FOI 24 52 Decision on access Signed.pdf

OFFICIAL

Catherine Minnucci

Office of General Counsel
GPO Box 367
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
CANBERRA CITY   ACT   2601

www.airservicesaustralia.com

ABN 59 698 720 886
Dear Ms Minnucci

FOI 24-52 - Decision on Access

I refer to the request made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) to
Airservices Australia (Airservices) on 3 July 2024 (the request). It seeks access to:

Documents relating to the previously installed noise monitors at Primrose Sands, Connelley’s
Marsh and Richmond to include location, supplier, calibration levels, actual noise data, results
and findings that were used in ASA’s decision making for these areas

I am authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act and the Airservices Instrument of Delegation and
Authorisation to make decisions on primary requests under the FOI Act.

Decision

Access in part

I have decided to grant access in part to the documents sought by the request in part as they
contain material that is:

•  conditionally exempt under sections 47F (personal privacy) of the FOI Act, and access to
that conditionally exempt material would be contrary to the public interest; and/or
•  irrelevant to the scope of the request under section 22 of the FOI Act.

The documents and my decision in relation to each are set out in the schedule of documents at
Attachment A (the Schedule).

The reasons for my decision are set out in the Statement of Reasons at Attachment B.

Review rights and complaints

Information about your rights of review and how you can make a complaint about the handling of
your request is at Attachment C.

Contact

If you wish to discuss my decision please contact me at xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.

Yours sincerely  BOURGET_ Digitally signed by
BOURGET_MR

MR
Date: 2024.07.06
Marcus Bourget
11:36:35 +10'00'
Authorised FOI Decision Maker

6 July 2024

OFFICIAL

ATTACHMENT A

SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS

Doc No.
Description
Decision
1.
Calibration Certificate
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
2.
Calibration Certificate
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
3.
Calibration Certificate
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
4.
Deployment Brief
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
5.
Deployment Brief
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
6.
Deployment Brief
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
7.
Email
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
8.
Hobart Deployment Zones (printout of .kmz file)
Release in full
9.
Noise Data
Release in full
10.
Correllated Noise Data
Release in full
11.
Deployment Report
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
12.
Deployment Report
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information

OFFICIAL

Doc No.
Description
Decision
13.
Deployment Report
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
14.
Hobart Web Track Activation
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
15.
Hobart Weather Station
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
16.
Email
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
17.
Email
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
18.
Email
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
19.
Email
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
20.
Email
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
21.
Email
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
22.
Email
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
23.
Email
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information
24.
Email
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information

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OFFICIAL

Doc No.
Description
Decision
S22 – irrelevant information
25.
Email
Release in part
S47(f) – personal information

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OFFICIAL
ATTACHMENT B

STATEMENT OF REASONS

Material on which the decision is based

I relied on the following material in coming to this decision:

•  the terms of the request;
•  the documents subject to the FOI request;
•  advice from subject matter specialists within Airservices Australia (Airservices) regarding
the nature and sensitivity of the documents subject to the request;
•  the FOI Act; and
•  the guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of the
FOI Act (FOI Guidelines).

Section 22 - Irrelevant material

Section 22 of the FOI Act relevantly provides that if an agency may delete information from a
document where it is irrelevant to a request.

I have found that a document (identified in the Schedule) contains irrelevant matter and have
deleted it pursuant to section 22 of the FOI Act.

Section 47F - personal privacy

Section 47F of the FOI Act relevantly provides that 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). Access to the conditionally exempt document may only
be withheld where it is contrary to the public interest.

Certain documents subject to the request] (identified in the Schedule) contains personal information,
specifically names, addresses, contact information and other personally identifying information. I am
satisfied that this personal information is not publicly available, nor are the individuals concerned
well known to be involved in the matters described in the documents.

I therefore find that disclosure of this personal information would be unreasonable and conditionally
exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.

When considering whether access to this personal information is contrary to the public interest I
acknowledge that access would inherently promote the objects of the FOI Act, demonstrating full
transparency of government. However, providing access to this personal information would also
intrude on the privacy of the individuals to whom the personal information relates whilst also not
providing great insight into the decision making processes of Airservices. This adverse effect
outweights any benefit that could flow from disclosing that personal information.

As a result, I am satisfied that access to the personal information would be contrary to the public
interest, and have decided to withhold access to it.

OFFICIAL

ATTACHMENT C

INFORMATION ON REVIEW RIGHTS

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) gives you the right to apply for a review of this
decision via:

(a)
an internal review; or
(b)
the Australian Information Commissioner (Information Commissioner).

Internal review

If you apply for internal review, it will be carried out by a different decision-maker who will make a
fresh decision on your application. An application for review must be:

(a)
made in writing;
(b)
made within 30 days of receiving this letter; and
(c)
sent to xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.

No particular form is required, but it is desirable to set out in the application the grounds upon which
you consider the decision should be reviewed.

If the internal review results in you not being provided access to all of the documents to which you
have requested access, you have the right to seek a review of that decision by the Information
Commissioner.

Information Commissioner review
You can opt to instead seek external review by the Information Commissioner. To seek review you
must apply to the Information Commissioner within 60 days of the receipt of this decision letter.
Further details on this process can be found on their website at https://www.oaic.gov.au/.
You will also have the opportunity to seek Information Commissioner review of an Internal Review if
you are dissatisfied with its outcome.

Complaints to the Information Commissioner

Information Commissioner

You may also 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. Further
details on this process can be found on their website at https://www.oaic.gov.au/.

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