FOI25 413 Decision Letter with Attachments A C.pdf

Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/413 Decision letter
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Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/413 Decision letter
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Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/413 Decision letter
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OFFICIAL

Attachment B - Schedule of documents - Freedom of Information Request FOI25/413
Doc  Date
No.  Description
Access decision
Exemption/s applied
no.
pgs
1
18 December 2015  2
Email chain concluding at 4:46:34 PM
Grant access in part
Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
2
18 December 2015  11  Attachment 1 to Document 1:
Grant access in full
N/A
Factiva search results
3
18 December 2015  3
Attachment 2 to Document 1:
Grant access in full
N/A
Google search results
4
18 December 2015  2
Attachment 3 to Document 1:
Grant access in full
N/A
Google scholar search results
5
21 December 2015  3
Email chain concluding at 1:32:03 PM
Grant access in part
s22(1) Irrelevant material
Section 47F(1): Public interest conditional exemption - Personal
Privacy
6
21 December 2015  1
Attachment 1 to Document 5:
Grant access in part
Section 47C(1): Public interest conditional exemption -
Private Interest Declaration (PID) form
Deliberative processes
7
21 December 2015  1
Attachment 2 to Document 5:
Grant access in part
Section 47F(1): Public interest conditional exemption - Personal
Draft CV of Justice Charlesworth
Privacy
8
21 December 2015  2
Attachment 3 to Document 5:
Grant access in part
Section 47F(1): Public interest conditional exemption - Personal
PID of Justice Charlesworth
Privacy
9
21 December 2015  1
Email concluding at 2:47:25 PM
Grant access in part
s22(1) Irrelevant material
10  21 December 2015  1
Attachment 1 to Document 9:
Grant access in part
Section 47F(1): Public interest conditional exemption - Personal
National Personal Insolvency Index results
Privacy
11  23 December 2015  1
Ministerial Submission
Grant access in part
Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
Section 47C(1): Public interest conditional exemption -
Deliberative processes
Section 47F(1): Public interest conditional exemption - Personal
Privacy
12  27 January 2016
2
Attachment 1 to Document 11:
Refuse access
Section 47C(1): Public interest conditional exemption -
Letter from the Attorney-General to the
Deliberative processes
Prime Minister

13  27 January 2016
9
Attachment 2 to Document 11:
Grant access in part
Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
Section 47F(1): Public interest conditional exemption - Personal

Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/413 Decision  OFFI
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OFFICIAL

Doc  Date
No.  Description
Access decision
Exemption/s applied
no.
pgs  Ancillary Documents to Ministerial
Privacy
Submission

14  29 January 2016
2
AGD Cabinet briefing for appointment of
Grant access in part
Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
Justice Charlesworth
Section 47C(1): Public interest conditional exemption -
Deliberative processes
Section 47F(1): Public interest conditional exemption - Personal
Privacy
15  11 February 2016
2
Ministerial Submission
Grant access in part
Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
Section 47C(1): Public interest conditional exemption -
Deliberative processes
16  25 February 2016
5
Attachment 1 to Document 15: Ministerial
Grant access in part
Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
Submission Attachments A-D
Section 47F(1): Public interest conditional exemption - Personal
Privacy

Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/413 Decision  OFFI
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Attachment C - Statement of reasons - FOI25/413
This document, when read in conjunction with the schedule of documents at Attachment B,
provides information about the reasons I have decided not to disclose certain material to you in
response to your request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
Section 22: Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted
Section 22 of the FOI Act provides that if an agency decides to give access to a document that would
disclose information that would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request, and it is
possible for the agency to prepare a copy (an edited copy) of the document, modified by deletions,
the agency must prepare the edited copy and give the applicant access to it.
I note that when the department acknowledged your request by email on 4 September 2025, your
agreement was sought to exclude the following categories of information from the scope of your FOI
request:
-  duplicates of documents that are in scope;
-  personal information of members of the public;
-  contact details for teams, internal to the department and other agencies
-  personal information belonging to officers of the department and other government
agencies.
On 4 September 2025, you agreed to exclude the material listed above from the documents in your
request. I have therefore decided to regard the above categories of information as irrelevant to your
request and have deleted this material under s 22 of the FOI Act.
I have also deleted other material in the documents that is irrelevant to the terms of your request.
Having regard to the particular content of the documents for your request, I decided that documents
and information related to candidates other than Justice Charlesworth are also irrelevant to your
request. This is because the scope of your request was limited solely to records relating to the
appointment of the Hon Justice Natalie Charlesworth as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia.
Given this, I considered it likely that you would also agree that this information is irrelevant to your
request and have deleted this material under s 22 of the FOI Act.
Public interest conditional exemptions
An agency or minister can refuse access to a document or part of a document that is conditionally
exempt from disclosure under Division 3 of Part IV of the FOI Act. Documents for your request which
are conditionally exempt under Division 3 relate to the following categories:
•  deliberative processes (s 47C)
•  personal privacy (s 47F).
Brief information about each of the conditional exemptions applied when making a decision about
disclosure of each of the documents to which you have requested access is set out below. Additional
information about each of these conditional exemptions can be obtained from the Guidelines
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available at: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-guidelines/part-6-conditional-
exemptions.
Where a document is assessed as conditionally exempt, it is only exempt from disclosure if
disclosure would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest. The public interest test is weighted
in favour of giving access to documents so that the public interest in disclosure remains at the
forefront of decision making.
A single public interest test applies to each of the conditional exemptions. This public interest test
includes certain factors that must be taken into account where relevant, and other factors which
must not be taken into account. My reasoning in regard to the public interest are set out under the
heading ‘Section 11A(5): Public interest test’ below.
Section 47C: Public interest conditional exemption - deliberative processes

Section 47C of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under
this Act would disclose matter (deliberative matter) in the nature of, or relating to, opinion, advice or
recommendation obtained, prepared or recorded, or consultation or deliberation that has taken
place, in the course of, or for the purposes of, the deliberative processes involved in the functions of
an agency.
In applying this exemption, paragraph 6.54 of the Guidelines provides that:
The action of deliberating, in common understanding, involves the weighing up or evaluation
of the competing arguments or considerations that may have a bearing upon one's course of
action. In short, the deliberative processes involved in the functions of an agency are its
thinking processes – the processes of reflection, for example, upon the wisdom and
expediency of a proposal, a particular decision or a course of action.
In addition, paragraphs 6.76, 6.77 and 6.78 of the Guidelines note that a document may contain
deliberative matter that relates to Cabinet in some way but is not exempt under the Cabinet
documents exemption (s 34).
I am satisfied that the relevant material is not purely factual and is deliberative matter within the
meaning of s 47C(1), being in the nature of and relating to:
•  opinion, advice and recommendations,
•  a collection of facts or opinions, including the pattern of facts or opinions considered, and
•  interim decisions or deliberations.
The deliberative material described above was created for the purpose of, and in connection with,
the selection, assessment of suitability and appointment of Justice Charlesworth and others who
were considered for roles as a Judge of the Federal Court.
While documents 6, 11-12, and 14-16 contain some material that is factual in nature, including with
respect to the appointment of Justice Charlesworth, that material is within the context of
consideration of the potential selection and suitability of Justice Charlesworth and other candidates
and is and therefore captured by s 47C.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that this material is conditionally exempt under s 47C(1) of the FOI Act.
I have turned my mind to whether disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public
interest and have included my reasoning in this regard below under the heading ‘Section 11A(5):
Public interest test’.
Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/413 Decision letter
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Section 47F: Public interest conditional exemption - personal privacy
Section 47F(1) of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure would
involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased
person). For the purposes of the FOI Act, personal information is defined as: 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.
I have identified the following personal information relating to private individuals working in a
professional capacity, as well as personal details belonging to Justice Charlesworth in documents 5,
7-8, 10-11, and 13-16. This personal information includes names, dates of birth, signatures, and
contact information, including email addresses and telephone numbers, and other inherently
personal information with respect to personal affairs.
In deciding whether to conditionally exempt the personal information described above, I have had
regard to the following factors set out in s 47F(2) of the FOI Act:
(a)  the extent to which the information is well known;
(b)  whether the people to whom the information relates are 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;
(d)  any other matters that the agency considers relevant.
My reasons for applying the s 47F(1) exemption to each of the categories of personal information
listed above are set out below.
In my view the relevant personal information is not well known, nor are the persons concerned
generally known to be (or to have been) associated with the particular matters dealt with in the
documents. The information is known only to the persons whose information appears in the
documents and departmental officers with responsibility for the matters concerned. I consider it
likely that the persons concerned would object to disclosure of their personal information and,
noting that the FOI Act does not control or restrict any subsequent use or dissemination of
information disclosed, I consider that disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause distress to
the persons concerned.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that the personal information of individuals is conditionally exempt under
s 47F(1) of the FOI Act. I have turned my mind to whether disclosure of the information would be
contrary to the public interest, and have included my reasoning in this regard under the header
‘Section 11A(5): Public interest test’.
Section 11A(5): Public interest test
Access to a conditionally exempt document must generally be given unless doing so would be
contrary to the public interest. The Guidelines issued by the OAIC provide at paragraph 6.224 that
the public interest test is considered to be:
•  something that is of serious concern or benefit to the public, not merely of individual interest,
•  not something of interest to the public, but in the interest of the public,
•  not a static concept, where it lies in a particular matter will often depend on a balancing of
interests,
•  necessarily broad and non-specific, and
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•  related to matters of common concern or relevance to all members of the public, or a
substantial section of the public.
In deciding whether to disclose conditionally exempt material, I have considered the factors
favouring access set out in s 11B(3) of the FOI Act. I have not taken into account the irrelevant
factors listed under s 11B(4) of the FOI Act.
Of the factors favouring disclosure, I consider that release of the conditionally exempt material
identified for your request would promote the objects of the FOI Act, including by:
•  informing the community of the Government’s operations,
•  revealing the reason for a government decision, and
•  enhancing the scrutiny of government decision making.
The FOI Act does not list any specific factors weighing against disclosure. However, I have considered
the non-exhaustive list of factors against disclosure in the Guidelines as well as the particular
circumstances relevant to the conditionally exempt material.
I consider the release of the conditionally exempt material could reasonably be expected to
prejudice:
•  the protection of an individual’s right to privacy,
•  the department’s ability to obtain confidential information,
•  the willingness of prospective candidates to apply for statutory appointment
•  the department’s ability to obtain similar information in the future, and
•  harm the interests of an individual or group of individuals.
On balance, I consider the factors against disclosure outweigh the factors favouring access and that
providing access to the conditionally exempt material identified for your request would be contrary
to the public interest.

Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI25/413 Decision letter
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