Freedom of Information
From:
Freedom of Information
Sent:
Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:00 AM
To:
Vice-Chancellor
Subject:
Re: FOI 202500132 - Search and Retrieval Process
Hi s. 22 Irrelevant material
A document that responds to the request directly is how we have managed in the past, i.e.:
‘Background: Ms Adena has served as Senior Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor since early
2024. In early 2025, she appeared in On Campus with her own editorial introduction as Editor
of On Campus. This request seeks to clarify how this Editor role was created, whether it was
formally approved or recruited, what financial arrangements exist, and how any potential
conflict of interest has been managed.
Specifically, I request access to all documents, whether formal or informal, for the period 1
January 2024 to present, including but not limited to:
1. Any documents related to the creation, recruitment, appointment or engagement of Ms
Adena as Editor of On Campus, including:
o Position descriptions, business cases, recruitment or appointment papers, selection
reports, approvals and contracts. No documents exist due to this not being a remunerated
position within the University, Ms Adena offered to take on the role over and above her
standard duties due to capacity constraints and her background in
marketing/communications.
o Any justification for combining or creating this editorial role in addition to her Senior
Advisor duties.
o Any documents showing whether a competitive process was undertaken or an
exemption was granted.
2. Any documents provided to or generated by the Recruitment Approval Committee (RAC)
regarding the Editor role or Ms Adena’s dual roles.
3. All communications (including emails, Signal messages, instant messages, Teams
chats, handwritten notes, meeting notes) between the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Media
and Communications, Human Resources, Finance or other relevant areas discussing:
o Ms Adena’s appointment as Editor of On Campus
o The rationale for her introduction as Editor while holding the Senior Advisor position
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o Reporting lines, duties, editorial oversight and any discussion of pay or workload
implications.
4. Any conflict of interest declarations, disclosures or management plans referencing Ms
Adena’s roles as Senior Advisor and Editor, or how any actual, potential or perceived conflict
has been assessed or managed’.
And so on, so forth - we do this as a basic word doc, and if you wish to sign as Lou's supervisor you are
welcome to do so.
Kind regards,
s. 22 Irrelevan
s. 22 Irrelevant material
From: Freedom of Information <xxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Sent: Tuesday, 8 July 2025 4:16 PM
To: Vice-Chancellor <xx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: RE: FOI 202500132 - Search and Retrieval Process
Hi Genevieve,
Many thanks for taking the time to review and respond.
In discussions I had with Lou where she suggested this request come to you for review, she did flag that as an
issue.
Where an FOI is seeking documentation like 202500132, specifically where documentation does not exist
because an assumption made by the applicant as to the existence of documentation is erroneous, the response
that we provide is ‘nil docs’ however we do this slightly more eloquently than that!
If you wish - and this is purely your prerogative – we can create a brief document that explains the situation which
will then be released to the applicant. Historically we have included a subheading in decision notices labelled
‘additional context’ however this was flawed in terms of how visible it could be, as the decision notice is not
published on the disclosure log, whereas separate documents that are not part of the decision notice can be.
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If you don’t feel that creating a document is necessary, that is a perfectly fine path to take too, as we have no
obligation to create documentation to satisfy any FOI request.
As this is definitely a nil docs based on your below email and the discussion I have had with Lou, please let me
know how you would like to proceed RE the above and we will finalise accordingly.
Kind regards,
Greg
From: Vice-Chancellor s. 22 Irrelevant material
Sent: Tuesday, 8 July 2025 4:05 PM
To: Freedom of Information <xxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: RE: FOI 202500132 - Search and Retrieval Process
Dear Greg,
I hope you don’t mind me reaching out but I have a question about the scope of the request laid out below.
The FOI below appears to be predicated on the idea that the “Editor of On Campus” is a role, in the formal HR
sense, with a position description etc. This is not the case. It is a project, with clear KPIs that sits with the OVC, in a
time bounded way whilst the Market and Comms organisation stabilises. So I am not sure I would answer the
below as the starting assumption is erroneous.
Cheers
Genevieve
From: Freedom of Information <xxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Sent: Tuesday, 8 July 2025 12:33 PM
To: Vice-Chancellor s. 22 Irrelevant material
Subject: FOI 202500132 - Search and Retrieval Process
Dear Vice-Chancellor,
I am writing to you because the University has received a Freedom of Information (FOI) request that identifies
documents likely held by you or someone within your portfolio.
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 is Commonwealth legislation that allows the general public to seek access
to documents held by any Commonwealth agency or authority. The Australian National University is a
Commonwealth authority and is subject to the Act (see following link for further information:
https://www.anu.edu.au/freedom-of-information) .
The request is as follows:
‘Background: Ms Adena has served as Senior Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor since early 2024. In early 2025, she
appeared in On Campus with her own editorial introduction as Editor of On Campus. This request seeks to
clarify how this Editor role was created, whether it was formally approved or recruited, what financial
arrangements exist, and how any potential conflict of interest has been managed.
3
Specifically, I request access to all documents, whether formal or informal, for the period 1 January 2024 to
present, including but not limited to:
1. Any documents related to the creation, recruitment, appointment or engagement of Ms Adena as Editor
of On Campus, including:
o Position descriptions, business cases, recruitment or appointment papers, selection reports, approvals
and contracts
o Any justification for combining or creating this editorial role in addition to her Senior Advisor duties
o Any documents showing whether a competitive process was undertaken or an exemption was granted.
2. Any documents provided to or generated by the Recruitment Approval Committee (RAC) regarding the
Editor role or Ms Adena’s dual roles.
3. All communications (including emails, Signal messages, instant messages, Teams chats, handwritten
notes, meeting notes) between the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Media and Communications, Human
Resources, Finance or other relevant areas discussing:
o Ms Adena’s appointment as Editor of On Campus
o The rationale for her introduction as Editor while holding the Senior Advisor position
o Reporting lines, duties, editorial oversight and any discussion of pay or workload implications.
4. Any conflict of interest declarations, disclosures or management plans referencing Ms Adena’s roles as
Senior Advisor and Editor, or how any actual, potential or perceived conflict has been assessed or managed’.
Given the subject of the request, we believe relevant documents will be held by you or your team, however, if you
feel there is someone more appropriate for us to liaise with in relation to this request, please let us know at your
earliest convenience.
Timeframe
So that we may respond to the request within the timeframes set out within FOI legislation, I would be grateful if
you can provide us with any documents within scope of the request by COB 17 July 2025.
Search and Retrieval Schedule
Please complete the attached document called ‘Search and Retrieval Schedule’. You should include the
following:
Number the document You should number documents that you provide to the FOI team, these numbers
should correspond to the ‘Document Number’ in the Search and Retrieval Schedule.
o For example:
1. Report on ABCD
2. Email about report on ABCD.
Number of Pages within the document
Date the document was created or ‘Not Ascertainable’ if no dates are included on the document
Any concerns you have with material contained in the document – provide as much detail as possible,
reference specific pages or information within the document and provide context to assist the FOI team in
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determining appropriate exemptions/redactions – this should be considered your sole opportunity to
articulate any concerns you may have. For an idea of what kind of material can be redacted, please review
the following link: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/guidance-and-advice/exemptions-
and-conditional-exemptions-under-the-freedom-of-information-act-1982
Unmarked Documentation
You must provide unmarked/unredacted documents to the FOI team for them to process. It is the responsibility of
the FOI team to assess and redact documents in accordance with the provisions of the FOI Act.
Charges
Charges may be able to be applied for this request. So that we can determine this and calculate any applicable
charges, please provide information on:
Time spent searching for and retrieving documents;
Staff involved in search.
Attestation of Search
Once you have completed the Search and Retrieval Process and are ready to provide the documentation back to
the FOI team, you must sign the ‘Attestation of Search’ document that is attached to this email. This can be either
wet inked and scanned or docusigned. The reason this document is used is to provide the regulatory body with
assurance that the ANU is taking all reasonable and necessary steps to locate and process documentation that
could be relevant to an FOI request. Please note that this document will be released to FOI applicants where
required.
If you have any questions about the scope of the request or in undertaking this search please contact me as soon
as possible. Thank you for your assistance.
Kind regards,
s. 22 Irreleva
ANU Freedom Of Information Unit
E: xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Web: https://www.anu.edu.au/freedom-of-information
TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12002 (Australian University) | CRICOS Provider Code: 00120C | ABN: 52 234 063
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