Reference: PIAT-7043
29 October 2025
Glenn Hamiltonshire
Sent by email to
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Hamiltonshire
Freedom of Information Request Decision
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) refers to the Freedom of
Information request (FOI request) received from you on 30 July 2025 seeking access to:
'I seek access to all correspondents AUSTRAC has had with officials of the Queensland
Government, since 27 October 2024, relating to issuing an exemption for the MEDQ.
Please exclude duplicates and documents already publicly released, including media
releases, reports, articles and statements to the media. Please limit emails to the final
message in the chain as long as previous messages are captured.
I agree to having the names and direct contact details of non-senior staff removed,
however I request that redactions do not include non-personally identifying
information. For example, please leave the domain and job titles when redacting email
addresses or signature blocks on emails.
I pre-emptively agree to requests for third party consultation if necessary, but would
prefer that my information about my identity is not shared with those consulted.’
AUSTRAC conducted searches based upon the information supplied within your FOI request
for documents meeting the scope of your request. I examined the document in scope and
have decided to exempt the document, in part, under section 47B of the FOI Act. The
document also contains some information that could reasonably be considered to be
irrelevant to the scope of your request. Therefore, I have decided to redact that irrelevant
information under section 22 of the FOI Act.
Correspondence: PO Box K534, Haymarket NSW 1240
P: 1300 021 037
www.austrac.gov.au
In making my decision I have also had regard to the following:
•
Freedom of Information Act 1982;
• Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner.
Applicable Conditional Exemption
Public interest conditional exemptions – Commonwealth and State relations
The requested documents contain information that, if released, could reasonably be
expected to cause damage to Commonwealth-State relations, and would divulge
information that was communicated in confidence by an authority of the State to an
authority of the Commonwealth.
The documents include information communicated to AUSTRAC by the Minister of
Economic Development Queensland (
MEDQ), a statutory body representing the State of
Queensland, for the purpose of applying for an exemption under the
Anti-Money
Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Act 2006 (Cth) (
AML/CTF Act). This information includes
commercially sensitive information detailing the nature of the financial services provided by
the MEDQ.
I have carefully assessed the content of the requested information, and the potential
impacts that release of the information could reasonably be expected to have on State-
Commonwealth relations. I am of the view that releasing this information could reasonably
be expected to damage State-Commonwealth relations by undermining the ability of State
authorities to freely share confidential and sensitive information with AUSTRAC in the
administration of the AML/CTF Act.
I have weighed these considerations against the public interest factors outlined in the FOI
Act and the guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner. Having considered the
public interest factors, I am of the view that release of this information would be contrary to
the public interest in the circumstances. Therefore, the requested information is
conditional y exempt and redacted under section 47B of the FOI Act.
Correspondence: PO Box K534, Haymarket NSW 1240
P: 1300 021 037
www.austrac.gov.au
You have the right to seek review if you are not satisfied with this decision. An application
for internal review of this decision must be made in writing within 30 days of receipt of this
letter by email t
o xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx. You may also seek review of this decision by
the Information Commissioner by contacting the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (OAIC). Information on how to apply for an Information Commissioner review
is available on the
OAIC website. Yours sincerely
Daniel Mossop
Authorised Decision Maker
AUSTRAC
Correspondence: PO Box K534, Haymarket NSW 1240
P: 1300 021 037
www.austrac.gov.au
