Zack
via email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Zack
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST: No. 2025/26-005
INTERNAL REVIEW DECISION
I refer to your request for internal review of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s
(NHMRC’s) decision to refuse access to a certain document requested under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).
I am an officer authorised under subsection 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to
FOI requests. I confirm that I was not involved in, or consulted on, the original decision in
relation to the below FOI access request.
As a result of my review, I have decided to grant partial access to one document. The details of
my decision are provided below.
Summary of matter
On 26 October 2025, you made a request to NHMRC for access to:
…the Conflicts of Interest Disclosure(s) received by NHMRC in relation to
Australian Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder
Developer: Australasian ADHD Professionals Association
Date of Approval: 29/7/2022
as listed on
https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nhmrc.gov.au
%2Fguidelinesforguidelines%2Fnhmrc-approval%2Fnhmrc-approved-
guidelines&data=05%7C02%7Cfoi%40nhmrc.gov.au%7Cc7daa0ef01e8492c54f208de1416
85e6%7C402fca06dc9c412f9bf91a335a4671f7%7C0%7C0%7C638970284284520663%7C
Unknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiO
iJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=SXifcV
x4tM0QUd0dye6TqeYfJcx%2BKuCWtVUJM39Wkdk%3D&reserved=0.
Time frame: 01/01/2018 to 30/7/2022
On 16 December 2025, you were sent the original access decision relating to your original FOI
request to NHMRC. It advised that the decision maker had decided to refuse access to one
document within the scope of your request, on the grounds that it fell within exemptions under
sections 47E and 47F of the FOI Act.
Internal review request
On 19 December 2025, you asked for an internal review of the original access decision. My
internal review relates to the search outcomes, the parameters and the process that was
undertaken, as well as to the original access decision to refuse access to one document
identified as falling within the scope of your request.
16 MARCUS CLARKE STREET, CANBERRA ACT 2601
GPO BOX 1421, CANBERRA ACT 2601
xxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx
NHMRC.GOV.AU
Timeframe for notifying an internal review decision
The statutory timeframe for notifying an internal review decision is 30 days, starting from the
day after the day on which your review request was received. Accordingly, the due date for a
decision on your internal review application is 19 January 2026 (as the first business day
following the 30-day period).
Decision
In making my internal review decision, I have had regard to the following:
• your email seeking internal review (dated 19 December 2025)
• your original FOI request to NHMRC (dated 26 October 2025)
• the document search process and parameters
• the views of a third party consulted by NHMRC, where relevant, under section 27 and
27A of the FOI Act
• the relevant provisions of the FOI Act (accessed via:
www.legislation.gov.au) • the
FOI Guidelines—Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under
s 93A of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Guidelines) (accessed via:
www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/freedom-of-information-guidance-for-
government-agencies/foi-guidelines).
I have reviewed the internal document search outcomes, the parameters and the process that
was undertaken and consider that this was appropriate and complete. As a result, I agree that
there was one document within the scope of your request.
After considering the items listed above, which includes the views of the third party consulted, I
have decided to:
• change the original decision for the document by granting partial access to some
information, as I consider that the exemptions under sections 47E and 47F do not apply
to information which is in the public domain
• affirm the original decision for refusing access to the other information, on the grounds
that it falls within the exemptions under sections 47E and 47F of the FOI Act (I have also
affirmed that certain information within the document is irrelevant under section 22 of
the FOI Act).
The reasons for my decision are provided below.
Please note that we are not providing the document to you at this stage. This is because, as the
original access refusal decision has changed, NHMRC must notify the relevant third party, who
then has review rights. Access must not be given to an applicant until the third party’s review or
appeal opportunities have been exhausted. (See below for further explanation.)
Documents containing irrelevant material (s22)
Section 22 of the FOI Act allows NHMRC to prepare an edited copy of a document, modified by
deletions or redactions, so that the edited copy would not disclose any information that is
reasonably regarded as irrelevant to the request.
I consider that any information that is not the
‘…Conflicts of Interest Disclosure(s) received by
NHMRC in relation to Australian Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline for Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder’ to be outside the scope of your request (for example, contact details and
other member information). Accordingly, I have decided to redact this irrelevant information
from the document.
Public interest conditional exemptions – certain operations of agencies (s47E)
Subsection 47E(d) of the FOI Act conditionally exempts documents where disclosure would, or
could reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on agency activities, and in
particular on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of an agency.
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I am not satisfied that section 47E applies to all information within the document. For any
information that NHMRC has identified as being readily available in the public domain (that is
about Guideline Development Group (GDG) members), I have decided to release this
information in the document.
However, having considered all the information, including third-party comments, I agree with the
original decision maker that information which cannot be readily found in the public domain
should be redacted under section 47E of the FOI Act. I am satisfied that:
• This information was provided to NHMRC by the guideline developer, as part of the
guideline approval process, and may not otherwise be publicly available. It was
submitted on the understanding that the material contained within will be treated as
confidential and only used for the purposes of assessing the guideline for approval. To
publicly release information that was submitted to NHMRC on the understanding of
mutual confidentially, has the potential to destroy or diminish the credibility of NHMRC’s
guideline approval program. The proper and efficient conduct of the program relies on
the guideline developer’s trust in the robustness and integrity of the process. It also
relies on the provision of comprehensive information so that NHMRC can effectively
undertake the approval process.
• A lack of confidence in NHMRC processes could reasonably be expected to dissuade
future developers and their colleagues from providing detailed information that includes
personal information about people considered for guideline development membership. I
agree with the original decision maker that such an impact would be contrary to the
public interest in protecting the program by which decisions are made to approve high
quality clinical practice guidelines in Australia.
• I note that NHMRC Standard 2.3
1 (under ‘Be transparent’) states that ‘to be transparent,
guidelines will make publicly available the declarations of interest of members of the
guideline development group’. I also note that the onus is on the guideline developer to
publish this information. T
he ADHD Guideline2 (Appendix 4) states that: ‘The Conflict-
of-Interest declarations for the GDG is available via request:
xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx’.
Public interest conditional exemption – Documents affecting personal privacy (s47F)
Under section 47F of the FOI Act, a document is conditionally exempt if the disclosure would
involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information of any person (including a deceased
person), and such disclosure would be contrary to the public interest. This exemption is
intended to protect the personal privacy of individuals.
I am not satisfied that section 47F applies to all information within the document. For any
information that NHMRC has identified as being readily available in the public domain (that is
about GDG members), I have decided to release this information in the document.
However, having considered all the information, including third party comments, I affirm that the
information which cannot be readily found in the public domain should be redacted under
section 47F of the FOI Act. I am satisfied that:
• The document contains individuals’ personal information, including information about
financial and professional/business affairs, private health information and information
about family members, that may not be otherwise publicly known.
• I also consider that disclosing the above personal information contained in this document
would be unreasonable. This information was provided to NHMRC for the sole purpose of
seeking approval of the ADHD Guideline, and under the expectation that it would not be
publicly disclosed. I also consider it unreasonable to disclose information that could
1 Refer the 2016 NHMRC Standards for Guidelines, available at the URL:
https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelinesforguidelines/standards 2 Refer
: https://adhdguideline.aadpa.com.au/
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adversely affect the business/professional affairs and advantage of the individuals if the
material is accessed by others. In addition, I have taken into account the extent to which
the disclosure could cause stress to the persons to whom the information relates, given
the personal nature of the information included. I affirm the that the release of this
personal information could affect the privacy of the individuals, particularly as the FOI
Act does not control or restrict any subsequent use or dissemination of information
released.
• I agree with the original decision maker that the disclosure of the above personal
information would be contrary to the public interest. I have also considered the factors
favouring disclosure of the information (in section 11B of the FOI Act, such as informing
debate on a matter of public importance or promoting the pro-disclosure principle in the
objects of the FOI Act), and the factors against disclosure (including whether it could
reasonably be expected to harm the personal and professional interests of the
individuals). I affirm that there is no public interest in disclosing the identified personal
details of these individuals.
Third party review rights
During the processing of your original request, NHMRC consulted with a third party affected by
the potential release of the document (under section 27 or 27A).
As the original access refusal decision has changed, NHMRC must notify relevant third party.
They then have 30 days to apply for an Information Commissioner review of my internal review
decision. Under subsection 27(7) and 27A(6) of the FOI Act, access to the document must not
be given to the applicant until the third party’s review or appeal opportunities have been
exhausted (see
Part 3 of the FOI Guidelines).
Your review rights
If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply to the Australian Information
Commissioner for review. An application for review by the Information Commissioner must be
made in writing within 60 days of the date of this letter, and be lodged in one of the following
ways:
• online:
https://webform.oaic.gov.au/prod?entitytype=ICReview&layoutcode=ICReviewWF
• email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx • post: GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW, 2001.
More information about Information Commissioner review is available on t
he Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner3 website.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way the internal review has been handled, you can make a
complaint in writing to NHMRC at: complaint
x@xxxxx.xxx.xx. Information on how NHMRC
manages complaints can be found on t
he NHMRC4 website.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can make a complaint in writing to the Australian
Information Commissioner in one of the following ways:
• online:
https://webform.oaic.gov.au/prod?entitytype=Complaint&layoutcode=FOIComplaintWF
• email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
• post: GPO Box 5288 Sydney 2001
3 URL:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-rights/freedom-of-
information-reviews/information-commissioner-review 4 URL:
https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/resources/nhmrc-complaints-policy
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link to page 5
More information about FOI complaints is available on t
he Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner5 website.
Questions
If you have any queries or wish to discuss my decision, please contact the NHMRC FOI Unit at
xxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Chris Jennaway
A/g Executive Director
Research Partnerships
19 January 2026
5 URL:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-rights/freedom-of-
information-complaints
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