Mr Phillip Tweedie
University Secretary
Director, University
Governance Office
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
21 January 2026
Ferris Bueller
Via Email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Freedom of Information Request- 202500226 – Notification of decision
Dear Ferris Bueller,
On 11 September 2025, the Australian National University received your request seeking access to
documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act)
.
1. Scope of Request
I have taken your request to be as follows:
“Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 1982, I request the following:
- The letter from the majority of college deans to Professor Bell informing that they lacked
confidence in her leadership.
- Any correspondence (emails, Teams messages, text messages, etc) between college deans
discussing sending a letter informing of a lack of confidence in Professor Bell.
- Any correspondence (emails, Teams messages, text messages, etc) between the college
dean who abstained from the letter informing Professor Bell of a lack of confidence in her
leadership and other college deans.
- Any response to the no-confidence letter (either informal or formal) from Professor Bell to
college deans.
The Australian National University
Canberra 2600, ACT Australia
TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12002 (Australian University)
CRICOS Provider Code: 00120C
- Any correspondence from the Chancellor, Julie Bishop, in response to the college deans'
letter of no confidence.
To assist in the processing of this request, I agree to the redaction of the personal
information of non senior employees of the university.”
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a final decision on your request for access under
the Act.
2. Authority to Make Decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the Act to make decisions in respect of requests to
access documents or to amend or annotate records.
3. Relevant Material
In reaching my decision I referred to the following:
➢ The terms of your request
➢ Documentation relevant to your request
➢ Advice from University staff with responsibility for matters relating to the documents
to which you sought access
➢ The FOI Act 1982 (Cth)
➢ Guidelines published by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
under section 93A of the Act (the FOI Guidelines)
4. Decision
While I note that your request refers to “the letter from the majority of deans to Professor Bell
informing her that they lacked confidence in her leadership”
After undertaking appropriate searches I am satisfied no document exists that meets that
description.
I am required to give you a decision on your request. Given that no documents relating to your
request were found to exist, I have decided to refuse your Freedom of Information request under
section 24A(1).
Your review rights are outlined on the following page.
The Australian National University
2
CRICOS Provider #00120C
Yours sincerely
Mr Phillip Tweedie
University Secretary
Director, University Governance Office
Australian National University
The Australian National University
3
CRICOS Provider #00120C
Your review rights
If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for internal review or Information
Commissioner review of the decision. We encourage you to seek internal review as a first step as it
may provide a more rapid resolution of your concerns
Application for Internal Review of Decision
Section 54A of the Act, gives you the right to apply for an internal review of my decision.
It must be made in writing within 30 days of receipt of this letter, no particular form is required but
it is desirable to set out in the application the grounds on which you consider the decision should
be reviewed.
The application should be addressed to Freedom of Information at
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Application for Information Commissioner Review of decision
Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Australian Information Commissioner to
review my decision. An application must be made in writing within 60 days of the date of this
letter, and be lodged in one of the following ways:
Form: either online form or downloadable form available at
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-
rights/freedom-of-information-reviews/information-commissioner-review
email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Post: Director of FOI Dispute Resolution, GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001
More information is available on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner website.
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-rights/freedom-
of-information-reviews
The Australian National University
4
CRICOS Provider #00120C
