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I request a copy of any document created on or after 1 August 2023 that is, or could be
understood to be, a communication to ACT Policing or a subset of ACT Policing regarding the
Sofronoff inquiry
For example, an email to all AFP employees (ACT Policing and Federal) is included because
ACT Policing is a subset of all AFP and therefore a communication to all AFP is necessarily a
communication to ACT Policing
For example, an email to all SACAT officers (or similar / however described) is included
because SACAT is a subset of ACT Policing
For example, an email to the investigator/s in a specific investigation is not included because
individual investigator/s are not a subset of ACT Policing in the relevant way, and/or, their
sergeant giving them advice about a specific investigation is a communication regarding that
investigation, not regarding the Sofronoff inquiry.
I request any training documents that were created in furtherance of Sofronoff Inquiry
Recommendation 1, or otherwise relate to that recommendation
I request a copy of any current policy that defines ‘the threshold to charge and the
considerations which should inform a police officer's application of the threshold to a given
case’ (Sofronoff Inquiry Recommendation 1).
On 16 December 2025, I wrote to you advising that we had combined your requests under section 24(2)
of the FOI Act. In this correspondence I also sought an extension of time, advised that your request may
be too broad to process and invited you to meaningfully revise your request.
You responded on 17 December 2025 advising that you do not agree to the extension of time unless
your requests were considered individually. The AFP FOI Team maintains its decision to combine
your requests related to the Sofronoff Inquiry.
I believe that the work involved in processing your request in its current form would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of the AFP from its other operations, due to the size and scope of
your request. This is a ‘practical refusal reason’ (section 24AA of the Act).
On this basis, I intend to refuse access to the documents you requested. However, before I make a final
decision, you have an opportunity to revise your request. This is a ‘request consultation process’ in
accordance with section 24AB of the Act.
Why I intend to refuse the request
I have decided that a practical refusal reason exists because:
1.
As the request stands, a broad number of documents are captured
2.
Additional searches for records not already conducted need to be undertaken
3.
I would need to examine each of these documents individually to determine the documents
within the scope of your request, potentially consult with another person or body in relation to
the request, make a copy or an edited copy of the documents, and redact exempt material
from the documents, and
4.
Searching, reviewing and indexing these documents may also substantially and unreasonably
divert the resources of the AFP from its other operations.
Consultation period
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This consultation period is for
14 days, commencing the day after the date of this notice. You have an
opportunity to revise your request to enable it to proceed. Before the end of the consultation period, you
must do one of the following in writing:
1.
withdraw the request, or
2.
make a revised request, or
3.
indicate that you do not wish to revise the request.
Potential revision of request
As it stands your request is too broad, and potentially captures too many documents, for the AFP to
reasonably process. Your request for documents sent or received by ACT/Commonwealth Government
without specifying which departments the documents have been sent to/from does not sufficiently
allow us to identify a business area with which to conduct searches and potentially captures a
voluminous number of documents.
ACT Policing is a large organisation and with many SES staff. Without further information, the part of
your request for ‘any document in the period 1-31 August 2023 inclusive sent to or from an AFP SES
employee in the ACT Policing part of the AFP relating to the Sofronoff Inquiry’ is broad and does not
enable FOI to identify the documents requested.
Further, due to system limitations when conducting email audits, without stricter parameters such as
sender and recipient, and more detailed key words, requests for emails can return thousands of results.
The part of your request for documents including the word “Sofronoff” and ACTP communications are
likely to return a voluminous number of documents and not be able to be processed under the FOI Act.
In regards of your request for training documents, the AFP operates under a continuous improvement
philosophy. Every training course, whether recruit training, brief adjudication, constable development,
detective training, or specialist programs, is subject to ongoing updates. Members connected to this
matter will have completed different iterations of these courses over time. Consequently, there is no
single static set of governance or training documents and this part of your request could potentially
return a significant amount of documents.
Reducing the scope of your request may involve limiting your request to one point of your request. This
suggestion is offered as guidance only. Should you decide to revise your request, this does not
guarantee that the practical refusal reason will no longer exist. If it does no longer exist, there is no
guarantee that documents will be released without exemptions applied. These decisions are made
when any documents that are the subject of a request are assessed.
During the consultation period, you may contact me by email at xxx@xxx.xxx.xx. If you revise the request
in a way that adequately addresses the practical refusal grounds, I will recommence processing your
request. Please note that the time taken to consult you regarding the scope of your request is not taken
into account for the purposes of the 30 day time limit for processing the request.
If you do not respond in one of the 3 ways indicated above during the consultation period, your request
will be taken to have been withdrawn.
Yours sincerely,
Libby
Senior FOI Case Officer
Commercial, Governance and Information Branch
Chief Counsel Portfolio
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