FOI 2025 80118 decision letter.pdf

OFFICIAL

Our ref: FOI-2025-80118
3 October 2025
GIPAgoomar

By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear GIPAgoomar
Freedom of Information request - Access decision
1.  I refer to your request of 7 September 2025 to this Office under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for access to documents in the following terms:
“A contract was entered into, on 21 July 2025, with the former Ombudsman of
the State of Victoria, Ms Deborah Glass, so that Ms Glass would conduct
independent investigation and review services - see contract CN4183579 on
www.tenders.gov.au.
Under the FOI Act 1982 (Cth), I request access to the following documents:
a) a copy of the contract entered into with Deborah Glass for the provision of
the independent investigation and review services; and
b) the terms of reference (howsoever described - e.g. brief, instructions, request
etc.) for the independent investigation and review services; and
c) the outcome of the independent investigation and review services (e.g. by
way of report, a statement of recommendations etc.).”
Decision
2.  I am an officer authorised under s 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to
FOI requests.
3.  Under section 26(2) of the FOI Act, I am not obligated to provide any information
that is of such a nature that its inclusion in a document of an agency would cause
that document to be an exempt document.

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4.  I am satisfied that given the nature of the request, the relevant material would be
exempt under section 37 of the FOI Act and conditionally exempt under section
47E(d) and section 47F of the FOI Act. Accordingly, I have decided to refuse access
to documents that fall within the scope of your request.

5.  Reasons for my decision can be found below.
Material taken into account
6.  In making my decision I had regard to the following:
•  the terms of your request;
•  relevant provisions of the FOI Act;
•  internal consultation with relevant areas within the Office;
•  Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under s 93A of
the FOI Act, available at www.oaic.gov.au (FOI Guidelines); and
•  relevant case law and decisions.
Reasons for decision
Exemption – Documents affecting enforcement of law and protection of public safety:
s 37
7.  Section 37 of the FOI Act deals with documents affecting enforcement of the law.
Subsection 37(1)(b) of the FOI Act provides that a document is exempt if disclosure
would, or could reasonably be expected to:
“disclose, or enable a person to ascertain, the existence or identity of a
confidential source of information, or the non - existence of a confidential
source of information, in relation to the enforcement or administration of the
law”
8.  The FOI Guidelines at paragraph 5.108 outline the exemption applies where:

•  the information in question may enable the agency responsible for
enforcing or administering a law to enforce or administer it properly
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•  the person who supplies that information wishes their identity to be
known only to those who need to know it for the purpose of enforcing or
administering the law
•  the information was supplied on the understanding, express or implied,
that the source’s identity would remain confidential.

9.  I am satisfied that, the documents within the scope of your request contains
information enabling the Ombudsman to enforce or administer a law. Disclosure of
the documents would identify the identity or existence or non-existence of a
confidential source of information, and that the person who had supplied the
information had provided it to our Office on a confidential basis for the purposes of
enforcing or administering the law.

10.  Furthermore, subsection 37(2)(b) of the FOI Act provides that a document is exempt
if disclosure would, or could reasonably be expected to:

“disclose lawful methods or procedures for preventing, detecting, investigating,
or dealing with matters arising out of, breaches or evasions of the law the
disclosure of which would, or would be reasonably likely to, prejudice the
effectiveness of those methods or procedures”

11.  The FOI Guidelines at paragraph 5.127 outlines:

“This exemption requires satisfaction of 2 factors. There must be a reasonable
expectation that a document will disclose a method or procedure and a
reasonable expectation or a real risk of prejudice to the effectiveness of that
investigative method or procedure. If the only result of disclosing the methods
would be that those methods were no surprise to anyone, there could be no
reasonable expectation of prejudice. However, where a method might be
described as ‘routine’, but the way in which it is employed can reasonably be
said to be ‘unexpected’, disclosure could prejudice the effectiveness of the
method.”

12.  I am satisfied that the documents within the scope of your request contain
investigative methods and administrative procedures that if disclosed could
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reasonably be expected to significantly prejudice the effectiveness of the
Ombudsman’s investigative functions. I consider that disclosure of this information
would effectively put departments, agencies and authorities whom the
Ombudsman investigates on notice and could allow them to circumvent the
Ombudsman’s investigations by predicting or forestalling them.

13.  For these reasons, I have refused access to any relevant documents within scope of
your request under section 37(1)(b) and section 37(2)(b) of the FOI Act.
Conditional exemption – Certain operations of agencies: s 47E
14.  Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document where disclosure
could reasonably be expected to “have a substantial adverse effect on the proper
and efficient conduct of the operations of an agency." I must give access unless
access would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest (s 11A(5)).
15.  I have reviewed the documents within the scope of your request and find them to
contain Ombudsman investigative material obtained in confidence either via the
use of the Office’s compulsory information-gathering powers or voluntarily
provided by a complainant/s.

16.  The FOI Guidelines state at paragraph 6.114:
The conditional exemption may also apply to a document that relates to a
complaint made to an investigative body. Disclosure of this type of information
could reasonably affect the willingness of people to make complaints to the
investigative body, which would have a substantial adverse effect on the proper
and efficient conduct of the investigative body’s operations. Further, disclosure
of information provided in confidence by parties to a complaint or investigation
may reduce the willingness of parties to provide information relevant to a
particular complaint and may reduce their willingness to participate fully and
frankly with the investigative process. In such cases the investigative body’s
ability to obtain all information would be undermined and this may have a
substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the
investigative body’s operations
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17.  I consider that release of any relevant documents of this kind would hamper the
Office’s investigative functions by reducing the willingness of people to make
complaints or provide information to our Office as well as reducing the candour of
agencies when engaging with our Office. I am satisfied this would have a
substantial adverse effect on the Ombudsman’s investigative functions.
18.  Furthermore, the Information Commissioner in 'ANX' and Commonwealth
Ombudsman (Freedom of information) [2024] AICmr 204 (20 September 2024)
and Paul Hayes and Commonwealth Ombudsman (Freedom of information)
[2025] AICmr 80 (2 May 2025) has acknowledged that disclosure of this type of
information would be inconsistent with the Ombudsman Act and would inhibit the
Ombudsman's ability to obtain confidential information.
Public interest
19.  In deciding whether access should be given to this information on the basis of
public interest, I have taken into account the public interest factors for and against
disclosure, s 11B(3) of the FOI Act, the FOI Guidelines at paragraphs 6.229 – 6.233, as
wel  as matters specific to this agency’s functions and operating environment.
20. I acknowledge that public interest factors favouring disclosure include that
disclosure may promote the objects of the FOI Act by informing the community of
the operations of the Government and enhancing the scrutiny of government
decision making.
21.  Factors against disclosure include that disclosure of confidential investigative
material could reasonably be expected to have a substantial adverse effect on the
proper and efficient conduct of the Ombudsman. Furthermore, release of this
information would adversely affect the Ombudsman’s ability to obtain information
from agencies in future and would consequently hamper the Ombudsman’s
investigative operations.
22. I have given considerable weight to the proper and efficient conduct of
Ombudsman investigations not being impeded. Specifically, that complainants are
not discouraged from coming forward due to release of their personal information
or complaint/s and that government agencies’ willingness to provide information is
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not hampered due to the release of information obtained on a confidential basis. I
have also given significant weight to the maintenance of confidentiality
23. Pursuant to subsection 11A(5) of the FOI Act, I have concluded that this material is
not required to be disclosed because disclosure at this time would be, on balance,
contrary to the public interest.
Conditional exemption - Personal privacy: s 47F
24. Section 47F of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document where ‘its disclosure
would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any
person.’ I must give access unless access would, on balance, be contrary to the
public interest (s 11A(5)).
25. ‘Personal information’ is defined in section 4 of the FOI Act as:
information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is
reasonably identifiable: (a) whether the information or opinion is true or not; and
(b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

26. The documents contain personal information in the form of third-party names,
complaint details and contact details as well as junior Ombudsman staff or other
government agency staff last names and direct contact details. I am satisfied that
the relevant information is personal information (s 4).

27. If information is personal information, it will be conditionally exempt if its disclosure
would be ‘unreasonable.’ In considering whether disclosure would be unreasonable,
subsection 47F(2) of the FOI Act requires that I take into account:
•  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 accessible sources, and
any other matter considered relevant.
28. With regards to the abovementioned personal information, this information is not
well known. I also note that complaint information is not well known. Complaint
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information is provided to or obtained by the Ombudsman on a confidential basis
with regards to a wide variety of types of investigations. Further, the individuals to
whom the information relates are not generally known to be associated with the
relevant information and the relevant information is not readily available from
public sources.
29. Accordingly, I find that release of such information would involve the unreasonable
disclosure of personal information under s 47F(1) of the FOI Act.
Public interest
30. I am required to give access to this material unless, in the circumstances, access
would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest. In deciding whether access
should be given to this information on the basis of public interest, I have taken into
account the public interest factors favouring disclosure set out in s 11B(3) of the FOI
Act, the FOI Guidelines at paragraphs 6.229 – 6.233, as well as matters specific to
this agency’s functions and operating environment.
31.  While broadly disclosure may promote the objects of the FOI Act by providing
access to government-held information, disclosure of the relevant personal
information would not otherwise increase scrutiny, discussion or comment around
decision making or increase public participation in Government processes in any
meaningful way.

32. I consider the following factors weigh against disclosure:
a.  the disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the protection of
third-parties and government agency staff member’s right to privacy;
b.  the disclosure could reasonably be expected to impede the Ombudsman's
health and safety obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011
(Cth), by exposing staff to unsolicited contact;
c.  the disclosure of personal information in the form of complaint details would
undermine the effectiveness of the Ombudsman’s investigative functions by:
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i.  discouraging complainants and members of the public from seeking
the assistance of our Office out of concern relevant investigation
information will not be kept confidential; and
ii. discouraging other public sector agencies from providing information
to the Ombudsman in response to an investigation; and
d.  the fact that such information is not on the public record or otherwise
available from publicly accessible sources.
33. I have given considerable weight to the factors weighing against disclosure.
34. Pursuant to subsection 11A(5) of the FOI Act, I have concluded that this material is
not required to be disclosed because disclosure at this time would be, on balance,
contrary to the public interest.
Review rights
Internal review
35. 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 to xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
•  by mail to Commonwealth Ombudsman GPO Box 442 Canberra ACT 2601
36. 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.
Information Commissioner review or complaint
37. You also have the right to seek IC review of this decision. For FOI applicants, an
application for IC review must be made in writing within 60 days of the decision. For
third parties who object to disclosure of their information, an application for IC
review must be made in writing within 30 days of the decision.
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38. 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.
39. 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 request was processed. It should also identify the Ombudsman’s
Office as the agency about which you are complaining.
40. You can make an IC review application or make an FOI complaint in one of the
following ways:
•  online at https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-
information-rights/freedom-of-information-complaints/make-an-foi-
complaint
•  via email to xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
•  by mail to GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001, or
•  by fax to 02 9284 9666.
41.  More information about the Information Commissioner reviews and complaints is
available at its website: www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-review-
process.
Contact
42. You may contact me via email at xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx or via
telephone on 1300 362 072.
Yours sincerely,

David Yalpi
Legal Officer
Legal Team
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