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DEFENCE FOI 1040/24/25
STATEMENT OF REASONS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
1.
I refer to the revised request by Jonathan Elias (the applicant), dated and received on
21 May 2025 by the Department of Defence (Defence), for access to the following
documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act):
“I request access to documents held by the Department of Defence relating to
payments or contracts with Hudson Global Resources (Aust) Pty Ltd (ABN 21 002 888
762) for recruitment services delivered as part of the STEM Cadetship program.
Specifically, I am seeking the final documents that show:
- The total amount paid to Hudson Global Resources for these services – via the initial
purchase order and any contract variations;
- The nature of the services provided - via the final version of the statements of work;
- Any internal final approval via memos, meeting minutes, or correspondence
discussing these payments with Hudson Global Resources for the STEM Cadetship
program.
Timeframe 2024-2025.”
Background
2.
On 10 May 2025, the applicant submitted a request under the FOI Act to Defence in
the following terms:
“I request access to documents held by the Department of Defence relating to
payments or contracts with Hudson Global Resources (Aust) Pty Ltd (ABN 21 002 888
762) for recruitment services delivered as part of the STEM Cadetship program.
Specifically, I am seeking the most recent documents that show:
- The amount paid to Hudson Global Resources for these services;
- The nature of the services provided (e.g. contracts, statements of work);
- Any internal memos, meeting minutes, or correspondence discussing these payments
or the engagement of Hudson Global Resources for the STEM Cadetship program.
If possible, please limit the scope to the most recent available documents to reduce
processing time. If parts of this request are too broad, I am happy to revise or narrow
the scope.”
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3.
On 21 May 2025, Defence informally consulted with the applicant in relation to the
scope of their request.
On the same day, the applicant revised the scope of their
request as outlined in paragraph 1.
4.
On 19 May 2025, the period for dealing with the request was extended from 9 June
2025 until 9 July 2025 under section 15(6) [extension of processing period to comply
with requirements of section 26A, 27 or 27A] of the FOI Act to enable consultation
with a business in accordance with section 27 of the FOI Act.
FOI decision maker
5.
I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23 of the FOI Act to make a decision on
this FOI request.
Documents identified
6.
I have identified seven (7) documents as falling within the scope of the request.
7.
The decision in relation to each document is detailed in the schedule of documents.
8.
Whilst the amount paid to Hudson Global is publically available on AusTender, I
include the caveat on the seven (7) documents identified within the scope of the
request covers multiple Defence programs, one of which is STEM Cadetship.
Exclusions
9.
Signatures and mobile telephone numbers contained in documents that fall within the
scope of the FOI request, duplicates of documents, and documents sent to or from the
applicant are excluded from this request. Defence has only considered final versions
of documents.
Decision
10.
I have decided to:
a. partially release seven (7) documents in accordance with section 22 [access to
edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted] of the FOI Act on the
grounds that the deleted material is considered exempt under sections 47E
[Public interest conditional exemptions – certain operations of agencies], 47F
[Public interest conditional exemptions – personal privacy] and 47G [Public
interest conditional exemptions – business] of the FOI Act; and
b. remove irrelevant material in accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act.
Material taken into account
11.
In making my decision, I have had regard to:
a. the terms of the request;
b. the content of the identified documents in issue;
c. relevant provisions of the FOI Act;
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d. the Guidelines published by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act (the Guidelines); and
e. advice received as party of a third party consultation process.
REASONS FOR DECISION
Section 22 – Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted
12.
Section 22 of the FOI Act permits an agency to prepare and provide an edited copy of
a document where the agency has decided to refuse access to an exempt document or
that to give access to a document would disclose information that would reasonably be
regarded as irrelevant to the request for access.
13.
The documents identified in the schedule of documents as being released in part
contain exempt and irrelevant material such as mobile telephone numbers and
signatures that do not relate to the request.
14.
Where whole pages are considered to be exempt in full or irrelevant to the scope of the
request, these pages have been removed from the released document pack.
15.
I am satisfied that it is reasonably practicable to remove the exempt and irrelevant
material and release the documents to you in an edited form.
Section 47E – Public interest conditional exemptions – certain operations of agencies
16.
Section 47E of the FOI Act relevantly states:
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would,
or could reasonably be expected to, do any of the following:
…
(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 the agency.
17.
In relation to section 47E(c) of the FOI Act, the Guidelines provide, at paragraph
6.102, that:
Where the document relates to the agency’s policies and practices in relation to
to the assessment and management of personnel, the decision maker must
address both elements of the conditional exemption in s 47E(c), namely, that:
x
an effect would reasonably be expected following disclosure
x
the expected effect would be both substantial and adverse.
18.
The documents contain the names and contact details of Commonwealth officers
below Senior Executive Service (SES) level that are not publically available. I am of
the view that disclosure could reasonably be expected to have an adverse effect on the
health and wellbeing of these individuals.
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19.
I am satisfied there is a reasonable expectation that the names and contact details of
Commonwealth officers could be used inappropriately, in a manner which adversely
affects the health, wellbeing and work of personnel. Disclosure of names, email
addresses and phone numbers could, therefore, reasonably be expected to substantially
adversely impact the staff management function of the Commonwealth in maintaining
workplace health and safety standards.
20.
Further, releasing details about individuals could adversely affect Defence’s ability to
conduct future activities if employees felt Defence lacked integrity with respect to
protecting the confidentiality of their records. Consequently, this would result in a
substantial adverse effect on the broader management of personnel.
21.
In relation to section 47E(d) of the FOI Act, the Guidelines, at paragraph 6.115,
provide that:
The predicted effect must bear on the agency’s ‘proper and efficient’
operations, that is, the agency is undertaking its operations in an expected
manner.
22.
The documents contain group inbox details, the release of which would undermine the
operation of established channels of communication with the public. I am satisfied that
the release of this information would have a substantial adverse effect on the proper
and efficient operation of existing public communication channels. Disclosure of
internal email inbox details could, therefore, reasonably be expected to prejudice the
operations of Defence and that of the Commonwealth.
23.
The Guidelines provide, at paragraph 6.112, that I should consider whether disclosure
of the information ‘would, or could reasonably be expected to lead to a change in the
agency’s processes that would enable those processes to be more efficient.’ Given the
nature of the information, I am satisfied that release could reasonably be expected to
lead to a change in Defence’s processes that would not lead to any efficiencies.
24.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that the information is conditionally exempt under section
47E of the FOI Act.
Section 47F – Public interest conditional exemptions - personal privacy
25.
Section 47F(1) of the FOI Act states:
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).
26.
The FOI Act shares the same definition of ‘personal information’ as the
Privacy Act
1988 (Cth). The Guidelines provide that:
6.123 Personal information means 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; and
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(b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or
not.
27.
I found that the document contains personal information that would reasonably
identify a number of third parties, through disclosure of their name and position.
28.
In my assessment of whether the disclosure of personal information is unreasonable, I
considered the following factors in accordance with section 47F(2):
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. the effect the release of the personal information could reasonably have on the
third party.
29.
I found that some of the specific personal information listed is not well known, the
individuals whose personal information is contained in the documents are not widely
known to be associated with the matters dealt within the material, and the information
is not readily available from publicly accessible sources.
30.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that the document is conditionally exempt under section
47F of the FOI Act.
Section 47G – Public interest conditional exemptions – business
31.
Section 47G(1)(a) of the FOI Act states:
(1) A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act
would disclose information concerning a person in respect of his or her
business or professional affairs or concerning the business, commercial or
financial affairs of an organisation or undertaking, in a case in which the
disclosure of the information:
(a) 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.
32.
I note that the use of the word ‘could’ in this provision requires only reasonable
consideration of the possibility that disclosure may cause the consequences specified.
33.
The Guidelines explain, at paragraph 6.185:
The test of reasonableness applies not to the claim of harm but to the
objective assessment of the expected adverse effect….These considerations
require a weighing of a public interest against a private interest -
preserving the profitability of a business. However, at this stage it bears
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only on the threshold question of whether the disclosure would be
unreasonable.
34.
The Guidelines also state, at paragraph 6.181:
The operation of the business information exemption depends on the effect
of disclosure rather than the precise nature of the information itself.
Nevertheless, the information in question must have some relevance to a
person in respect of his or her business or professional affairs or to the
business, commercial or financial affairs of an organisation or
undertaking (s 47G(1)(a)).
35.
The Guidelines go on to provide, at paragraph 6.191, ‘[t]he term ‘business affairs’ has
been interpreted to mean ‘the totality of the money-making affairs of an organisation
or undertaking as distinct from its private or internal affairs’.
36.
By releasing this information in the identified documents, it is reasonable to expect
that the release of that information would unreasonably affect their business affairs in
the following adverse ways:
a. It would adversely impact the organisations reputation and therefore reduce
their cliental; which in turn will directly impact the organisation’s ‘money
making affairs’; and
b. Provide a competitive advantage to competitors who would use the
information to capture the market which would impact the organisations
‘money making affairs.’
37.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that the material identified is conditionally exempt under
section 47G(1)(a) of the FOI Act.
Public interest considerations - sections 47E, 47F and 47G
38.
Section 11A(5) of the FOI Act states:
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.
39.
I have considered the factors favouring disclosure as set out in section 11B(3) [factors
favouring access] of the FOI Act. The relevant factors being whether access to the
document would:
(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.
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