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LEX 67613 
 
 
Decision and Statement of reasons issued under the Freedom of 
Information Act 1982  
Decision and reason for decision of Jarrad (Position Number 62331110),  
Director, Information Access Unit Information Access Unit,  
Client and Information Access Branch, Department of Veterans’ Affairs 
 
 
Applicant: 
 
 
Alan Ashmore 
 
Decision date: 
 
21 August 2024 
 
FOI reference number: 
LEX  67613 
 
Sent by email: 
 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
 
Dear Mr Ashmore,  
Freedom of Information Request: LEX 67613 
Decision 
 
1. 
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (Department) has undertaken a reasonable search of its 
records and has identified one (1) document relevant to your request.  
 
2. 
I have made a decision to grant access in part to one (1) document. 
 
3. 
The document that I have chosen to grant access in part to are set out in Schedule 1, 
together with applicable exemption provisions. Where I have decided to grant access in part, 
I have provided access to an edited copy of the document, modified by deletions in 
accordance with section 22(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).  
 
Authority to make decision 
 
4. 
I, Jarrad (Position Number 62331110), Director, Information Access Officer, Information 
Access Unit, Client and Information Access Branch, am an officer authorised by the Secretary 
of the Department to make decisions about access to document in the possession of the 
Department in accordance with section 23(1) of the FOI Act.  
1 
 
Summary 
 
5. 
On 17 May 2024 you made a request for access to documents in the possession of the 
Department. Your request sought access to: 
 
“…'INFORMATION I AM SEEKING UNDER FOI: 
I require, in full, the independent review that DVA’s Teena Blewitt was referring to in 
her correspondence to several veterans…” 
 
6. 
On 20 May 2024, the Department acknowledged your request via email.  
 
7. 
As no extensions of time have been applied to process your request, a decision on your 
request was due by 17 June 2024. 
 
8. 
In accordance with section 15AC of the FOI Act, the principal officer of the Department is 
taken to have made a decision personally refusing to give access to the documents on the 
last day of the initial decision period. Even where a decision has not been issued within the 
prescribed timeframe, the Department retains an obligation to process and finalise the FOI 
request. I would like to apologise for the delay in issuing this decision to you and any 
inconvenience it may have caused.   
 
9. 
As a decision on your request was not made within the timeframe as prescribed in section 
15(5)(b) of the FOI Act, Regulation 7(2) of the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 
2019 prescribed that no charge is payable.  
 
Material taken into account  
 
10.  In accordance with section 26(1)(a) of the FOI Act, my findings on any material question of 
fact, the material on which those findings were based and the reasons for my decision to 
grant partial access to the document follow.   
 
11.  I have taken the following material into account in making my decision: 
 
▪  the terms of your request on 17 May 2024; 
 
▪  the types of information and documents that are in the Department’s possession; 
 
▪  the content of the document that fall within the scope of your request; 
2 
▪  Sections 3, 11 and 11A of the FOI Act which give the Australian community a legally 
enforceable right to obtain access to information held by the Government of the 
Commonwealth. I also considered the following provisions of the FOI Act relevant to 
my decision:  
 
-  Section 11B   Public interest exemption – factors 
-  Section 15 
Request for Access 
-  Section 22   Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant material deleted 
-  Section 33  Documents affecting national security, defence or international 
relations  
-  Section 37  Documents affecting law enforcement and protection of public safety 
-  Section 47E  Public interest conditional exemptions--certain operations of agencies 
-  Section 47F  Public interest conditional exemptions--personal privacy 
 
▪  the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A 
of the FOI Act (FOI Guidelines);  
 
12.  A full extract of all FOI Act provisions used to make my decision are provided in Schedule 2.  
 
Reasons for decision  
 
13.  I have decided to grant access to the document within the scope of your request, subject to 
the following exemptions in accordance with the FOI Act: 
 
Documents affecting national security, defence or international relations (section 33) 
 
14.  Section 33 of the FOI Act provides that a document is an exempt document if its disclosure:  
 
(a) 
would, or could reasonably be expected to, cause damage to: 
 
(i) 
the security of the Commonwealth; 
 
(ii) 
the defence of the Commonwealth; or 
 
(iii) 
the international relations of the commonwealth; or 
 
(b) 
would divulge any information or matter communicated in confidence by or on 
behalf of a foreign government, an authority of a foreign government or an 
international organisation to the Government of the Commonwealth, to an 
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authority of the Commonwealth or to a person receiving the communication on 
behalf of the Commonwealth or of an authority of the Commonwealth. 
 
15.  I note that paragraph 5.28 of the FOI Guidelines provides that ‘damage’ for the purposes 
of this exemption “is not confined to loss or damage in monetary terms. The relevant 
damage may be intangible, such as inhibiting future negotiations between the Australian 
Government and a foreign government, or the future flow of confidential information 
from a foreign government or agency.” 
 
16.  Further, paragraph 5.39 of the FOI Guidelines states: “When evaluating the potential 
harmful effects of disclosing documents that affect Australia’s national security, defence 
or international relations, decision makers may take into account not only the contents 
of the document but also the intelligence technique known as the ‘mosaic theory’. This 
theory holds that individually harmless pieces of information, when combined with other 
pieces, can generate a composite — a mosaic — that can damage Australia’s national 
security, defence or international relations.” 
 
17.  I find that section 33(a) of the FOI Act applies to the document in part as it contains 
information about the role of the Department’s Security team in supporting national and 
overseas events, including commemorations. I am of the view that disclosure of this content 
would cause, or could reasonably be expected to cause, the damage specified in section 
33(a) of the FOI Act 
 
18.  As section 33 of the FOI Act is not a conditional exemption, I am not required to consider a 
public interest test. 
 
Documents affecting law enforcement and protection of public safety (section 37) 
 
19.  Section 37 of the FOI Act provides that a document is an exempt document if its disclosure 
would or could reasonably be expected to:  
 
(a) 
prejudice the conduct of an investigation of a breach, or possible breach, of the law, 
or a failure, or possible failure, to comply with a law relating to taxation or 
prejudice the enforcement or proper administration of the law in a particular 
instance; 
 
(b) 
disclose, or enable a person to ascertain, the existence or identity of a confidential 
source of information, or the non-existence of a confidential source of information, 
in relation to the enforcement or administration of the law; or 
4 
 
(c) 
endanger the life or physical safety of any person. 
 
20.  I consider that the document contains information about the Department’s lawful 
investigative methods and procedures. The release of this information could 
reasonably be expected to disclose or give insight to these methods or procedures used 
for preventing, detecting or managing certain security incidents, and thereby prejudice 
the effectiveness of the methods or procedures in the future. I have therefore decided 
this information is exempt from disclosure under section 37(2)(b) of the FOI Act. 
 
21.  As section 37 of the FOI Act is not a conditional exemption, I am not required to consider a 
public interest test. 
 
Public interest conditional exemptions--certain operations of agencies (sections 47E(d)) 
 
22.  The documents within the scope of your application contain the names and contact 
information of staff of the Department. I have decided that s 47E(c) and 47E(d) applies to 
this material, as identified in Schedule 1. 
 
23.  Section 47E(c) conditionally exempts documents where disclosure would, or could 
reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the management or 
assessment of personnel by the Commonwealth or an agency. Management of personnel by 
the Department includes, among other things, human resources policies and activities, 
recruitment, and work health and safety. 
 
Section 47E(d) conditionally exempts documents where disclosure would, or could 
reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient 
conduct of the operations of an agency. 
 
24.  The document contains critical operational and/or sensitive information, such as the 
Department’s internal and external security incident protocols; certain internal operational 
systems; and information about the resourcing, training and structure of the Department’s 
Integrity, Information and Security Branch. 
 
25.  I have decided that section 47E(d) of the FOI Act applies to this material, as identified in 
Schedule 1, considering the potential for misuse of some of the redacted information if 
disclosed, and the fact that the information is not a matter of public knowledge and is 
strictly limited to staff authorised to access it within the Department. I find that 
disclosure of the information could therefore substantially harm the effectiveness of the 
Department’s internal operations, particularly relating to how it prevents, detects and 
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responds to certain security incidents, and manages staff within the relevant Branch. 
 
26.  Services Australia was consulted in relation to information within the document which 
pertains to their agency. They advised that some of the information concerning their 
agency’s internal procedures is not appropriate for release, and is not publicly available. 
Services Australia’s purpose is to provide high-quality government services and payments to 
Australians. Part of this customer-facing role is to manage certain security and safety issues, 
through their established security procedures. Exposure of this information could pose a risk 
to staff or customers by disclosing their approach in responding to certain incidents, thereby 
enabling a person with adverse intent to circumvent their safety and security measures to 
endanger themselves or others. I agree with their views regarding disclosure of this 
information, and find it to be conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act. 
 
27.  The Department has policies and procedures to support staff within its operating 
environment and to meet its obligations as an employer to provide a safe working 
environment. Some policies restrict the amount of identifying information generally 
provided by individual staff members to clients. For example, staff are generally required to 
identify themselves in correspondence with clients by a given name and position number. 
 
28.  This is consistent with the approach taken by other Commonwealth agencies with similar 
functions, including provision of support services and administration of statutory benefits 
schemes. 
 
29.  Implementation of these policies provides staff at more junior levels with confidence that 
they will not be inappropriately named or contacted in relation to actions taken in the 
course of their routine work for the Department. 
 
30.  Disclosure of identifying information about staff members contained within the documents 
would be inconsistent with these Departmental policies. Knowledge that identifying 
information about them may be disclosed in documents accessed under the FOI Act would 
be likely to undermine the confidence of staff in Departmental policies intended to support 
their work health and safety. Staff concern about inappropriate contact and the potential for 
harassment by clients is based on known instances of such things occurring. For example, 
public identification of individual staff members in an online client forum. 
 
31.  An adverse effect on the Department’s ability to manage staff could reasonably be expected 
to result from widespread staff concern about disclosure of identifying information about 
staff members. Staff members may experience concern even when not based on personal 
experience of harassment. 
 
32.  I also note that the Department provides a wide range of services to its clients. To facilitate 
efficient conduct of its operations, the Department has established channels for 
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communication on specific topics and in relation to specific services. These channels, such as 
email inboxes and telephone support lines, enable services to be delivered efficiently by 
directing clients to the most appropriate point of contact. In addition, the Department is 
able to manage staffing efficiently by providing staff with access to communication points 
attached to a role rather than to an individual.  
 
33.  Disclosure of identifying information about staff members in these documents would 
disclose contact details for individual staff members, which is not generally available. Once 
contact details for individual staff members are disclosed they are likely to become publically 
known through private correspondence. Making it possible for clients to address 
correspondence to individual staff members or to seek to contact individuals directly is likely 
to undermine Departmental arrangements to channel communications based on role rather 
than individual. Reduced efficiency in communication and delivery of services could 
reasonably be expected to result. 
 
34.  Accordingly, for the reasons outlined above I consider that certain material, as identified in 
Schedule 1, meets the criteria for conditional exemption under section 47E(c) and 47E(d) of 
the FOI Act.  
 
Public interest conditional exemptions--personal privacy (section 47F) 
 
35.  Section 47F of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure 
would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person 
(including a deceased person).  
 
36.  Section 4 of the FOI Act provides that personal information has the same meaning as in the 
Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). Personal information is defined in section 6 of the Privacy Act 
as: 
 
..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; 
 
(b) 
whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.  
 
37.  The elements of ‘personal information’ are: 
 
(a) 
it relates only to a natural person (not, for example, a company); 
 
7 
(b) 
it says something about the individual; 
 
(c) 
 it may be in the form of an opinion, it may be true or untrue, and it may form 
part of a database; 
 
(d) 
the individual’s identity is known or is reasonably ascertainable using the 
information in the document. 
 
38.  If information is personal information, it will be conditionally exempt if disclosure would be 
‘unreasonable’.  In considering whether disclosure would be unreasonable, section 47F(2) of 
the FOI Act requires me to take into account: 
 
(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) 
any other matter I consider relevant. 
 
39.  The documents outlined in Schedule 1 contain the names and contact information of staff of 
the Department. Contact details of an individual staff member, such as their signature is 
personal information about that person. 
 
40.  The Department has policies and procedures to support staff within its operating 
environment and to meet its obligations as an employer to provide a safe working 
environment. Some policies restrict the amount of identifying information generally 
provided by individual staff members to clients. As outlined above, staff are generally 
required to identify themselves in correspondence with clients by a given name and position 
number. This reduces the likelihood that individuals are reasonably identifiable in a different 
context. For example, it reduces the likelihood that a private social media profile can be 
linked with an individual who is a staff member of the Department. 
 
41.  I consider that disclosure of personal information of individual staff members in the 
document would be unreasonable because it would be inconsistent with Departmental 
policies and procedures designed to support a safe and efficient working environment. 
Additionally, it would be unreasonable because it would be contrary to the expectations of 
those individual staff members, who may rely on those Departmental policies and 
8 
procedures for assurance of their personal privacy. 
 
42.  Accordingly, I have decided that the parts of documents which are listed as exempt in 
accordance with this provision in Schedule 1, meet the criteria for conditional exemption. 
Where a document is assessed as conditionally exempt, access must be given subject to the 
public interest test in accordance with section 11A(5).  
 
Application of the public interest test – sections 47E(d), 47F 
 
Application of the public interest test: 
 
43.  Section 11A(5) provides that an agency 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 would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.   
 
44.  In order to assess whether release of the exempt material would be contrary to the public 
interest, I considered the following factors which favour disclosure: 
 
(a) 
disclosure would promote the objects of the FOI Act, including: 
 
(i) 
inform the community of the Government’s operations, including, in 
particular, the policies, rules, guidelines, practices and codes of conduct 
followed by the Government in its dealings with members of the 
community;  
 
(iv) 
reveal the reason for a government decision and any background or 
contextual information that informed the decision; and 
 
(i) 
disclosure could advance the fair treatment of individuals and other entities in 
accordance with the law in their dealings with agencies;  
 
45.  I also considered the following factors which do not favour disclosure: 
 
(a)   
disclosure would, or could reasonably be expected to, unreasonably affect that 
person adversely in respect of his or her lawful business or professional affairs or 
that organisation or undertaking in respect of its lawful business, commercial or 
financial affairs;  
 
9 
(b) 
disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the future supply of 
information to the Commonwealth, Norfolk Island or an agency for the purpose of 
the administration of a law of the Commonwealth or of a Territory or the 
administration of matters administered by an agency. 
 
(b) 
disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the fair treatment of 
individuals and the information is about unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct 
or unlawful, negligent or improper conduct;  
 
(c) 
disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice security, law enforcement, 
public health or public safety; 
 
(d) 
disclosure could reasonably be expected to impede the administration of justice 
generally, including procedural fairness;  
 
(e) 
disclosure could reasonably be expected to impede the administration of justice for 
an individual; 
 
(g) 
disclosure could reasonably be expected to impede the flow of information to the 
police or another law enforcement or regulatory agency;  
 
(h) 
disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice an agency’s ability to obtain 
confidential information;  
 
(i) 
disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice an agency’s ability to obtain 
similar information in the future; 
 
(k) 
disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of an individual or 
group of individuals; and 
 
(m) 
disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the management function of 
an agency;  
 
46.  I have placed greater weight on these factors. I consider that disruption of established 
channels for communication and delivery of services would be likely to follow disclosure of 
contact information about individual staff members. I consider that impairment of the 
Department’s ability to efficiently deliver services to veterans and their families could 
reasonably be expected as a result. Further, I consider that there is little public interest in 
the disclosure of information identifying individuals who are, or have been, staff members in 
10 
roles more junior than the Senior Executive Service. Disclosure of that information could 
reasonably be expected to result in interference with the privacy of those individuals by 
enabling them to be identified in their private lives and associated with actions for which the 
Department is responsible. 
 
47.  I am satisfied that no irrelevant factor has been considered, as set out in section 11B(4) of 
the FOI Act.  
 
48.  On balance, I consider the public interest factors against disclosure to be more persuasive 
than the public interest factors favouring disclosure. I am satisfied that the public interest is 
to withhold the exempt material.  
 
Delete exempt or irrelevant material from documents and provide access to edited copies 
(section 22) 
 
49.  The Department may refuse access to a document on the grounds that it is exempt. If so, the 
Department must consider whether it would be reasonably practicable to prepare an edited 
copy of the document for release, that is, a copy with relevant deletions made under 
section 22 of the FOI Act. The Department is under the same obligation to consider 
preparing an edited copy of a document by removing information that would reasonably be 
regarded as irrelevant to the request. 
 
50.  As explained above, some of the documents subject to your request contain 
exempt/irrelevant information.  
 
51.  On this basis, I have prepared the documents for release by removing the exempt and 
irrelevant material in accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act. The material that has been 
edited for release is marked within the documents as well as at Schedule 1. 
 
Access to documents 
 
52.  The document released to you in accordance with the FOI Act is enclosed. 
 
 
Information Publication Scheme 
 
53.  The Information Publication Scheme requires the Department to publish information 
released in response to individual requests made under the FOI Act, except in specified 
circumstances.  
 
11 
54.  I am of the view that details of your request should be made available on the Department’s 
FOI Disclosure Log. As such, details of your request will be published on the Department’s 
FOI Disclosure Log which can be accessed at http://www.dva.gov.au/about-dva/freedom-
information/foi-disclosure-log. Please note that the Department does not publish details of 
FOI applicants, it only publishes details of the FOI request and the documents released in 
response to the request. 
 
Your rights of review 
 
Deemed refusal 
 
55.  If you are dissatisfied with my decision you may apply for Information Commissioner Review 
of the decision through the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). In 
accordance with section 54E(b) of the FOI Act, internal review is not available as the 
Department did not finalise your FOI request within the prescribed statutory timeframe.  
 
OAIC review  
 
56.  Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the OAIC to review my decision. An 
application for review by OAIC must be made in writing within 60 days of the date of this 
letter, and be lodged in one of the following ways: 
 
Online: 
www.oaic.gov.au   
Post:    
Director of FOI Dispute Resolution 
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner 
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001 
Facsimile:  
(02) 9284 9666 
Phone: 
1300 363 992 
Email:   
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx  
 
57.  More information about your review rights under the FOI Act is available in Fact Sheet 12 
published by the OAIC: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-
complaints/information-commissioner-review/  
 
Contact us 
 
58.  If you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the Information Access 
Unit using the following details: 
 
Online:  
https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview/reporting/freedom-
information/access-information   
12 
Post:  
Information Access Unit 
Department of Veterans’ Affairs 
GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001 
Phone:  
1800 838 372 
Email:   
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx  
 
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
Jarrad (Position Number 62331110) 
Director, 
Information Access Unit 
Client and Information Access Branch 
Department of Veterans’ Affairs 
 
21 August 2024 
13 


 
LEX 67613 
Schedule 2 
 
 
Schedule of relevant provisions in the FOI Act  
3   
Objects—general 
(1) 
The objects of this Act are to give the Australian community access to information held by 
the Government of the Commonwealth or the Government of Norfolk Island, by: 
 
 
(a) 
requiring agencies to publish the information; and 
 
 
(b) 
providing for a right of access to documents. 
(2) 
The Parliament intends, by these objects, to promote Australia’s representative democracy 
by contributing towards the following: 
(a) 
increasing public participation in Government processes, with a view to promoting 
better informed decision-making; 
(b) 
increasing scrutiny, discussion, comment and review of the Government’s 
activities. 
(3) 
The Parliament also intends, by these objects, to increase recognition that information held 
by the Government is to be managed for public purposes, and is a national resource. 
(4) 
The Parliament also intends that functions and powers given by this Act are to be 
performed and exercised, as far as possible, to facilitate and promote public access to 
information, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost. 
  
11   
Right of access 
(1) 
Subject to this Act, every person has a legally enforceable right to obtain access in 
accordance with this Act to: 
 
 
(a) 
a document of an agency, other than an exempt document; or 
 
 
(b) 
an official document of a Minister, other than an exempt document. 
 
(2) 
Subject to this Act, a person’s right of access is not affected by: 
 
 
(a) 
any reasons the person gives for seeking access; or 
(b) 
the agency’s or Minister’s belief as to what are his or her reasons for seeking 
access. 
  
11A    Access to documents on request 
Scope 
 
(1) 
This section applies if: 
(a) 
a request is made by a person, in accordance with subsection 15(2), to an agency or 
Minister for access to: 
 
 
 
(i) 
a document of the agency; or 
 
 
 
(ii) 
an official document of the Minister; and 
(b) 
any charge that, under the regulations, is required to be paid before access is given 
has been paid. 
 
(2) 
This section applies subject to this Act. 
Note: 
Other provisions of this Act are relevant to decisions about access to documents, for example the following: 
(a) 
section 12 (documents otherwise available); 
(b) 
section 13 (documents in national institutions); 
(c) 
section 15A (personnel records); 
(d)  
section 22 (access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted). 
  
15 
Mandatory access—general rule 
(3) 
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document in accordance with 
this Act, subject to this section. 
Exemptions and conditional exemptions 
(4) 
The agency or Minister is not required by this Act to give the person access to the 
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is an exempt document. 
Note: 
Access may be given to an exempt document apart from under this Act, whether or not in response to a request 
(see section 3A (objects—information or documents otherwise accessible)). 
 (5) 
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. 
Note 1:  Division 3 of Part IV provides for when a document is conditionally exempt. 
Note 2:  A conditionally exempt document is an exempt document if access to the document would, on balance, be 
contrary to the public interest (see section 31B (exempt documents for the purposes of Part IV)). 
Note 3:  Section 11B deals with when it is contrary to the public interest to give a person access to the document. 
 (6) 
Despite subsection (5), the agency or Minister is not required to give access to the 
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is both: 
 
 
(a) 
a conditionally exempt document; and 
 
 
(b) 
an exempt document: 
 
 
 
(i) 
under Division 2 of Part IV (exemptions); or 
(ii) 
within the meaning of paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of exempt 
document in subsection 4(1). 
  
11B   
Public interest exemptions — factors 
Scope  
(1)   
This section applies for the purposes of working out whether access to a conditionally 
exempt document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest under 
subsection 11A(5).  
(2)   
This section does not limit subsection 11A(5).  
Factors favouring access  
(3)   
Factors favouring access to the document in the public interest include whether access to 
the document would do any of the following:  
(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;  
(d)   
allow a person to access his or her own personal information.  
Irrelevant factors  
(4)   
The following factors must not be taken into account in deciding whether access to the 
document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest:  
(a)   
access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Commonwealth 
Government, or cause a loss of confidence in the Commonwealth Government;  
(b)   
access to the document could result in any person misinterpreting or 
misunderstanding the document;  
(c)   
the author of the document was (or is) of high seniority in the agency to which the 
request for access to the document was made;  
(d)   
access to the document could result in confusion or unnecessary debate.  
Guidelines  
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(5)   
In working out whether access to the document would, on balance, be contrary to the 
public interest, an agency or Minister must have regard to any guidelines issued by the 
Information Commissioner for the purposes of this subsection under section 93A.  
 
15  
Requests for access (as related to the requirements for requests) 
Persons may request access  
 (1)   
Subject to section 15A, a person who wishes to obtain access to a document of an agency 
or an official document of a Minister may request access to the document.  
Requirements for request  
(2)   
The request must:  
(a)   
be in writing; and  
(aa)   
state that the request is an application for the purposes of this Act; and  
(b)   
provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably necessary to 
enable a responsible officer of the agency, or the Minister, to identify it; and  
(c)   
give details of how notices under this Act may be sent to the applicant (for 
example, by providing an electronic address to which notices may be sent by 
electronic communication).  
(2A)    The request must be sent to the agency or Minister. The request may be sent in any of the 
following ways:  
(a)   
delivery to an officer of the agency, or a member of the staff of the Minister, at the 
address of any central or regional office of the agency or Minister specified in a 
current telephone directory;  
(b)   
postage by pre-paid post to an address mentioned in paragraph (a);  
(c)   
sending by electronic communication to an electronic address specified by the 
agency or Minister. 
 
 
22   
Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted 
Scope 
 
(1) 
This section applies if: 
 
 
(a) 
an agency or Minister decides: 
 
 
 
(i) 
to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or 
(ii) 
that to give access to a document would disclose information that would 
reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access; and 
(b) 
it is possible for the agency or Minister to prepare a copy (an edited copy) of the 
document, modified by deletions, ensuring that: 
(i) 
access to the edited copy would be required to be given under section 11A 
(access to documents on request); and 
(ii) 
the edited copy would not disclose any information that would reasonably 
be regarded as irrelevant to the request; and 
(c) 
it is reasonably practicable for the agency or Minister to prepare the edited copy, 
having regard to: 
 
 
 
(i) 
the nature and extent of the modification; and 
 
 
 
(ii) 
the resources available to modify the document; and 
(d) 
it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the applicant) that 
the applicant would decline access to the edited copy. 
Access to edited copy 
 
(2) 
The agency or Minister must: 
 
 
(a) 
prepare the edited copy as mentioned in paragraph (1)(b); and 
17 
 
 
(b) 
give the applicant access to the edited copy. 
Notice to applicant 
 
(3) 
The agency or Minister must give the applicant notice in writing: 
 
 
(a) 
that the edited copy has been prepared; and 
 
 
(b) 
of the grounds for the deletions; and 
(c) 
if any matter deleted is exempt matter—that the matter deleted is exempt matter 
because of a specified provision of this Act. 
(4) 
Section 26 (reasons for decision) does not apply to the decision to refuse access to the 
whole document unless the applicant requests the agency or Minister to give the applicant 
a notice in writing in accordance with that section. 
  
23   
Decisions to be made by authorised persons 
(1) 
Subject to subsection (2), a decision in respect of a request made to an agency may be 
made, on behalf of the agency, by the responsible Minister or the principal officer of the 
agency or, subject to the regulations, by an officer of the agency acting within the scope of 
authority exercisable by him or her in accordance with arrangements approved by the 
responsible Minister or the principal officer of the agency. 
(2) 
A decision in respect of a request made to a court, or made to a tribunal, authority or body 
that is specified in Schedule 1, may be made on behalf of that court, tribunal, authority or 
body by the principal officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body or, subject to the 
regulations, by an officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body acting within the scope 
of authority exercisable by him or her in accordance with arrangements approved by the 
principal officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body. 
  
26   
Reasons and other particulars of decisions to be given 
(1) 
Where, in relation to a request, a decision is made relating to a refusal to grant access to a 
document in accordance with the request or deferring provision of access to a document, 
the decision-maker shall cause the applicant to be given notice in writing of the decision, 
and the notice shall: 
(a) 
state the findings on any material questions of fact, referring to the material on 
which those findings were based, and state the reasons for the decision; and 
(aa) 
in the case of a decision to refuse to give access to a conditionally exempt 
document—include in those reasons the public interest factors taken into account 
in making the decision; and 
Note: 
Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it would be contrary to the public 
interest (see section 11A). 
(b) 
where the decision relates to a document of an agency, state the name and 
designation of the person giving the decision; and 
 
 
(c) 
give to the applicant appropriate information concerning: 
 
 
 
(i) 
his or her rights with respect to review of the decision; 
(ii) 
his or her rights to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner in 
relation to the decision; and 
(iii) 
the procedure for the exercise of the rights referred to in subparagraphs (i) 
and (ii); including (where applicable) particulars of the manner in which an 
application for internal review (Part VI) and IC review (Part VII) may be 
made. 
(1A) 
Section 13 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 does not apply to a 
decision referred to in subsection (1). 
(2) 
A notice under this section is not required to contain any matter that is of such a nature 
that its inclusion in a document of an agency would cause that document to be an exempt 
document. 
(see section 11A). 
  
33  
Documents affecting national security, defence or international relations 
18 
A document is an exempt document if disclosure of the document under this Act: 
 
 
(a)  
would, or could reasonably be expected to, cause damage to: 
 
 
 
(i)  
the security of the Commonwealth; 
 
 
 
(ii)  
the defence of the Commonwealth; or 
 
 
 
(iii)  
the international relations of the Commonwealth; or 
(b)  
would divulge any information or matter communicated in confidence by or on 
behalf of a foreign government, an authority of a foreign government or an 
international organization to  the Government of the Commonwealth, to an 
authority of the Commonwealth or to a person receiving the communication on 
behalf of the Commonwealth or of an authority of the Commonwealth. 
  
37  
Documents affecting enforcement of law and protection of public safety 
(1)  
A document is an exempt document if its disclosure under this Act would, or could 
reasonably be expected to: 
(a)  
prejudice the conduct of an investigation of a breach, or possible breach, of the 
law, or a failure, or possible failure, to comply with a law relating to taxation or 
prejudice the enforcement or proper administration of the law in a particular 
instance; 
(b)  
disclose, or enable a person to ascertain, the existence or identity of a confidential 
source of information, or the non-existence of a confidential source of information, 
in relation to the enforcement or administration of the law; or 
 
 
(c)  
endanger the life or physical safety of any person. 
(2)  
A document is an exempt document if its disclosure under this Act would, or could 
reasonably be expected to: 
 
 
(a)  
prejudice the fair trial of a person or the impartial adjudication of a particular case; 
(b)  
disclose lawful methods or procedures for preventing, detecting, investigating, or 
dealing with matters arising out of, breaches or evasions of the law the disclosure 
of which would, or would be reasonably likely to, prejudice the effectiveness of 
those methods or procedures; or 
(c)  
prejudice the maintenance or enforcement of lawful methods for the protection of 
public safety. 
(2A)  
For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), a person is taken to be a confidential source of 
information in relation to the enforcement or administration of the law if the person is 
receiving, or has received, protection under a program conducted under the auspices of 
the Australian Federal Police, or the police force of a State or Territory, for the protection 
of: 
 
 
(a)  
witnesses; or 
(b)  
people who, because of their relationship to, or association with, a witness need, 
or may need, such protection; or 
 
 
(c)  
any other people who, for any other reason, need or may need, such protection. 
 
(3)  
In this section, law means law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory. 
   
Public interest conditional exemptions 
  
 47E  
Public interest conditional exemptions—certain operations of agencies 
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or could reasonably be 
expected to, do any of the following: 
(a)  
prejudice the effectiveness of procedures or methods for the conduct of tests, 
examinations or audits by an agency; 
(b)  
prejudice the attainment of the objects of particular tests, examinations or audits 
conducted or to be conducted by an agency; 
(c)  
have a substantial adverse effect on the management or assessment of personnel 
by the Commonwealth, by Norfolk Island or by an agency; 
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(d)  
have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the 
operations of an agency. 
Note: Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it would be contrary to the public 
interest (see section 11A). 
  
47F  
Public interest conditional exemptions—personal privacy 
General rule 
(1)  
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). 
(2)  
In determining whether the disclosure of the document would involve the unreasonable 
disclosure of personal information, an agency or Minister must have regard to the following 
matters: 
 
 
(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; 
 
 
(d)  
any other matters that the agency or Minister considers relevant. 
(3)  
Subject to subsection (5), subsection (1) does not have effect in relation to a request by a 
person for access to a document by reason only of the inclusion in the document of matter 
relating to that person.  
Access given to qualified person instead 
 
(4)  
Subsection (5) applies if: 
(a)  
a request is made to an agency or Minister for access to a document of the agency, 
or an official document of the Minister, that contains information concerning the 
applicant, being information that was provided by a qualified person acting in his or 
her capacity as a qualified person; and  
(b)  
it appears to the principal officer of the agency or to the Minister (as the case may 
be) that the disclosure of the information to the applicant might be detrimental to 
the applicant’s physical or mental health, or well-being.  
(5)  
The principal officer or Minister may, if access to the document would otherwise be given 
to the applicant, direct that access to the document, so far as it contains that information, 
is not to be given to the applicant but is to be given instead to a qualified person who: 
(a)  
carries on the same occupation, of a kind mentioned in the definition of qualified 
person in subsection (7), as the first-mentioned qualified person; and 
 
 
(b)  
is to be nominated by the applicant. 
(6)  
The powers and functions of the principal officer of an agency under this section may be 
exercised by an officer of the agency acting within his or her scope of authority in 
accordance with arrangements referred to in section 23. 
 
(7)  
In this section: 
qualified person means a person who carries on, and is entitled to carry on, an occupation 
that involves the provision of care for the physical or mental health of people or for their 
well-being, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes any of the 
following: 
 
 
(a)  
a medical practitioner; 
 
 
(b)  
a psychiatrist; 
 
 
(c)  
a psychologist; 
 
 
(d)  
a counsellor; 
 
 
(e)  
a social worker. 
Note: Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it would be contrary to the public 
interest (see section 11A). 
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