Our ref: CMTEDDFOI 2025-382
Right to Know
via email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Right to Know
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST – NOTICE OF DECISION
I refer to your application under section 30 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2016
(the Act), received by the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development
Directorate (CMTEDD) on 20 October 2025. Specifically, you have sought access to the
following information:
“I am seeking any documents that list the services and functions that have been
insourced by the ACT Government, the number of staff brought in-house and who
the previous providers were.”
On 22 October 2025 we contacted you in relation to your scope and you provided the
further clarity of:
“I am seeking information on services that were previously provided by private or
not for profit providers but are now done or will be done by the ACT Government.
Examples in the ACT would include public school cleaning, maintenance of public
housing, weighbridge operators at resource management centres and school
crossing supervisors, cleaning and food services at hospitals.
The timeframe would be since the 2016 ACT election.”
On 28 October 2025, a confirmed clarification of your request has been provided to us by
the Education Directorate FOI team, confirming your scope is now:
“Information about decisions regarding actual or planned in-sourcing of services or
functions by ACT Government that are currently, or were previously, provided by
private or not for profit sectors, since 15 October 2016 (date of 2016 ACT election),
specifically:
- The name of the service/function
- The date of commencement (actual or planned)
- The number of staff brought in-house (actual or planned)
- The names of the affected providers of the services/functions”
Please be advised this request has also been partially transferred to the
Education
Directorate, Health and Community Services Directorate, Infrastructure Canberra,
Canberra Institute of Technology and Justice and Community Safety Directorate who all
will respond to you separately.
Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development
GPO Box 158 Canberra ACT 2601 | phone: 6207 7754 | www.act.gov.au
Authority
I am an Information Officer appointed by the CMTEDD Director-General under section 18
of the Act to deal with access applications made under Part 5 of the Act.
Timeframes
In accordance with section 40 of the Act, CMTEDD is required to provide a decision on
your access application within 30 days. Therefore, a decision is due by
1 December 2025. Decision on access
A search of CMTEDD records was performed using the information you provided.
Information found as relevant to your request is provided at
Appendix A. Release of documents
I have decided to grant full access to the relevant information.
Statement of Reasons
In accordance with section 54(2) of the Act a statement of reasons outlining my decisions
is below. In reaching my access decisions, I have taken the following into account:
• the Act
• the information that falls within the scope of your request
As a decision maker, I am required to determine whether the information within scope is
in the public interest to release. To make this decision, I am required to:
• assess whether the information would be contrary to public interest to disclose as
per
Schedule 1 of the Act.
• perform the public interest test as set out in section 17 of the Act by balancing the
factors favouring disclosure and factors favouring nondisclosure in
Schedule 2 of
the Act.
No Schedule 1 factors were identified as relevant.
Public Interest Test
The Act has a presumption in favour of disclosure. As a decision maker I am required to
decide where, on balance, public interest lies. As part of this process, I must consider
factors favouring disclosure and nondisclosure.
In
Hogan v Hinch (2011) 243 CLR 506, [31] French CJ stated that when ‘used in a statute,
the term [public interest] derives its content from “the subject matter and the scope and
purpose” of the enactment in which it appears’. Section 17(1) of the Act sets out the test,
to be applied to determine whether disclosure of information would be contrary to the
public interest. These factors are found in subsection 17(2) and Schedule 2 of the Act.
Schedule 2: Factors to be considered when deciding the public interest
Taking into consideration the information contained in the documents found to be within
the scope of your request, I have identified that the following public interest factors are
relevant to determine if release of the information contained within these documents is
within the ‘public interest’.
Factors favouring disclosure (Section 2.1)
•
Section 2.1(a)(i) - promote open discussion of public affairs and enhance the
government’s accountability.
•
Section 2.1(a)(ii) - contribute to positive and informed debate on important issues
or matters of public interest.
•
Section 2.1(a)(viii) - reveal the reason for a government decision and any
background or contextual information that informed the decision.
•
Section 2.1(a)(iv) - ensure effective oversight of expenditure of public funds.
I have placed substantial weight on the above factors favouring disclosure. The release of
this information will provide you with statistical information in relation to insourcing
by
the ACT Government.
I did not identify any factors favouring nondisclosure.
Charges
Processing charges are not applicable for this request because the number of pages
released to you is below the charging threshold of 50.
Online publishing – Disclosure Log
Under section 28 of the Act, CMTEDD maintains an online record of access applications
called
a disclosure log. Your original access application and my decision will be published on the CMTEDD
disclosure log. Your personal contact details will not be published.
Ombudsman Review My decision on your access request is a reviewable decision as identified in Schedule 3 of
the Act. You have the right to seek Ombudsman review of this outcome under section 73
of the Act within 20 working days from the day that my decision is provided to you, or a
longer period allowed by the Ombudsman.
We recommend using this form
Applying for an Ombudsman Review to ensure you
provide all of the required information. Alternatively, you may write to the Ombudsman
at:
The ACT Ombudsman
GPO Box 442
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Via email:
xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) Review
Under section 84 of the Act, if a decision is made under section 82(1) on an Ombudsman
review, you may apply to the ACAT for review of the Ombudsman decision. Further
information may be obtained from the ACAT at:
ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal
GPO Box 370
Canberra City ACT 2601
Telephone: (02) 6207 1740
http://www.acat.act.gov.au/
Should you have any queries in relation to your request please contact the CMTEDD FOI
Team by telephone on 6207 7754 or email
xxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Katharine Stuart
Information Officer
Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate
27 November 2025
Appendix A
The name of the
The date of commencement (actual or
The number of staff brought in-house (actual The names of the affected providers of
service/function
planned)
or planned)
the services/functions
Stromlo Forest Park (SFP) internal Three staff were appointed in the period •1 FTE (new) – Trails Maintenance and
SFP previously engaged external
team to manage onsite
of March to May 2024, and another in
Development Supervisor (TO4)
contractors Iconic Trails and Green
operational trails maintenance
July 2025.
•2 FTE (new) – Two Trail/Field officers
Options under Service Agreements to
and improvements, as well as
(GSO5/6)
deliver all mountain bike and equestrian
minor turf and horticulture
•1 FTE (new) – Land Management Officer
trail construction and maintenance, as
maintenance programs.
(GSO10)
well as turf and horticultural services.
Mail & Courier Services
19 August 2024
4 FTE
Cannon Australia PTY LTD
Document Outline
