17 October 2025
FOI ref: 2025/2082
Rose (Right to Know)
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Rose,
Consultation under section 24AB of the FOI Act – FOI Request no. 2025/2082 I refer to your request for access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) received on 6 October 2025.
You have requested access to
I request documents recording or relating to any action taken pursuant to Part 9, Part
10 or Part 11 of the Administrative Review Tribunal
Performance Standard for Non-Judicial Members.
I agree for the following categories of information to be excluded:
- duplicates of documents that are in scope;
- contact details for APS employees, other than members of the Senior
Executive Service.
I am writing to clarify your request and advise that I intend to refuse your request on the
basis that the work involved in processing the request would substantially and unreasonably
divert the resources of the agency from its other operations. This is called a ‘practical refusal
reason’ under section 24AA(1)(b) of the FOI Act.
Intention to refuse your request In deciding whether a practical refusal reason exists, I must have regard to the resources
required to perform the following activities as specified in s24AA(2) of the FOI Act:
• identifying, locating or collating documents within the filing system of the agency or
minister
• examining the documents;
• deciding whether to grant documents, refuse or deter access;
• consulting with other parties;
• making a copy or an edited copy, of the document; and
• notifying any interim or final decision on the request.
I have conducted a preliminary assessment of the time and resources needed to process
your FOI request in its current form. Based on this, I have decided that a practical refusal
reason exists for the following reasons.
Part 9,10 and 11 of the Administrative Performance Standard for Non-Judicial Members
(Performance standard)
I have liaised with the President’s Chambers and the General Counsel for documents
relating to any action taken pursuant to the relevant parts of the Performance Standard. As a
result, I have been advised that there is an estimate of approximately 11,341 documents
without including duplicates. These documents are stored across multiple repositories and
each document must be individually retrieved and reviewed to determine whether it is within
scope.
Identifying, locating or collating documents within the filing system
I have conducted an estimate of the times for searching and collating documents. Applying a
conservative estimate of 2 minutes per document to allow for retrieval and scope
assessment, the time required to undertake this work is approximately 378 hours.
11,341 documents x 2 minutes = 22,682 minutes (378 hours)
Examining the documents and deciding whether to grant, refuse or defer access
If the request were to proceed, this would require the agency to examine the content of each
document in order to determine whether any exemptions apply and whether any redactions
are required. Given the estimate of 11,341 documents, and assuming a conservative
estimate of 5 minutes to examine each document, the time required to complete this stage
would be approximately:
11,341 documents x 5 minutes = 56,705 minutes (945 hours)
Consulting with other parties – s 27A of the FOI Act
Under section 27A of the FOI Act, the agency is required to consult with individuals before
deciding to grant access to documents that contain their personal information where
disclosure may reasonably be expected to affect their personal privacy. Based on the nature
of the documents identified, consultation may be required with up to 350 individuals. This
figure represents the total number of members appointed to the Tribunal as at the date of
your request.
Consultation is a process that involves more than issuing a single letter, it requires identifying
and contacting each affected individual, preparing consultation material, managing
responses and considering any objections received. The estimated consultation effort is set
out below.
Activity
Total hours
Calculation/Reasoning
Retrieving contact details for 12 hours
350 individuals x 2 minutes
each individual
each
Draft initial consultation
1 hour
One-off drafting time
template
Customise consultation
29 hours
350 individuals x 5 minutes
letter for each individual
= 29 hours
Locate and collate relevant
29 hours
350 individuals x 5 minutes
document extracts for each
= 29 hours
individual
Review and assess any
58 hours
350 individuals x 10 minutes
response received
= 58 hours
Total consultation time
129 hours
Notifying any interim or final decision on the request
Activity
Hours
Drafting decision
5 hours
Creating schedule of documents
189 hours (11,341 docs x 1 minute)
Proofreading
1 hour
195 hours
Making a copy or an edited copy, of the document
Based on previous experience in reviewing documents, I estimate that it would take 5
minutes to prepare a copy or edited copy of the document. Therefore, this would take
approximately 945 hours based on 11,341 documents.
11,341 x 5 minutes = 56,705 minutes (945 hours)
Total estimate of time for processing your FOI request
Activity
Hours
Identifying, locating or collating documents
378 hours
within the filing system
Examining the documents and deciding
945 hours
whether to grant, refuse or defer access
Consulting with other parties – s 27A of the
129 hours
FOI Act
Notifying any interim or final decision on the
195 hours
request
Making a copy or an edited copy, of the
945 hours
document
Total
2592 hours
Having regard to all the estimates, this request is estimated to take an ART officer a
minimum of
2592 hours to process. Consequently, we find that the work involved in
processing the request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of this
agency from its other operations.
Before I make a final decision, you have an opportunity to revise your request. Revising your
request could mean narrowing the scope or explaining in more detail the documents you
wish to access.
Within 14 days after the day you receive this notice, you must do one of the following, in
writing:
• withdraw your request
• revise your request
• tell me that you do not wish to revise your request
During the 14 day period, you are welcome to contact me for assistance with revising your
request.
If you do not contact me or provide written notice within the 14 day period, your FOI request
will be taken to have been withdrawn under section 24AB(7) of the FOI Act.
The 30 day statutory timeframe for processing your FOI request is suspended from the date
you receive this letter, and will resume on the day you revise your request or indicate that
you do not wish to revise your request.
Please note, as permitted by the FOI Act, the ART may impose a processing charge as the
request does not concern your personal information. If this occurs, we will send you an
estimate letter before commencing processing.
If you have any questions, please contact me at
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely,
Tracy La
Authorised FOI Officer (APS 6)
Level 6, 83 Clarence Street
Sydney NSW 2000
GPO Box 9955 Sydney NSW 2001
