Our reference: FOIREQ24/00008
Mr Alan Ashmore
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Freedom of Information Request – FOIREQ24/00008
Dear Mr Ashmore
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 request (FOI
request) was received by the Office of the Australian Commissioner (OAIC) on 28
December 2023.
I am writing to inform you of my decision.
Pursuant to section 17 of the FOI Act, I have made a decision to create a document in
response to your request. I have made a decision to grant full access to the 1
document.
In accordance with section 26(1)(a) of the FOI Act, the reasons for my decision and
findings on material questions of fact are provided below.
Background
Scope of your request
Your FOI request sought access to the following information:
Seeking the numbers of reviews by agency name that are open as of December
31st, 2023.
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.
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
Subject to the following provisions of the FOI Act, I have made a decision to create
and grant full access to 1 document.
Reasons for decision
Material taken into account
In making my decision, I have had regard to the following:
• your FOI request dated 28 December 2023
• the FOI Act, in particular ss 17 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
Requests involving the use of computers (s 17)
Under section 17 of the FOI Act, if an FOI request is made for a document that could
be produced by using a computer ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or
collating stored information, an agency is required to deal with the request as if it
was a request for written documents to which the FOI Act applies.
The FOI Guidelines [at 3.204] explain that section 17 may require an agency to
produce a written document of information that is stored electronically and not in a
discrete written form, if it does not appear from the request that the applicant
wishes to be provided with a computer tape or disk on which the information is
recorded. The obligation to produce a written document arises if:
• the agency could produce a written document containing the information by
using a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available’ to the
agency for retrieving or collating stored information (section 17(1)(c)(i)), or
making a transcript from a sound recording (section 17(1)(c)(ii)); and
• producing a written document would not substantially and unreasonably
divert the resources of the agency from its other operations (section 17(2)).
If those conditions are met, the FOI Act applies as if the applicant had requested
access to the written document and it was already in the agency’s possession.
Your request sought access to the number of reviews by agency name that are open
as of December 31st, 2023. Business Analytics, Data and Reporting advised me that
the material sought is not available in a discrete form but instead is able to be
produced in a written document through the use of a computer.
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In light of this, a document(s) has been created under section 17 in response to your
request and is attached.
Disclosure log decision
Section 11C of the FOI Act requires the OAIC to publish documents released under
the FOI Act on the OAIC’s disclosure log within 10 days of release, except if they
contain personal or business information that would be unreasonable to publish.
As discussed above and I have identified 1 document subject to your request that
does not contain personal or business information.
Accordingly, I have made a decision to publish the document subject to your request
on the OAIC’s disclosure log.
Release of document/s
The document is enclosed for release.
Please see the following page for information about your review rights.
Yours sincerely,
Emily Elliott
23 January 2024
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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 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Alternatively, you can submit your application
by email to 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 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Or by email to 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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