This means that a decision on your request is due by 28 May 2025.
Decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in
relation to FOI requests on behalf of the OAIC.
Subject to the following provisions of the FOI Act, I have made a decision to grant
access in full to one document.
Searches Undertaken
The FOI Act requires that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate documents
within scope of an FOI request.
The following line areas of the OAIC conducted reasonable searches for documents
relevant to you request:
• People and Culture
Searches were conducted across the OAIC’s document storage systems including:
• SAP
The following terms were used when requesting the information required to create
the document under section 17 of the Act:
“Create a document which has a table that shows:
1. The total number of staff in the legal services team as at 1 January 2024
inclusive of APS level and position title.
2. The total number of staff in the legal services team as at 28 April 2025 inclusive
of APS level and position title.”
Reasons for decision
Material taken into account
In making my decision, I have had regard to the following:
• your FOI request dated 28 April 2025.
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• the FOI Act, in particular sections 3, 11, 11A, 15, 17 and 26 of the FOI Act
• the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under
section 93A of the FOI Act to which regard must be had in performing a
function or exercising a power under the FOI Act (FOI Guidelines)
• consultation with line area of the OAIC in relation to your request
Creation of a document in response to your FOI request (section 17)
Pursuant to section 17 of the FOI Act, I have made a decision to create one document
in response to your request. I have made a decision to grant full access to this
document.
Under section 17 of the FOI Act, if an FOI request is made for a document that could
be produced by using a computer ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or
collating stored information, an agency is required to deal with the request as if it
was a request for written documents to which the FOI Act applies.
The FOI Guidelines [at 3.204] explain that section 17 may require an agency to
produce a written document of information that is stored electronical y and not in a
discrete written form, if it does not appear from the request that the applicant
wishes to be provided with a computer tape or disk on which the information is
recorded. The obligation to produce a written document arises if:
• the agency could produce a written document containing the information by
using a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available’ to the
agency for retrieving or collating stored information (section 17(1)(c)(i)), or
making a transcript from a sound recording (section 17(1)(c)(ii)); and
• producing a written document would not substantially and unreasonably
divert the resources of the agency from its other operations (section 17(2)).
If those conditions are met, the FOI Act applies as if the applicant had requested
access to the written document and it was already in the agency’s possession.
Your request sought access to the total number of staff in the legal services team,
inclusive of APS level and their corresponding title from 1 January 2024 to 28 April
2025. Your request also requested to present this information in a section 17
document if necessary.
The People and Culture team confirmed that this information is able to be produced
in a written document through the use of a computer.
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In light of this, a document has been created under section 17 in response to your
request and is included in the schedule of documents attached.
Disclosure log decision
Section 11C of the FOI Act requires agencies to publish online document released to
members of the public within 10 days of release, except if they contain personal or
business information that would be unreasonable to publish.
I have made a decision to publish the documents subject to your request on the
OAIC’s disclosure log.
Release of document
The documents are enclosed for release.
The document is
attached to this email.
Please see the following page for information about your review rights.
Yours sincerely,
Lachlan Smith-Marks
Governance, Risk and Compliance Officer (FOI)
12 May 2025.
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If you disagree with my decision
Internal review
You have the right to apply for an internal review of my decision under Part VI of the
FOI Act. An internal review will be conducted, to the extent possible, by an officer of
the OAIC who was not involved in or consulted in the making of my decision. If you
wish to apply for an internal review, you must do so in writing within 30 days. There
is no application fee for internal review.
If you wish to apply for an internal review, please mark your application for the
attention of the FOI Coordinator and state the grounds on which you consider that
my decision should be reviewed.
Applications for internal reviews can be submitted to:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5228
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Alternatively, you can submit your application by email to xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx, or by fax
on 02 9284 9666.
Further review
You have the right to seek review of this decision by the Information Commissioner
and the Administrative Reviews Tribunal (ART).
You may apply to the Information Commissioner for a review of my decision (IC
review). If you wish to apply for IC review, you must do so in writing within 60 days.
Your application must provide an address (which can be an email address or fax
number) that we can send notices to, and include a copy of this letter. A request for
IC review can be made in relation to my decision, or an internal review decision.
It is the Information Commissioner’s view that it will usually not be in the interests of
the administration of the FOI Act to conduct an IC review of a decision, or an internal
review decision, made by the agency that the Information Commissioner heads: the
OAIC. For this reason, if you make an application for IC review of my decision, and the
Information Commissioner is satisfied that in the interests of administration of the
Act it is desirable that my decision be considered by the ART, the Information
Commissioner may decide not to undertake an IC review.
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Section 57A of the FOI Act provides that, before you can apply to the ART for review
of an FOI decision, you must first have applied for IC review.
Applications for IC review can be submitted online at:
https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=ICR
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Alternatively, you can submit your application to:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5228
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Or by email to xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx, or by fax on 02 9284 9666.
Accessing your information
If you would like access to the information that we hold about you, please contact
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. More information is available on the Access our information page
on our website.
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