Page
6 of
6
1300 362 072 ombudsman.gov.au GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601
Document Outline
