Office of the Attorney-General
AGOFOI23/476; 23/32371
A Q-S
Request reference:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/documents_relating_to_the_appoin_3
Dear Applicant
Freedom of Information Request AGOFOI23/476 – Decision letter
The purpose of this letter is to give you a decision about your request for access to documents
under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) which you submitted to the Attorney-
General.
Your request
On 6 September 2023, you requested access to:
copies of any documents or correspondence held currently held in your office which
include any of the following three excerpts, or material which is substantially similar to
any of the following three excerpts, and which were created or received prior to 14
March 2022.
Excerpt one:
"...some merit-based criteria are provided in the relevant enabling laws, and that the
process for the assessment of candidates is specified in the 'Government's Merit and
Transparency Policy' of the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC). The APSC
policy includes requirements to advertise vacancies, provide detailed selection criteria,
and assess candidates by a panel that includes an APSC representative, whose role is to
ensure that the process is in accordance with the policy. On the completion of the
assessment process, the panel determines a pool of suitable candidates and provides a
report to the APSC Commissioner for endorsement and transmission to the Attorney-
General. Subsequently, the Attorney-General seeks the Prime Minister's approval for the
appointment of the candidate by the Governor-General as AHRC President or
Commissioner."
Excerpt two:
"...the APSC policy provides for circumstances where the Attorney-General may consider
that a full selection process is not required. This includes where there is an urgent
requirement to fill a position, as was the case for the Disability Discrimination
Commissioner in 2019. It is also relevant in relation to the availability of an eminent
person 'where there would be little value in conducting a selection process', as was the
case for the Human Rights Commissioner in 2021."
Excerpt three:
"The appointment of two Commissioners without additional funding being provided (in
particular, funding was removed for the Disability Discrimination Commissioner in
Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 • Telephone: (02) 6277 7300
2014, and was not restored when appointments to this role were made in 2016 and 2019;
funding was not provided when the Human Rights Commissioner was appointed in 2016,
and is yet to be confirmed following the appointment of a Human Rights Commissioner in
2021);
- A sustained increase in complaints of discrimination and human rights violations
without dedicated additional funding;
- A substantial increase in complaints during the COVID-19 pandemic, with no
additional funding support; and
- No general increase in the AHRC overall budget, requiring increased property and
staffing costs to be met through the existing appropriation."
On 4 October 2023, the department acknowledged your request on the above terms on behalf of
the Office of the Attorney-General.
A decision in relation to your request is due on 6 October 2023.
My decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to
freedom of information requests made to the Attorney-General.
Section 11(1)(b) of the FOI Act provides that, subject to that Act, a person has a right to obtain
access, in accordance with that Act, to ‘an official document of a Minister, other than an exempt
document’.
The Attorney-General was sworn in after 14 March 2022. On 14 March 2022, Mr Dreyfus was
the Shadow Attorney-General.
Documents created or received by the current Attorney-General when he was Shadow Attorney-
General are not ‘official documents of a Minister’ within the meaning of the FOI Act.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that the office does not hold any documents that fall within the scope
of your request.
Additional information
Your review rights under the FOI Act are set out at
Attachment A to this letter.
Questions about this decision
If you wish to discuss this decision, the FOI case officer for this matter is Joanna, who can be
reached on (02) 6141 6666 or by email to
xxx@xx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Houston Ash
Senior Adviser
Office of the Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP
6 / 10 /2023
Encl. Attachment A: FOI review rights.
Attachment A - FOI review rights
If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply to the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner for review.
Information Commissioner review
An application for review by the Information Commissioner must be made in writing within 60
days of the date of the decision letter, and be lodged in one of the following ways:
online:
https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=ICR_10
email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
post: GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
More information about Information Commissioner review is available on the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner website a
t https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-
information/your-freedom-of-information-rights/freedom-of-information-reviews/information-
commissioner-review.
