FOI25 440 Decision Letter and Attachments A B.pdf

OFFICIAL

Ref: FOI25/440 CM25/24880
3 October 2025

Mr Glenn Hamiltonshire
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Hamiltonshire
Freedom of Information Request FOI25/440 – Decision letter
I am writing to give you a decision about your request for access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) ) to the Inspector of the National Anti-
Corruption Commission (Inspector).
Your request
On 10 September 2025, you requested access to:

any correspondents received by the Inspector of the National Anti-Corruption
Commission relating to the raids discussed in the article from any of the following
individuals:
a. Bruce Lehrmann
b. John Macgowan
c. Zali Burrows
On 11 September 2025, the Attorney-General’s department acknowledged your request
on my behalf.
A decision in relation to your request is due on 8 October 2025.
My decision
I am authorised under s 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to freedom of
information requests.
I have identified one document, an incoming email I received in 2024, that fal s within the
scope of your request. I did this by arranging for my Office to undertake comprehensive
searches to locate documents within the scope of your request.
In making my decision regarding access to the relevant documents, I have taken the
following material into account:
•  the terms of your request
•  the content of the documents identified as within scope of your request
•  the provisions of the FOI Act, and
•  the FOI Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner (the
Guidelines).

OFFICIAL
I have decided to refuse access to the document in full pursuant to ss 47F(1) and 47E(d)
of the FOI Act.
Additional information
Your review rights under the FOI Act are set out at Attachment A to this letter.
The statement of reasons at Attachment B sets out the reasons for my decision to refuse
access to certain material to which you have requested access.
Sincerely
Gail Furness SC
Inspector of the National Anti-Corruption Commission
E-mail: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Attachments
Attachment A: Review Rights
Attachment B: Statement of reasons
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OFFICIAL
Attachment A – Your review rights
If you disagree with my decision, you may ask for an Information Commissioner review.
Information Commissioner review
Information Commissioner review requests must be submitted within 60 days of receiving
this letter. Your request should include your contact details, a copy of my decision, and the
reasons why you disagree with my decision. You can apply in one of the following ways:
Online: https://webform.oaic.gov.au/prod?entitytype=ICReview&layoutcode=ICReviewWF
Email: xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Mail:   Director of FOI Dispute Resolution, GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001.
More information about Information Commissioner review is available at:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-
rights/freedom-of-information-reviews/information-commissioner-review.
FOI Complaints
If you are concerned about how we handled your FOI request, please let us know what we
could have done better, as we may be able to rectify the situation. If you are not satisfied
with our response, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner. Your
complaint must be in writing, and can be lodged in one of the following ways:
Online:https://webform.oaic.gov.au/prod?entitytype=Complaint&layoutcode=FOIComplaint
WF
Email: xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Mail:   Director of FOI Dispute Resolution, GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001.
More information about Freedom of information complaints is available at:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-
rights/freedom-of-information-complaints.
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Attachment B - Statement of reasons - FOI25/440
This document 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).
Public interest conditional exemptions
An agency 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
• certain operations of agencies (s 47E), and
• 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 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 47E(d): Public interest conditional exemption - certain operations of
agencies

Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its
disclosure would, or could reasonably be expected to have a substantial adverse
effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of an agency.
I have decided to apply s 47E(d) to the entirety of the document identified for your
request.
The document is an email sent to me by a member of the public on an expectation of
confidentially. Releasing that material would reasonably harm the business
operations and processes of my Office and in my role as Inspector of the National
Anti-Corruption Commission (Inspector) as members of the public may decide
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against making a complaint or disclosure to me regarding alleged corrupt conduct,
maladministration or officer misconduct by the National Anti-Corruption Commission
(NACC). This would in turn compromise my effectiveness as complaints are a core
aspect of how I obtain information in my role of overseeing the NACC.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that this material is conditionally exempt under s 47E(d) 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 header ‘Section 11A(5): Public interest test’.
Section 47F: Public interest conditional exemption - personal privacy
Section 47F(1) of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditional y 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.
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.
In my view, disclosure of the personal information which is conditionally exempt
under s 47F(1) of the FOI Act could reasonably be expected to prejudice the
protection of those individuals' right to privacy. The material relates to an individual
and their personal opinions or experiences in relation to their engagement with the
NACC.
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 wil  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 debate on a matter of public importance, including by allowing or
assisting inquiry into possible deficiencies in the conduct or administration of
an agency or official, and
• providing information regarding the operations of government and furthering
the objectives of the FOI Act.
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, as the case may
be, reasonably be expected to prejudice:
• the protection of an individual’s right to privacy,
• the fair treatment of individuals,
• impede the administration of justice for an individual,
• the ability for me to obtain similar information in the future,
• harm the interests of an individual, and
• prejudice the conduct of investigations.
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.
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