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This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Media and Communication Policy and Social Media Playbook.'.


 
 
 
 
 
DEFENCE FOI 737/23/24 
STATEMENT OF REASONS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 
1. 
I refer to the request by James Smith (the applicant), received by the Department of 
Defence (Defence), for access to the following documents under the Freedom of 
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act): 
Please provide full unreacted copies of the Media and Communication Policy and 
the Social Media Playbook. 
Please provide a full unredacted copies of the documents in Defence FOI 
399/23/24. 
Background 
2. 
On 1 February 2024, the applicant wrote to Defence seeking an update on a request 
that was submitted under the FOI Act. The applicant’s original correspondence dated 
21 December 2023 was not received by Defence.  
3. 
On 2 February 2024, Defence wrote to the applicant advising that there was no record 
of receiving their request, and therefore requested the applicant confirm they wished 
to proceed with their request, noting the applicant had referred the request to the 
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). No response to this 
correspondence was received from the applicant.  
4. 
On 19 February 2024, the OAIC issued a direction to make a revised decision under 
section 55G [Procedure in IC review – revocation or variation of access refusal 
decision] of the FOI Act by 19 March 2024. On 19 March 2024, Defence wrote to the 
OAIC seeking further time to issue a revised decision. At the time of signing, a 
response had yet to be received. 
5. 
On 18 March 2024, Defence wrote to the applicant advising that their request would 
be processed to the terms outlined in paragraph 1, as if it was received by Defence on 
the applicants intended date. 
Scope of external review  
6. 
In view of the OAICs correspondence of 19 February 2024, five documents matching 
the scope of the applicant’s request have become the subject of an external review 
process. 
7. 
The purpose of this correspondence is to provide the applicant with a revised decision 
under section 55G the FOI Act. 
FOI decision maker 
8. 
I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23 of the FOI Act to make a decision on 
this FOI request. 
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Documents identified 
9. 
I have identified five documents as falling within the scope of the request.   
Exclusions 
10. 
Signatures contained in documents that fall within the scope of the FOI request, 
duplicates of documents, and documents sent to or from the applicant are excluded 
from this request. Defence has only considered final versions of documents. 
Revised Decision under section 55G of the FOI Act 
11. 
I have decided to:  
a.  release two documents in full; 
b.  partially release three documents in accordance with section 22 [access to edited 
copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted] of the FOI Act on the grounds 
that the deleted material is considered exempt under sections 47E [public interest 
conditional  exemptions  -  operations  of  agency]  and  47F  [public  interest 
conditional exemptions - personal privacy] of the FOI Act;  
c.  remove irrelevant material in accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act.  
Material taken into account 
12. 
In making my decision, I have had regard to: 
a.  the terms of the request; 
b.  the content of the identified documents in issue; 
c.  relevant provisions of the FOI Act;  
d.  the  Guidelines  published  by  the  Office  of  the  Australian  Information 
Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act (the Guidelines); and 
e.  advice received from subject matter experts within the Defence News Bureau, 
Governance Group.
REASONS FOR DECISION 
Section 22 – Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted 
13. 
Section 22 of the FOI Act permits an agency to prepare and provide an edited copy of 
a document where the agency has decided to refuse access to an exempt document or 
that to give access to a document would disclose information that would reasonably be 
regarded as irrelevant to the request for access.   
14. 
The documents contain exempt material and information that does not relate to the 
request.  
15. 
I am satisfied that it is reasonably practicable to remove the exempt and irrelevant 
material and release the documents to you in an edited form.  
 
 
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Section 47E – Public interest conditional exemptions – certain operations of agencies  
16. 
Section 47E of the FOI Act states: 
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or could 
reasonably be expected to, do any of the following:  
… 
(c) 
have a substantial adverse effect on the management or assessment of 
personnel by the Commonwealth or by an agency; 
(d) 
have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of 
the operations of the agency. 
17. 
In relation to section 47E(c) of the FOI Act, the Guidelines provide, at paragraph 
6.113, that: 
Where the document relates to the agency’s policies and practices relating to the 
assessment  and  management  of  personnel, the decision maker must address  both 
elements of the conditional exemption in s 47E(c), namely, that: 
  an effect would reasonably be expected following disclosure  
  the expected effect would be both substantial and adverse. 
18. 
I find that certain material contains doctored images and commentary in which 
disclosure would, or could reasonably cause an adverse effect on personnel.  
19. 
Releasing the information identifying individuals or groups involved in a particular 
analysis, information detailing how information is analysed and determined to be 
offensive could reasonably be expected to have a substantial adverse effect on 
Defence’s management of Social Media content. Maintaining the integrity of these 
processes is paramount. Releasing details concerning the determinations of offensive 
content could adversely affect Defence’s ability to conduct future investigations if 
employees felt Defence lacked integrity with respect to protecting the confidentiality 
of investigation records; thus affecting the proper and efficient conduct of the 
operations of Defence. 
20. 
Based on my consideration of the above I am of the view that release of removed 
content would have a substantial adverse effect on the individuals, management and 
assessment of personnel, and the efficient and proper conduct of the operations of 
Defence. 
21. 
In relation to section 47E(d) of the FOI Act, the Guidelines, at paragraph 6.123, 
provide that: 
  The predicted effect must bear on the agency’s ‘proper and efficient’ operations, 
that is, the agency is undertaking its expected activities in an expected manner. 
22. 
The documents contain group inbox details, the release of which would undermine the 
operation of established channels of communication with the public. I am satisfied that 
the release of this information would have a substantial adverse effect on the proper 
and efficient operation of existing public communication channels. Further, I am 
 
 
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satisfied of a reasonable expectation that the information could be used 
inappropriately, in a manner which adversely affects the health, wellbeing and work of 
Defence personnel. Disclosure of internal email inbox details could, therefore, 
reasonably be expected to prejudice the operations of Defence. 
23. 
Additionally, I have found that the documents contain information relating to the 
operational processes of Defence, particularly the methods used to assess and report 
offensive social media content. The documents also contain links to Defence 
information holdings and internal guidance and training material. In order to 
determine if the disclosure would, or could reasonably be expected to have a 
substantial, adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of 
Defence, I have considered the functions of the relevant area within Governance 
Group. 
24. 
I consider that the relevant information would, or could reasonably be expected to 
release information about the internal workings and processes of the area, which 
would impact the ability of these areas to undertake their usual functions, including 
the ability to have frank discussions about relevant processes such as reporting 
potentially offensive social media content. This could reasonably be expected to 
prejudice the effectiveness of each area’s current operations in relation to undertaking 
their usual functions. 
25. 
The Guidelines provide, at paragraph 6.120, that I should consider whether disclosure 
of the information ‘would, or could reasonably be expected to lead to a change in the 
agency’s processes that would enable those processes to be more efficient.’ Given that 
the direct contact details within the documents are not publicly available and that more 
appropriate communication channels are already available, and that there are 
established processes within Defence to allow line areas to undertake their usual 
functions, I am satisfied that release of the information could reasonably be expected 
to lead to a change in Defence’s processes that would not lead to any efficiencies. 
26. 
Accordingly, I am satisfied that the relevant information contained within the 
documents is conditionally exempt under sections 47E(c) and 47E(d) of the FOI Act. 
Section 47F – Public interest conditional exemptions - personal privacy  
27. 
Section 47F(1) of the FOI Act states: 
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would involve the 
unreasonable  disclosure  of  personal  information  about  any  person  (including  a 
deceased person).  
28. 
The FOI Act shares the same definition of ‘personal information’ as the Privacy Act 
1988 (Cth). The Guidelines provide that: 
6.128 Personal information  means information or an opinion about  an identified 
individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable: 
(a) 
whether the information or opinion is true or not; and 
(b) 
whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or 
not. 
 
 
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29. 
I found that the information contains personal information of a number of individuals. 
The documents include names and email addresses which if disclosure, could 
reasonably be expected to identify the third parties. 
30. 
In my assessment of whether the disclosure of personal information is unreasonable, I 
considered the following factors in accordance with section 47F(2): 
a. the extent to which the information is well 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; and 
d. the effect the release of the personal information could reasonably have on the 
third party. 
31. 
I found that the personal information relating to the third parties is not readily 
available from publicly accessible sources and could reasonably identify or cause 
harm to the individuals.  
32. 
Accordingly, I am satisfied that the information is conditionally exempt under section 
47F of the FOI Act. 
Public interest considerations - sections 47E and 47F 
33. 
Section 11A(5) of the FOI Act states: 
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document if it is 
conditionally exempt at a particular time unless (in the circumstances) 
access to the document at that time would, on balance, be contrary to the 
public interest.  
34. 
I have considered the factors favouring disclosure as set out in section 11B(3) [factors 
favouring access] of the FOI Act. The relevant factors being whether access to the 
document would: 
(a) promote the objects of this Act (including all the matters set out in 
sections 3 and 3A); 
(b) inform debate on a matter of public importance; 
(c) promote effective oversight of public expenditure. 
35. 
In my view, disclosure of this information would not increase public participation in 
the Defence process (section 3(2)(a) of the FOI Act), nor would it increase scrutiny or 
discussion of Defence activities (section 3(2)(b) of the FOI Act). 
36. 
Paragraph 6.22 of the Guidelines specifies a non-exhaustive list of public interest 
factors against disclosure. The factors I find particularly relevant to this request are 
that release of this information could reasonably be expected to prejudice:  
  the protection of an individual’s right to privacy;  
 
 

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  the interests of an individual or a group of individuals; 
  an agency’s ability to obtain confidential information; 
  an agency’s ability to obtain similar information in the future; and 
  the management and personnel management function of an agency. 
37. 
While I accept that there is a public interest to ensure that Defence maintains the 
Commonwealth’s good internal working relationships with its stakeholders, I consider 
that the release of this information would harm the effectiveness in obtaining similar 
information or have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of 
the operations of Defence and the management of its personnel. In my view, this 
would not be in the public interest. 
38. 
I have not taken any of the factors listed in section 11B(4) [irrelevant factors] of the 
FOI Act into account when making this decision.  
39. 
I am satisfied, based on the above particulars, the public interest factors against 
disclosure outweigh the factors for disclosure, and that, on balance, it is against the 
public interest to release the information to you. Accordingly, I find that the 
information is exempt under sections 47E and 47F of the FOI Act. 
FURTHER INFORMATION 
40. 
Two of the documents, although matching the scope of this request, are not current 
and are no longer in use by Defence. These documents are marked accordingly in the 
Schedule of Documents for the applicant’s information. 
 
 
 
Luke  
Decision Maker 
Governance Group 
Department of Defence 
 
3 April 2024