OFFICIAL
3
Relevant material
In reaching my decision I referred to the following:
• the terms of your request
• the document relevant to the request
• the FOI Act
• Guidelines published by the Office of the Information Commissioner under section 93A of
the FOI Act (the FOI Guidelines)
• advice from Departmental officers with responsibility for matters relating to the document
to which you sought access
4
Document in scope of request
In accordance with section 17 of the FOI Act, the Department has used its computer system to
produce one document that contain[s] information that falls within the scope of your request. The
data produced in the document existed in the possession of the Department on 30 July 2025 when
your FOI request was received.
5
Decision
The decision in relation to the document in the possession of the Department which fall within the
scope of your request is as follows:
• Release one document in part with deletions
6
Reasons for Decision
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that the exemption provision applies to that information
are set out below.
6.1 Section 47F of the FOI Act – Personal Privacy
Section 47F of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under
the FOI Act would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information of any person.
‘Personal information’ means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an
individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and
whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not (see section 4 of the FOI
Act and section 6 of the
Privacy Act 1988).
I consider that disclosure of the information marked
's47F(1)' in the documents would disclose
personal information relating to third parties. The information within the documents would
reasonably identify a person, either through names, positions or descriptions of their role or
employment circumstance.
OFFICIAL
Page
2 of
5
OFFICIAL
The FOI Act states that, when deciding whether the disclosure of the personal information would
be ‘unreasonable’, I must have regard to the following four factors set out in s.47F(2) of the
FOI Act:
•
the extent to which the information is well known;
•
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;
•
the availability of the information from publicly available resources;
•
any other matters that I consider relevant.
I have considered each of these factors below.
The information relating to the third parties is not wel known and would only be known to a limited
group of people with a business need to know. As this information is only known to a limited group
of people, the individuals concerned are not generally known to be associated with the matters
discussed in the document. This information is not available from publicly accessible sources.
Whilst the information on its own may seem reasonable for release, the combination of information
revealed in the requested document, together with information already in the public domain, could
enable indirect identification of a person or persons. You have not provided any evidence that you
have the consent of TURK HAVA YOLLARI ANONIM ORTAKLIGI or its employees to access this
information.
I have decided that the information referred to above is conditionally exempt under section 47F of
the FOI Act. Access to a conditionally exempt document must generally be given unless it would
be contrary to the public interest to do so. I have turned my mind to whether disclosure of the
information would be contrary to the public interest, and have included my reasoning in that regard
below.
6.2 The public interest – section 11A of the FOI Act
As I have decided that parts of the document are conditionally exempt, I am now required to
consider whether access to the conditionally exempt information would be contrary to the public
interest (section 11A of the FOI Act).
A part of a document which is conditionally exempt must also meet the public interest test in
section 11A(5) before an exemption may be claimed in respect of that part.
In summary, the test is whether access to the conditionally exempt part of the document would be,
on balance, contrary to the public interest.
In applying this test, I have noted the objects of the FOI Act and the importance of the other factors
listed in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act, being whether access to the document would do any of the
following:
(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.
OFFICIAL
Page
3 of
5
OFFICIAL
Having regard to the above I am satisfied that:
•
Access to the document would promote the objects of the FOI Act.
•
The subject matter of the document does not seem to have a general characteristic of
public importance. The matter has a limited scope and, in my view, would be of interest
to a very narrow section of the public.
•
No insights into public expenditure wil be provided through examination of the document.
•
You do not require access to the document in order to access your own personal
information.
I have also considered the following factors that weigh against the release of the conditionally
exempt information in the document:
•
Disclosure of personal information which is conditionally exempt under section 47F of
the FOI Act could reasonably be expected to prejudice the protection of third parties’
right to privacy. It is firmly in the public interest that the Department uphold the rights of
individuals to their own privacy, and this factor weighs strongly against disclosure.
•
I am satisfied that if the Department were to release personal information without that
person’s express consent to do so, it would seriously undermine public confidence in the
Department’s ability to receive, retain and manage personal information. I consider such
a loss of confidence to be against the public interest, and this factor weighs strongly
against disclosure.
I have also had regard to section 11B(4) which sets out the factors which are irrelevant to my
decision, which are:
a)
access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Commonwealth
Government, or cause a loss of confidence in the Commonwealth Government
b)
access to the document could result in any person misinterpreting or misunderstanding
the document
c)
the author of the document was (or is) of high seniority in the agency to which the request
for access to the document was made
d)
access to the document could result in confusion or unnecessary debate.
I have not taken into account any of those factors in this decision.
Upon balancing all of the above relevant public interest considerations, I have concluded that the
disclosure of the conditionally exempt information in the documents would be contrary to the public
interest and it is therefore exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act.
7
Legislation
A copy of the FOI Act is available at https:/ www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A02562. If you are
unable to access the legislation through this website, please contact our office for a copy.
8
Your review rights
If you disagree with this decision, you have the right to apply for either an internal review or an
Information Commissioner review of the decision.
OFFICIAL
Page
4 of
5
OFFICIAL
Internal review
If you want the Department to review this decision, you must make your internal review request
within 30 days of being notified of this decision.
When making your internal review request, please provide the Department with the reasons why
you consider this decision should be changed.
You can send your internal review request to:
Email: xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
The internal review wil be carried out by an officer who is more senior than the original decision
maker. The Department must make its decision on the review within 30 days of receiving your
request for internal review.
Information Commissioner review If you want the Australian Information Commissioner to review this decision, you must make your
request to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) within 60 days of being
notified of this decision.
You can apply for an Information Commissioner review using the Information Commissioner review
application form on the OAIC website.
You can find more information about Information Commissioner reviews on the OAIC website.
9
Making a complaint
You may make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner if you have concerns about
how the Department has handled your request under the FOI Act. This is a separate process to the
process of requesting a review of the decision as indicated above.
You can make an FOI complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
at: FOI Complaint Form on the OAIC website.
10 Contacting the FOI Section
Should you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the FOI Section at
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely,
Signed electronically
Louise
Position number 60081621
Authorised Decision Maker
Department of Home Affairs
OFFICIAL
Page
5 of
5
