OFFICIAL
Our ref: FOI-2025-80148
1 December 2025
Lex (last name not given)
By email: Lex
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Lex,
Freedom of Information request - Access decision
1. I refer to your 5 November 2025 Freedom of Information (
FOI) request to the
Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman (
Office) under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (
FOI Act), for access to documents in the following terms:
As part of the 2025 Complaint Handling Forum Series, Iain Anderson and
Joanne Mulder delivered an introductory address.
On 27 October 2025, Iain Anderson participated in a panel discussion on
complaint handling.
Under the FOI Act, I request access to:
a) any and all documents, including preparatory documents, used by Iain
Anderson and/or Joanne Mulder in respect of the introductory address to
the 2025 complaint handling forum; and
b) any and all documents, including preparatory documents, used by Iain
Anderson in respect of the panel discussion he participated in on 27
October 2025.
For the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act, the concept of a
document extends to traditional documents, as well as digital documents,
audio recordings and video recordings. If a written record (e.g. written on
paper, saved as a Microsoft Word or PDF document, or a transcript) of the
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requested materials does not exist but recordings exists (i.e. audio or
video), please provide the relevant recordings.
2. On 17 November 2025, I emailed you to clarify the scope of your FOI request. I
advised that to ensure your request is processed in a practical and meaningful
way, I interpreted your request as seeking:
a. The documents used by Iain Anderson and/or Joann Mulder in respect of
their giving the introductory address to the 2025 complaint handling
forum; and
b. The documents, including preparatory documents, used by Iain Anderson
in respect of the panel discussion he participated in on 27 October 2025.
3. My email advised that this interpretation of your request excludes from scope
administrative type documents pertaining to the organisation and
administration of the 2025 complaint handling forum. For example.
• emails about ticket sales;
• information about attendees;
• information about technical logistics,
• emails with third parties to the Office about their involvement in the panel.
4. My email further advised that I would exclude from scope any emails where the
only relevant content is an attached preparatory document. In those cases, only
the attached document would be considered responsive to your request, not the
email that attaches it. For example, if talking points used by the Ombudsman are
relevant, the talking points themselves would be in scope, not emails that merely
attach them.
5. I asked that you confirm by 20 November 2025 if this interpretation did not reflect
the documents you sought. As I have not received a response, I have proceeded
to process your request consistent with the above interpretation.
6. If you are seeking different types of documents, for example, the administrative
type of documents described in my email of 17 November (and paragraph 3
above), you may lodge a further FOI request.
Decision
Helping people, improving government
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1300 362 072 ombudsman.gov.au GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601
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7. This letter constitutes notice of my decision on your FOI request for access. I am
authorised to make decisions on behalf of our Office under s 23 of the
FOI Act.
8. When processing an FOI request, an agency is required to ensure that all
reasonable steps have been taken to find documents within the scope of the FOI
request in accordance with s 24A of the
FOI Act.
9. Staff within the Office who possess subject matter expertise as to where
documents responsive to your FOI request would be located, have been
consulted. Thorough searches have been undertaken of the Office's case
management system, Objective, as well as relevant Office staff individual and
shared computer drives and their individual and shared electronic mailboxes. I
am satisfied all reasonable steps have been taken to locate documents falling
within the scope of your FOI request.
10. I have identified 4 documents responsive to your FOI request:
1. Session 1 - Ombudsman Panel - Facilitator Run Sheet;
2. 27.10.25 – draft CHF Ombudsman panel – Ombudsman Talking Points;
3. 27.10.25 - CHF Ombudsman panel - Ombudsman Talking Points
4. 27.10.25 - CHF Ombudsman panel - Ombudsman Talking Notes,- with
handwriting.
11. I have decided to grant full access to the 4 documents. The documents are
enclosed. Please note that document 2 references summary PowerPoint slides
that were never created.
12. A schedule setting out my decision in relation to the relevant documents is at
Attachment A.
Material taken into account
13. In making my decision I had regard to the following:
• the terms of your FOI request;
• the outcome of Office searches;
• content of the documents to which you sought access;
• relevant provisions of the
FOI Act, and
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• Guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (
OAIC) under s 93A of the
FOI Act, available at
Freedom of
Information Guidelines (
FOI Guidelines).
Disclosure Log
14. Section 11C of the
FOI Act requires our Office to publish documents released
through an FOI request on our website (
FOI disclosure log) within 10 business
days of release, unless an exception applies.
15. Having regard to the nature of the information captured by your FOI request, I
have not identified an exception to publication of the material and have decided
to publish the 4 documents on the Office’s disclosure log. As a result, they will be
published on our disclosure log within 10 business days of this decision.
Review rights
Internal review
16. You can request internal review within 30 days of your receiving this decision. An
internal review will be conducted by a different officer from the original decision-
maker.
17. No particular form is required to apply for review although it will assist your case
to set out the grounds on which you believe that the original decision should be
changed. Applications for internal review can be made:
• via email t
o xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx • by mail to Commonwealth Ombudsman GPO Box 442 Canberra ACT 2601
18. If you choose to seek an internal review, you will afterward have a right to apply
for Information Commissioner review (
IC review) of the internal review decision.
IC review or complaint
19. You also have the right to seek IC review of this decision. An application for IC
review must be made in writing within 60 days of the decision.
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1300 362 072 ombudsman.gov.au GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601
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20. If you are not satisfied with the way we have handled your FOI request, you
can lodge a complaint with the OAIC. However, the OAIC suggests that
complaints are made to the agency in the first instance.
21. While there is no particular form required to make a complaint to the OAIC, the
complaint should be in writing and set out the reasons for why you are
dissatisfied with the way your FOI request was processed. It should also identify
the Ombudsman’s Office as the agency about which you are complaining.
22. You can make an IC review application or make an FOI complaint in one of the
following ways:
• online at
Apply for an IC Review or at
Freedom of Information complaints
• via email t
o xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
• by mail to GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001, or
• by fax to 02 9284 9666.
23. More information about the OAIC and your FOI rights is available at
Your freedom
of information rights | OAIC.
Yours sincerely
Clare
Senior Legal Officer
Legal Team
Helping people, improving government
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1300 362 072 ombudsman.gov.au GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601
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Attachment A
Schedule of Documents - FOI-2025-80148
Document Page
Date
Description of
Decision on
Exempt or Irrelevant material
Information redacted
Number numbers
Document
access
1.
1-6
27.10.25
Session 1 -
Full access
Ombudsman Panel -
Facilitator Run Sheet.
2.
7-14
27.10.25
draft CHF Ombudsman Full access
panel – Ombudsman
Talking Points.
CHF Ombudsman
3.
15-21
27.102.25
panel - Ombudsman
Full access
Talking Points.
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Document Page
Date
Description of
Decision on
Exempt or Irrelevant material
Information redacted
Number numbers
Document
access
4.
21-29
27.10.25
CHF Ombudsman
Full access
panel - Ombudsman
Talking Notes - with
handwriting.
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