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ANNEXURE A
STATEMENT OF REASONS RELATING TO AN FOI REQUEST BY
MR SQUIGGLE
I, Team Leader Freedom of Information, am an officer authorised under section 23 of the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (Act) to make decisions in relation to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
What follows is my decision and reasons for the decision in relation to your request.
A. BACKGROUND
1. On 25 March 2025, the AFP received your request in the following terms:
“1. The email from Rebel News dated 20 March 2025 with subject heading 'Media Request: AFP
Investigation into eSafety Commissioner's WhatsApp Practices
2. All documents created as a result of the email in point 1 above
3. Any documents that detail complaints or concerns regarding the use of disappearing message by
the eSafety Commissioner
4. The AFP's internal policy regarding its employees' use of disappearing messages”
2. On 26 March 2025, the AFP sought your agreement to an extension of time pursuant to section
15AA. On 28 March 2025, you informed the AFP that you did not agree to the extension of time.
The statutory due date for processing your request was 24 April 2025.
3. Pursuant to section 15AC of the FOI Act, your request was deemed refused as of 25 April 2025,
on the basis that a decision was not made by that date.
4. We apologise for the inconvenience and delay in finalising your request. Since that date, the AFP
has continued to process your request.
B. SEARCHES
5. Searches for documents were undertaken by the following business and operational areas within
the AFP:
• Media;
• FOI Team
• NOSSC Canberra; and
• Chief Information Officer Command,
of the following:
(a) a “text” search of the AFP’s investigation case management system “Police Real-time Online
Management Information System” (PROMIS) for records relating to:
o ‘e-safety commissioner’
o ‘e-safety commissioner’ and ‘whatsapp’
o ‘Rebel News’;
o relevant summary number; and
o ‘Yemini Avraham’;
(b) a “quick” search of the AFP’s investigation case management system PROMIS for records
relating to summary numbers;
(c) a search of all records held by AFP case officers with responsibility for matters relating to the
documents to which you sought access;
(d) a search of the AFP’s intranet; and
(e) a search of AFP Outlook accounts.
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C. WAIVER OF CHARGES
6.
Given the request has exceeded all statutory timeframes as outlined at section 15 of the Act, the
AFP is not able to impose any fees or charges as outlined at Regulation 5(2) & (3) of the
Freedom
of Information (Charges) Regulations 1982.
D. EVIDENCE/MATERIAL ON WHICH MY FINDINGS WERE BASED
7.
In reaching my decision, I have relied on the following:
(a) the scope of your request;
(b) the contents of the documents identified as relevant to the request;
(c) consultation with relevant Commonwealth agencies;
(d) consultation with third parties;
(e) advice from AFP officers with responsibility for matters contained in the documents;
(f) the Act; and
(g) the guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner under section
93A of the Act.
E. DECISION
8. Paragraph [3.160] of the FOI Guidelines states:
Where an access refusal decision is deemed to have been made before a substantive decision
is made, the agency or minister continues to have an obligation to provide a statement of
reasons on the FOI request. This obligation to provide a statement of reasons on the FOI
request continues until any IC review of the deemed decision is finalised.
9. In light of the above, I have prepared a statement of reasons on your FOI request.
10. I have identified 10 documents relevant to your request.
11. Had I made a decision within the statutory processing time, I would have decided to release 10
documents in part with deletions pursuant to sections 22(1)(a)(ii), 47C, 47E(d) and 47F of the Act.
12. A schedule of each of document and details of my decision in relation to each document is at
Annexure B.
13. My reasons for this decision are set out below.
REASONS FOR DECISION
Material to which section 22(1)(a)(ii) applies:
14. Section 22 of the Act allows the AFP to grant access to an edited copy of a document that has
been modified by deletions to remove material that is either exempt or irrelevant to the request.
15. On 28 March 2025, you agreed to exclude the fol owing information from the scope of your
request:
• all identifying information (names, ID numbers, signatures, images) of AFP members and
Commonwealth employees, other than the Senior Executive; and
• AFP and Commonwealth agency contact details other than the official public
channels (direct telephone numbers and email addresses).
16. Further, parts of the document also contain information that does not relate to the subject matter
of your request, specifical y parts of the document contain irrelevant information as this
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information does not relate to the AFP’s internal policy regarding its employees' use of
disappearing messages.
17. Accordingly, I find parts of the document would be reasonably regarded as irrelevant to the
request under section 22(1)(a)(i ) of the Act.
Material to which section 47C applies:
18. Section 47C of the Act provides that:
“(1) A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would disclose matter
(deliberative matter) in the nature of, or relating to, opinion, advice or recommendation
obtained, prepared or recorded, or consultation or deliberation that has taken place, in the
course of, or for the purposes of, the deliberative processes involved in the functions of an
agency or Minister or of the Government of the Commonwealth.”
19. Parts of documents identified as exempt under this section of the Act contain information, the
release of which, is exempt on the grounds that it is an internal working document of the AFP.
These folios would disclose matter in the nature of opinion recommendations or interim
decisions recorded in the course of consultation and deliberation that has taken place for the
purposes of the operational functions of a Commonwealth agency.
20. Further, the document records advice, recommendations and opinion in material prepared by the
AFP during which time members were required to communicate directly, freely and confidentially
on issues which are considered to be sensitive.
21. Section 47C(2) provides that:
“…
(2) Deliberative matters does not include either of the fol owing:
(a)
operational information (see section 8A);
(b)
purely factual material.
22. As the opinion in this information involved analysis of the facts of the review to form a judgement,
I am satisfied that this information is not purely factual material and therefore is not excluded
under section 47C(2) of the Act.
23. I have considered the public interest factors both in favour and against disclosure of the
information in these folios to determine whether disclosure would be contrary to the public
interest.
24. In relation to the factors favouring disclosure, I consider the following are relevant:
(a)
the general public interest in access to documents as expressed in sections 3 and 11B of
the Act; and
(b)
the public interest in people being able to scrutinise the operations of a government
agency and in promoting governmental accountability and transparency.
25. In relation to the factors against disclosure, I consider that the following are relevant:
(c)
if such information was disclosed, it would restrict the ability of AFP employees in future
to record their deliberations and opinions directly, freely and confidentially during the
preparation of media responses on AFP operations; and
(d)
disclosure would prejudice the agency’s ability to form analyses and present its
recommendations in relation to law enforcement operations.
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26. I have considered the public interest factors both in favour and against disclosure and in my view,
in relation to these documents, the factors at (c) and (d) against disclosure outweigh the factors
in favour of disclosure. Accordingly, I find the documents or parts of the documents are exempt
under section 47C of the Act.
Material to which section 47E(d) applies:
27. Section 47E(d) of the Act provides that:
“A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or could reasonably
be expected to, do any of the following:
…
(d)
have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the
operations of an agency;…”
28. The documents or parts of documents identified as exempt under this section of the Act contain
information, the release of which, would have a substantial adverse effect on the conduct of AFP
operations – specifically, the AFP’s expected functions as a law enforcement agency.
29. The information redacted under this section of the Act reveals internal AFP email addresses and
contact details for AFP appointees and public servants of other Commonwealth agencies. These
contact details are not publicly known, such as through government directories or websites. They
are not the established channels of communication with the relevant agencies and to disclose
this information would impact on the AFP’s and other Commonwealth agencies day to day
operations by resulting in the diversion of AFP and Commonwealth agencies resources to
responding to unsolicited correspondence received through those points of contact.
30. Furthermore, public release of this information would expose the agency to diversion of external
enquiries and possible harassing or vexatious communication from the established
communication channels, thereby adversely impacting their agency operations. I am satisfied the
release of this material would have a substantial adverse effect on their agency operations in a
material way.
31. Parts of the document identified as partially exempt under this section of the Act contains AFP
file paths. This operational information is not publicly available, and only known and used
internally within the AFP to facilitate access to AFP systems. The release of AFP computer file
paths outside the agency would expose AFP systems to security vulnerabilities, including
potential unauthorised access to data. This in turn would have a substantial adverse effect on the
conduct of the AFP's operations as a law enforcement agency, by compromising the availability,
security and integrity of the AFP's systems and the confidentiality of highly sensitive information
held on those systems. I am therefore satisfied that this information should be protected and is
conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of the Act.
32. However, I must give access to this information unless, in the circumstances, access at this time
would be contrary to the public interest.
33. I have considered the following factors favouring disclosure:
(a)
the general public interest in access to documents as expressed in sections 3 and 11B of
the Act; and
(b)
the public interest in people being able to scrutinise the operations of a government
agency and in promoting governmental accountability and transparency.
34. While it may be argued the release of this information would promote the objects of the Act,
scrutinise the operations of a government agency and promote government accountability and
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transparency, I consider release would make only a minimal (if any) contribution to those public
interest factors.
35. On the other hand, I consider the prejudice to the agency operations and should be given greater
weight. I have considered the following factors against disclosure:
(c) the need for the agency to maintain the efficiency of current procedures;
(d) that if information concerning internal contact details were revealed, it may have a substantial
adverse effect on the conduct of AFP operations in the future;
(e) if such information was disclosed, it would divert AFP resources from the proper conduct of
their expected operations;
(f) the risk of compromising the security, availability and integrity of AFP systems, and the
confidentiality of information held on those systems; and
(g) the prejudice to AFP law enforcement activities if its systems and confidential information
were subject to unauthorised access.
36. I consider the prejudice to the agency operations to be a factor against disclosure. I give greater
weight to the adverse impact disclosure can be expected to have on agency operations in
ensuring effective and efficient processes and communication channels. Accordingly, I am
satisfied this material is conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) and to disclose this
information would be contrary to the public interest.
Material to which section 47F applies:
37. Section 47F of the Act provides that:
“
(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).”
38. The parts of the document identified as exempt under this section of the Act contain personal
information of individuals other than you. Personal information is information or an opinion about
an individual whose identity is known or easily ascertainable. I find that these documents or parts
of the documents contain details including the name and contact details of third parties.
39. In considering whether release of this information is unreasonable, I have taken into account
factors at section 47F(2), including:
(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 documents;
(c) the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources;
(d) the current relevance of the information; and
(e) the circumstances in which the information was obtained and any expectation of
confidentiality.
40. I find release of this personal information to be unreasonable. Although the person is named, the
balance of the information exempt under this section is not well known nor available from publicly
available sources. The information was obtained by the AFP for the purpose, and in the context of,
responding to an investigation with the expectation that the information remains confidential.
Furthermore, consent by individuals has not been granted on the release of their personal
information.
41. However, I must give access to the folios unless, in the circumstances, access at this time would
on balance be contrary to the public interest.
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42. I have considered the general public interest in access to documents as expressed in sections 3
and 11B of the Act as the factor favouring disclosure.
43. I have considered the following factors against disclosure:
(a) prejudice to the protection of an individual’s right to privacy (including in consideration of
whether their consent was provided);
(b) the risk that if people are aware their personal information could be disclosed, that this would
impede the flow of information to the police;
(c) the need for the agency to maintain the confidentiality with regard to the subject matter and
the circumstances in which the information was obtained;
(d) if such information was disclosed, it may discourage public cooperation in AFP
investigations;
(e) the fact that the information is not on the public record or available from publicly accessible
sources;
(f) the need for the agency to maintain the confidentiality with regard to the subject matter and
the effect that disclosure of the information may have on third parties.
44. While there is a public interest in providing access to documents held by the AFP, I have given
greater weight to the factors against disclosure above and conclude that on balance, disclosure is
not in the public interest.
45. Accordingly, I find the documents or parts of documents are exempt under section 47F of the
Act
.
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ANNEXURE B
SCHEDULE OF DECISION – LEX 3802
RELEASE OF DOCUMENTS – MR SQUIGGLE
Document
Folio
Author
Description
Decision
Exemption
Number
Australian
1.
1-4
Federal Police
Email – Advice needed on media enquiry
Release in Part
Section 22(1)(a)(ii)
Section 47E(d)
(AFP)
Email – Media enquiry – Avi Yemini from Rebel
2.
5-7
AFP
Release in Part
Section 22(1)(a)(ii)
News
3.
8-9
AFP
Email – Media enquiry
Release in Part
Section 22(1)(a)(ii)
Section 47E(d)
Section 22(1)(a)(ii)
4.
10-12
AFP
Email – Advice needed on media enquiry
Release in Part
Section 47E(d)
Section 47C
Section 22(1)(a)(ii)
5.
13-18
AFP
Email – Advice needed on media enquiry
Release in Part
Section 47E(d)
Section 47C
6.
19-20
AFP
Email – Media Request
Release in Part
Section 22(1)(a)(ii)
7.
21-25
AFP
Email – Advice needed on media enquiry
Release in Part
Section 22(1)(a)(ii)
Section 47E(d)
8.
26-27
AFP
Email – Report a Commonwealth crime
Release in Part
Section 22(1)(a)(ii)
Section 47F
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9.
28
AFP
Media Dashboard
Release in Part
Section 22(1)(a)(ii)
Section 47E(d)
Better Practice Guide on AFP Managed Mobile
10.
29-35
AFP
Release in Part
Section 22(1)(a)(ii)
Devices and Social Media
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ANNEXURE C
***YOU SHOULD READ THIS GENERAL ADVICE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE LEGISLATIVE
REQUIREMENTS IN THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 (Cth)***
If you are dissatisfied with a Freedom of Information decision made by the AFP, you can apply for a
review of the decision by the Information Commissioner (IC).
As this decision has been made outside the
statutory time period, the option of internal review by the AFP is not available as per Section 54E of the
FOI Act. For complaints about the AFP’s actions in processing your request, you do not need to seek review by the
IC in making your complaint.
REVIEW RIGHTS under Part VII of the Act Review by the Information Commissioner Section 54L of the FOI Act gives you the right to apply directly to the IC for review of this decision. In
making your application you wil need to provide an address for notices to be sent (this can be an email
address) and a copy of the AFP decision.
Section 54S of the FOI Act provides the timeframes for an IC review submission. For an
access refusal
decision covered by section 54L(2), the application must be made within 60 days. For an
access grant
decision covered by section 54M(2), the application must be made within 30 days.
Applications for IC review may be lodged by email (xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx), using the OAIC’s online
application form (available at www.oaic.gov.au) or addressed to:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5128
Sydney NSW 2001
The IC encourages parties to an IC review to resolve their dispute informal y, and to consider possible
compromises or alternative solutions to the dispute in this matter. The AFP would be pleased to assist
you in this regard.
Complaint If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your FOI request, please let us know what we could
have done better. We may be able to rectify the problem. If you are not satisfied with our response, you
can make a complaint to the IC. A complaint may be lodged using the same methods identified above. It
would assist if you set out the action you consider should be investigation and your reasons or grounds.
More information about IC reviews and complaints is available on the OAIC’s website at
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/.
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