FOI25 196 Decision letter and Attachment A C.pdf

Our ref:
FOI25/196
30 July 2025
Mr Bob Buckley
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
copied to: xxxxxxxx@xx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Buckley
Freedom of Information Request FOI25/196 – Decision letter
I write to give you a decision about your request to the Attorney-General's Department (the department)
for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
Your request
On 9 April 2025, you requested access to:
… communication with Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (known as A4) since 1/1/2022. What
communication was received? And what, if anything was done, in relation to the communications?
Note that A4's primary email address for its communication is convenor at a4.org.au
(xxxxxxxx@xx.xxx.xx), and
also, the response MC25-015878 2/4/2025 (which is World Autism Awareness Day) said "The
matters you raise do not fall within the Attorney-General’s portfolio responsibilities ...".
We are very keen to see the basis for this statement.
On 15 April 2025, the department acknowledged your request.
On 20 April 2025, you agreed to a 30-day extension of time under s 15AA of the FOI Act. The OAIC was
provided notice of your extension of time agreement.
On 19 June 2025 you clarified that you are seeking:
… communication with Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (known as A4) since 1/1/2022".
It asked for "information about ..." which includes *records of ...*.
Following engagement with you on the scope of your request the department understands you are seeking
the documents in response to A4 communication.
A decision in relation to your request was due on 10 June 2025 and the decision is deemed pursuant to
subsection 15AC(3).

Paragraph 3.161 of the FOI Guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
(OAIC) provides that 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.
My decision
I am an officer authorised under s 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to freedom of
information requests made to the department.
My statement of reasons in response to your FOI request is set out in Attachment C.
I have identified 24 documents that fall within the scope of your request. I did this by making inquiries of
staff likely to be able to identify relevant documents and arranging for comprehensive searches of relevant
departmental electronic holdings.
In making my decision regarding access to the relevant documents, I have taken the following material into
account:
• the terms of your request
• the content of the documents identified as within scope of your request
• the provisions of the FOI Act, and
• the FOI Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner (the Guidelines).
I have decided to grant access in part to 15 documents and 9 documents in full.
Documents 1 to 23 are documents held in the department's Parliamentary Document System (PDMS),
which manages correspondence. Document 24 is a metadata list which has been generated pursuant to
s 17 of the FOI Act which is described below.
S 17 of the FOI Act relevantly provides that:
(1) Where:
(a)
a request (including a request in relation to which a practical refusal reason exists) is made
in accordance with the requirements of subsection 15(2) to an agency;
(b)
it appears from the request that the desire of the applicant is for information that is not
available in discrete form in written documents of the agency; and
(ba)
it does not appear from the request that the applicant wishes to be provided with a
computer tape or computer disk on which the information is recorded; and
(c)
the agency could produce a written document containing the information in discrete form
by:
(i) the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the agency
for retrieving or collating stored information; or
(ii) the making of a transcript from a sound recording held in the agency;
the agency shall deal with the request as if it were a request for access to a written document so
produced and containing that information and, for that purpose, this Act applies as if the agency
had such a document in its possession.
(2) An agency is not required to comply with subsection (1) if compliance would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from its other operations.
In accordance with s 17 of the FOI Act, the department has used its computer systems to produce
one document which contains information about correspondence that we have received from your
Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/196 Decision letter
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organisation that is falling within the scope of your request. The information in the document
existed in the possession of the department on 9 April 2025 when your FOI request was received.
Additional information
Your review rights under the FOI Act are set out at Attachment A to this letter.
The schedule of documents at Attachment B sets out brief information about each document within the
scope of your request and my decision in relation to access to each of those documents.
The statement of reasons at Attachment C sets out the reasons for my decision to refuse access to certain
material to which you have requested access.
The documents to which I have decided to grant full or partial access under the FOI Act are at
Attachment D.
Questions about this decision
If you wish to discuss this decision, the FOI case officer for this matter is Alistair, who can be reached on
(02) 6141 6666 or by email to xxx@xx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely

Emma Funnell
Assistant Secretary
Strategy and Governance Branch

Attachments
Attachment A:
Review rights
Attachment B:
Schedule of documents
Attachment C:
Statement of reasons
Attachment D:
Documents

Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/196 Decision letter
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Attachment A – Your review rights
If you disagree with my statement of reasons, you may ask for an Information Commissioner review
of the deemed decision.
Information Commissioner review
Information Commissioner review requests must be submitted within 60 days of the relevant
decision, unless an extension of time is granted. Your request should include your contact details, a
copy of my decision, and the reasons why you disagree with my decision. You can apply in one of the
following ways:
Online: https://webform.oaic.gov.au/prod?entitytype=ICRequest&layoutcode=ICRequestWF
Email:   xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Mail:   Director of FOI Dispute Resolution, GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001.
More information about Information Commissioner review is available at:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-rights/freedom-of-
information-reviews/information-commissioner-review.
FOI Complaints
If you are concerned about how we handled your FOI request, please let us know what we could
have done better, as we may be able to rectify the situation. If you are not satisfied with our
response, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner. Your complaint must be in
writing, and can be lodged in one of the following ways:

Online: https://webform.oaic.gov.au/prod?entitytype=Complaint&layoutcode=FOIComplaintWF
Email:   xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Mail:   Director of FOI Dispute Resolution, GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001.
More information about Freedom of Information complaints is available at:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-rights/freedom-of-
information-complaints
Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/196 Decision letter
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Attachment B - Schedule of documents - Freedom of Information Request FOI25/196
Doc
Date
No.  Description
Access decision
Exemption/s applied
no.
pgs
1
10 June 2022
2
Email chain containing your email with subject: URGENT: Attention
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material
AAT President and the Attorney‐General

s 47E(d): Certain operations of agencies

2 27
June
2022  2
Email chain containing your email with subject: Fwd: Your email to
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material

the Australian Government

3
1 November 2022
4
Email chain containing your email with subject: NDIA withholding
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material

information ‐ cannot be trusted

4
16 November 2022  2
Email chain containing your email with subject: improper use of so‐
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material

called Independent Assessors in AAT reviews for autistic NDIS

participants

5
22 November 2022  2
Email chain containing your email with subject: Fwd: DSS FOI LEX
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material

45598 ‐ Decision

6
22 November 2022  3
Email chain containing your email with subject: Fwd: Your question
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material

to ASIC: 1‐51992053870

7
22 November 2022  2
Email chain containing your email with subject: ASIC and fixing our
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material
company address/information

8
30 November 2022  2
System generated email with attached departmental response–
Grant access in full
Nil

MC22‐024471 to 1 November 2022 email

9
19 December 2022
2
Email chain containing your email with subject: please provide
Grant access in full
Nil

Applicants with access to evidence in the AAT

Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/196 Decision letter
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Doc
Date
No. Description
Access decision
Exemption/s applied
no.
pgs
10
4 January 2023
2
System generated email with attached departmental response –
Grant access in full
Nil

MC22‐026467 to 16 December 2022 email

11
31 January 2023
3
Email chain containing your email with subject: Re: Notice of
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material

decision re FOI request ‐ B Buckley ‐ 2022/0256

12
23 March 2023
3
Email chain containing your email with subject: legal aid refused to
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material

vulnerable autistic child
s 47E(d): Certain operations of agencies

13
5 April 2023
2
System generated email with attached departmental response –
Grant access in full
Nil

MC23‐005315 to 22 March 2023 email

14
10 July 2023
4
Email chain containing your email with subject: Re: Notice of
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material

decision re FOI request ‐ B Buckley ‐ 2022/0256

15
23 August 2023
7
Email chain containing your email with subject: Re: Fwd: AAT, NDIS
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material

and more

16
31 August 2023
2
Email chain containing your email with subject: AAT review risks
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material
incomplete, unsatisfactory, and unacceptable outcome

17
17 October 2023
3
System generated email with attached departmental response–
Grant access in full
Nil
MC23‐029194 to 31 August 2023 email

18
24 October 2023
2
System generated email with attached departmental response –
Grant access in full
Nil

MC23‐028622 to 23 August 2023 email

19
11 June 2024
2
Email chain containing webform submission from the contact form
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material
on the Our minister’s website
s 47E(d): Certain operations of agencies

20
8 July 2024
2
System generated email with attached departmental response–
Grant access in full
Nil
MC23‐028622 to 8 June 2024 email

Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/196 Decision letter
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Doc
Date
No.  Description
Access decision
Exemption/s applied
no.
pgs
21
8 March 2025
1
Email chain containing webform submission from the contact form
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material

on the ag.gov.au website
s 47E(d): Certain operations of agencies

22
27 March 2025
2
Email chain containing correspondence that was referred to the
Grant access in part
s 22(1): Irrelevant material
Department of Social Services
s 47E(d): Certain operations of agencies

23
2 April 2025
2
System generated email with attached departmental response –
Grant access in full
Nil
MC25‐015878 ‐ referral to DSS

24 9
April
2025
1 List of correspondence that was sent to the department ‐ list
Grant access in full
Nil

generated from the Parliamentary Document Management System
PDMS pursuant to s 17

Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/196 Decision letter
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Attachment C - Statement of reasons - FOI25/196
This document, when read in conjunction with the schedule of documents at Attachment B,
provides information about the reasons I have decided not to disclose certain material to you in
response to your request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
Section 22: Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted
Section 22 of the FOI Act provides that if an agency decides to give access to a document that would
disclose information that would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request, and it is
possible for the agency to prepare a copy (an edited copy) of the document, modified by deletions,
the agency must prepare the edited copy and give the applicant access to it.
I note that when the department acknowledged your request by email on 15 April 2025, your
agreement was sought to exclude the following the following categories of information from the
scope of your FOI request:
-
duplicates of documents that are in scope;
-
personal information of members of the public;
-
contact details for teams, internal to the department and other agencies
-
personal information belonging to officers of the department and other government
agencies.
On 20 April 2025, you agreed to exclude from your request:
-
duplicates of documents that are in scope;
-
personal information of members of the public; and
-
personal information belonging to officers of the department and other government
agencies.
I have therefore decided to regard the above categories of information as irrelevant to your request
and have deleted this material under s 22 of the FOI Act.
Public interest conditional exemptions
An agency or minister can refuse access to a document or part of a document that is conditionally
exempt from disclosure under Division 3 of Part IV of the FOI Act. Documents for your request which
are conditionally exempt under Division 3 relate to the following category, certain operations of
agencies (s 47E).
Brief information about each of the conditional exemptions applied when making a decision about
disclosure of each of the documents to which you have requested access is set out below. Additional
information about each of these conditional exemptions can be obtained from the Guidelines
available at: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-guidelines/part-6-conditional-
exemptions.
Where a document is assessed as conditionally exempt, it is only exempt from disclosure if
disclosure would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest. The public interest test is weighted
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in favour of giving access to documents so that the public interest in disclosure remains at the
forefront of decision making.
A single public interest test applies to each of the conditional exemptions. This public interest test
includes certain factors that must be taken into account where relevant, and other factors which
must not be taken into account. My reasoning in regard to the public interest are set out under the
heading ‘Section 11A(5): Public interest test’ below.
Section 47E: Public interest conditional exemption - certain operations of agencies

Section 47E of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure 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 or by an agency;
(d)  have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of an
agency.
I have decided to apply s 47E(d) to documents 1, 12, 19, 21 and 22 your request.
Section 47E(d)
Material within the above mentioned documents consists of email addresses and telephone
numbers which are used by the department and the Department of Social Services (DSS) for internal
and operational reasons. I consider that disclosure of this information would be likely to result in
various (including unreasonable and vexatious) communications and inquiries being received into
the relevant areas of the department and DSS, although they are not resourced to manage that
work. I confirm the email addresses and telephone numbers are not publicly available on the
Australian Government Directory, nor do they appear to be otherwise publicly available. I further
note that the department and DSS have established channels of communication through which
members of the community and the media may submit enquiries and feedback.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that this material is conditionally exempt under s 47E(d) of the FOI Act. I
have turned my mind to whether disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public
interest and have included my reasoning in this regard below under the header ‘Section 11A(5):
Public interest test’.
Section 11A(5): Public interest test
Access to a conditionally exempt document must generally be given unless doing so would be
contrary to the public interest. The Guidelines issued by the OAIC provide at paragraph 6.224 that
the public interest test is considered to be:
•  something that is of serious concern or benefit to the public, not merely of individual interest,
•  not something of interest to the public, but in the interest of the public,
•  not a static concept, where it lies in a particular matter will often depend on a balancing of
interests,
•  necessarily broad and non-specific, and
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• related to matters of common concern or relevance to all members of the public, or a
substantial section of the public.
In deciding whether to disclose conditionally exempt material, I have considered the factors
favouring access set out in s 11B(3) of the FOI Act. I have not taken into account the irrelevant
factors listed under s 11B(4) of the FOI Act.
Of the factors favouring disclosure, I consider that release of the conditionally exempt material
identified for your request would promote the objects of the FOI Act by informing the community of
the government’s operations.
The act does not list any specific factors weighing against disclosure. However, I have considered the
non-exhaustive list of factors against disclosure in the Guidelines as well as the particular
circumstances relevant to the conditionally exempt material.
I consider the release of the conditionally exempt material could, as the case may be, reasonably be
expected to prejudice the management function of the Attorney-General’s Department.
On balance, I consider the factors against disclosure outweigh the factors favouring access and that
providing access to the conditionally exempt material identified for your request would be contrary
to the public interest.
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