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DEFENCE FOI 1064/25/26
STATEMENT OF REASONS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
1.
I refer to the request by John Davis (the applicant), dated and received on
19 January 2026 by the Department of Defence (Defence), for access to the following
documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act):
…I am seeking the Army Standing Instructions - Personnel (ASI-P) Management of
Reportable Incidents, which could be located in Part 12 of the ASI-P document...
FOI decision maker
2.
I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23 of the FOI Act to make a decision on
this FOI request.
Documents identified
3.
I have identified one (1) document as falling within the scope of the request.
Exclusions
4.
Defence has only considered final versions of documents.
Decision
5.
I have decided to refuse access to one document on the grounds that the document is
considered exempt under section 47E [Public interest conditional exemptions – certain
operations of agencies] of the FOI Act.
Material taken into account
6.
In making my decision, I have had regard to:
a. the terms of the request;
b. the content of the identified document in issue;
c. relevant provisions of the FOI Act; and
d. the Guidelines published by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act (the Guidelines).
REASONS FOR DECISION
Section 22 – Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted
7.
Where a decision maker denies access to a document, section 22(1) of the FOI Act
requires that they consider releasing the document with exempt matter deleted, if
possible.
8.
Paragraph 3.172 of the Guidelines provides that:
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…an agency or minister should take a common sense approach in considering
whether the number of deletions would be so many that the remaining document
would be of little or no value to the applicant.
9.
In the case of document identified as being refused in full, I have decided to refuse
access to the document as it would be meaningless and of little or no value once the
exempt material is removed.
Section 47E – Public interest conditional exemptions – certain operations of agencies
10.
Section 47E of the FOI Act states:
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or
could reasonably be expected to, do any of the following:
(d) have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of
the operations of the agency
11.
The Guidelines, at paragraph 6.115, provide that:
The predicted effect must bear on the agency’s ‘proper and efficient’
operations, that is, the agency is undertaking its operations in an expected
manner.
12.
I am satisfied that were the detailed information of Army’s incident management be
made publicly available, it would have substantial adverse effects on the proper and
efficient operation of Defence. The document contains the methods and procedures for
responding to incidents within Army. Defence personnel are the intended audience for
this document. The FOI Act does not limit the use of released documents and have
considered that the document being published to a larger audience could therefore
impact the proper and efficient conduct of investigation operations of Defence.
13.
The Guidelines provide, at paragraph 6.112, that I should consider whether disclosure
of the information ‘would, or could reasonably be expected to lead to a change in the
agency’s processes that would enable those processes to be more efficient.’ Given the
nature of the information, I am satisfied that release could reasonably be expected to
lead to a change in Defence’s processes that would not lead to any efficiencies.
14.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that the information contained within the document is
conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act.
Public interest considerations - section 47E
15.
Section 11A(5) of the FOI Act states:
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document if it is
conditionally exempt at a particular time unless (in the circumstances)
access to the document at that time would, on balance, be contrary to the
public interest.
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16.
I have considered the factors favouring disclosure as set out in section 11B(3) [factors
favouring access] of the FOI Act. The relevant factors being whether access to the
document would:
(a) promote the objects of this Act (including all the matters set out in
sections 3 and 3A);
(b) inform debate on a matter of public importance;
17.
In my view, disclosure of this information would not increase public participation in
the Defence process (section 3(2)(a) of the FOI Act), nor would it increase scrutiny or
discussion of Defence activities (section 3(2)(b) of the FOI Act).
18.
Paragraph 6.233 of the Guidelines specifies a non-exhaustive list of public interest
factors against disclosure. The factors I find particularly relevant to this request are
that release of this information could reasonably be expected to prejudice:
x an agency’s ability to obtain confidential information;
x an agency’s ability to obtain similar information in the future; and
x the management function of an agency.
19.
While I accept there is a public interest in ensuring that Defence undertakes its
functions in a transparent and proper manner, there is also a strong public interest in
maintaining the confidentiality of the material contained in the document.
20.
I have not taken any of the factors listed in section 11B(4) [irrelevant factors] of the
FOI Act into account when making this decision.
21.
Accordingly, I find that the document is conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of
the FOI Act.
Digitally signed by Fiona
Fiona
WHITESEN
WHITESEN
Date: 2026.02.18 10:07:41
+11'00'
Ms Fiona Whitesen
Accredited Decision Maker
Army Headquarters
Department of Defence
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