Australian Securities
and Investments Commission
Office address (inc courier deliveries):
Level 1, 11 Mounts Bay Road,
Perth WA 6000
Mail address for Perth office:
GPO Box 9827,
Brisbane QLD 4001
Tel: +61 1300 935 075
Mr P.C Sweeney
Fax: +61 1300 729 000
By email:
foi+request-10633-
www.asic.gov.au
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Our Reference: FOI 178-2023
29 September 2023
Dear Mr P.C Sweeney
Freedom of Information Request No. 178-2023
Notice of Access Decision
I refer to your request dated 30 August 2023 under the
Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (
FOI Act) in which you seek access to documents in the possession of
the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (
ASIC).
Your request seeks access to the fol owing:
“The document or documents I seek is/are any correspondence from AFCA
to ASIC that makes mention of NULIS Nominees (Aust) Ltd making benefit
payments to FEMALE fund members from the Trust Estate (fund) constituted
and established for MALE staff by the original Trust Deed made on 23
December 1913 (which would be prohibited as confirmed by two
enactments of the Parliament of South Australia)”. The search period
referenced is from 20 May 2021.
I am the authorised decision-maker for the purposes of section 23 of the FOI
Act and this letter gives notice of my decision.
Information considered:
In reaching my decision, I have considered the fol owing:
• the FOI Act, in particular s 24A;
• the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI Guidelines issued under s
93A of the FOI Act (
FOI Guidelines);
• the terms of your request; and
link to page 2
2
• the details of the searches conducted by ASIC staff.
Decision and reasons for the decision
Section 24A of the FOI Act
Section 24A of the FOI Act, provides:
Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or have
not been received
Document lost or non-existent
(1) An agency or Minister may refuse a request for access to a document
if:
(a) all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document;
and
(b) the agency or Minister is satisfied that the document
(i) is in the agency’s or Minister’s possession but cannot be
found; or
(i ) does not exist.
The FOI Guidelines relevantly provide:
Agencies and ministers should undertake a reasonable search on a flexible
and common sense interpretation of the terms of the request. What
constitutes a reasonable search wil depend on the circumstances of each
request and wil be influenced by the normal business practices in the
agency’s operating environment or the minister’s office. At a minimum, an
agency or minister should take comprehensive steps to locate documents,
having regard to:
•
the subject matter of the documents;
•
the current and past file management systems and the practice
of destruction or removal of documents;
•
the record management systems in place;
•
the individuals within an agency or minister’s office who may be
able to assist with the location of documents, and
•
the age of the documents.1
I searched ASIC's systems for files related to Nulis Nominees (Aust) Pty Ltd. I
found no documents falling within the scope of your request. I am satisfied
the documents do not exist.
My decision is therefore to refuse your request for access to documents under
section 24A of the FOI Act on the basis that al reasonable steps have been
1 FOI Guidelines [3.89].
3
taken to find the document(s) that fal within the scope of your request. I am
satisfied that the document(s) do not exist. I have therefore decided to refuse
your request pursuant to section 24A(1)(b)(ii) of the FOI Act.
Review rights
In the event that you are dissatisfied with the decision:
1. You may, within 30 days after the day on which you have been notified of
this decision, apply in writing to ASIC for an internal review of my decision
under section 54B of the FOI Act. This review is an independent process
conducted by a Senior Freedom of Information Officer at ASIC. This request
should be addressed to me or to the Senior Manager, Freedom of
Information, GPO Box 9827, Brisbane QLD 4001 or by email to
xxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
2. You may within 60 days after the day on which you have been notified of
this decision, apply in writing to the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (
OAIC) for a review of my decision under section 54N of the
FOI Act. You may contact the OAIC by post at GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW
2001, by email at
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx or by telephone on 1300 363 992.
Right to complain
3. You may lodge a complaint with the OAIC in relation to the conduct of
ASIC in the handling of this request. You may contact the OAIC as set out
above.
Yours Sincerely
Chloe Pugsley
(Authorised decision maker under section 23(1) of the FOI Act)