Louis Verhuizen
By Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Our Reference: LEX 629
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
30 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:
“Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), I request any and all documents
sent or received by, or prepared for, or prepared by, or made use of by each of:
a) Gordon de Brouwer,
b) Peter Woolcott,
c) Helen Wilson,
d) Rina Bruinsma,
e) Grant Lovelock,
f) Jo Talbot,
g) Charmaine Sims,
h) any occupants, whether in a substantive or acting capacity, of the role of Assistant
Commissioner, Integrity, Performance and Employment policy,
in respect of inadequate investigations, or in respect of reports of inadequate investigations,
relating to misconduct in the Australian Public Service, or any kinds of unlawful conduct by
officials in the Australian Public Service (including agency heads and statutory office
holders), from 1 January 2020 to 29 August 2023.
4. On
Wednesday 6 September 2023, the Commission contacted you to re-scope the
parameters of your request. You responded the same day and did not agree to refine the scope
of your request.
Decision on your FOI request 5. I am authorised under subsection 23(1) of the FOI Act to make FOI decisions.
6. I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to find documents within scope of
your request, and that no such documents meeting the description of what you have asked for
can be found or exist.
7. As such, I refuse your request for access to documents pursuant to section 24A of the FOI
Act.
Reasons for decision
Section 24A – documents that cannot be found or do not exist
8. Subsection 24A(1) of the FOI Act provides:
(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 or Minister’s possession but cannot be found; or
(ii) does not exist.
9. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has issued guidelines
pursuant to section 93A of the FOI Act. At paragraphs 3.88 to 3.93 of these guidelines, the
OAIC provides guidance as to the meaning of the term ‘all reasonable steps’ in subsection
24A(1).
10. Having regard to OAIC’s guidance, I have taken into account the subject matter of your
request and performed searches of document management systems and emails. No relevant
documents were identified.
Contacts
11. 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 12. You are entitled to seek review of this decision. Your review rights are set out at
Attachment A.
Yours sincerely,
Melanie McIntyre
FOI decision maker
27 September 2023
ATTACHMENT A
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
