Our ref: CMTEDDFOI 2026-021
Justin Warren
via email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Warren
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST – NOTICE OF DECISION
I refer to your application under section 30 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2016
(the Act), sent to the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate
(CMTEDD) on 23 January 2026.
“
I request access to the following documents:
1. All emails from Emma Davidson <xxxx.xxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx> on the topic of
an email from a concerned Canberran about the Chief Minister, sent between 12
Feb 2024 and 28 February 2024, inclusive.
2. All replies to the emails referred to in point 1.
3. Any and all subsequent replies to the emails from point 1 and 2 (i.e. the full
email chain or thread).
To help clarify the topic concerned: the emails would have been sent regarding a
written complaint received from a member of the public regarding the conduct of
the then Chief Minister. I request that the documents be provided electronically, as
electronically searchable email documents in the .eml format.”
On 28 January 2026, you were contacted by CMTEDD FOI under section 31 of the Act, to
find out more information on what you were requesting. This is because your request
was not valid under section 30 of the Act, as the requested search did not contain
enough detail to identify what information sought. You were asked to provide more
information on your request.
On 29 January 2026, you replied as follows:
“
My apologies, I should have been clearer that yes, I am referring to Emma
Davidson, former Greens Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly.
I have provided a narrow range of dates, and the specific email address to use for
the "From:" field, which should narrow the search substantially.
Regarding the topic of the emails, as I stated in my request, they would have been
from Ms Davidson regarding a complaint made by a member of the public
regarding the conduct of the then Chief Minister. I can't imagine there would be
many such complaints, and even fewer Chief Ministers. There is an upper limit on
how many emails Ms Davidson could possibly have written on any given day, even
with the substantial workload of a Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly. Unless
Ms Davidson was in the habit of being particularly obtuse with her email Subjects
and the body of her emails, I would imagine it should become obvious fairly quickly
if any given email was about this complaint.
Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development
GPO Box 158 Canberra ACT 2601 | phone: 6207 7754 | www.act.gov.au
I am not aware of who Ms Davidson emailed on this topic, which is part of why I
am making this FOI request. I do not currently have a copy of any of the emails in
question.
I trust this is sufficient information for you to locate the documents I seek. I will
also share further contact information via the email address you have provided so
that we can discuss the scope via phone call, if necessary.”
When you provided the above additional scoping information under section 31(3), your
request became valid under the Act.
Your
revised scope is as follows:
“
I request access to the following documents:
1. All emails from Emma Davidson <xxxx.xxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx> on the topic of
an email from a concerned Canberran about the Chief Minister, sent between 12
Feb 2024 and 28 February 2024, inclusive.
2. All replies to the emails referred to in point 1.
3. Any and all subsequent replies to the emails from point 1 and 2 (i.e. the full
email chain or thread).
To help clarify the topic concerned: the emails would have been sent regarding a
written complaint received from a member of the public regarding the conduct of
the then Chief Minister. I request that the documents be provided electronically, as
electronically searchable email documents in the .eml format.”
I am referring to Emma Davidson, former Greens Member of the ACT Legislative
Assembly.
I have provided a narrow range of dates, and the specific email address to use for
the "From:" field, which should narrow the search substantially.
Regarding the topic of the emails, as I stated in my request, they would have been
from Ms Davidson regarding a complaint made by a member of the public
regarding the conduct of the then Chief Minister. I can't imagine there would be
many such complaints, and even fewer Chief Ministers. There is an upper limit on
how many emails Ms Davidson could possibly have written on any given day, even
with the substantial workload of a Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly. Unless
Ms Davidson was in the habit of being particularly obtuse with her email Subjects
and the body of her emails, I would imagine it should become obvious fairly quickly
if any given email was about this complaint.
I am not aware of who Ms Davidson emailed on this topic, which is part of why I
am making this FOI request. I do not currently have a copy of any of the emails in
question.”
On 29 January 2026, you were advised by email that CMTEDD may not hold the
information within scope and that the CMTEDD FOI team would make enquiries as to
where it may best fit.
Section 102 of the Act states: “
Transfer of Ministerial responsibility - A Minister in
possession of government information relating to an agency the Minister is responsible
for must, when no longer responsible for the agency, give the information to the
agency.”
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
Under section 40 of the Act, CMTEDD is required to provide a decision on your access
application within 30 working days. Therefore, a decision is due by
13 March 2026.
Decision on access
Under section 35(1)(b) of the Act, the information is not held by CMTEDD.
A search of CMTEDD records as well as searches with the Chief Minister’s Office, has
failed to identify any documentation in relation to your request. I am satisfied that
appropriate searches were completed and that no documents relevant to your request
are held by CMTEDD.
We have made enquiries with the Justice and Community Safety Directorate (JACS), and
the Heath and Community Services Directorate (HCSD) as Ms Davidson had portfolios
with them in her time as a Minister; JACS and HCSD refused transfer of your request as
they do not hold information within scope of this request.
Additional Information
This may be useful additional information to you. The Ministerial Code of Conduct
information is available online here:
https://www.act.gov.au/open/ministerial-code-of-conduct
https://www.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1677088/Ministerial-Code-of-
Conduct-2020.pdf
The Code of Conduct includes information on reporting of conduct and breaching the
code, and records of Ministers on leaving office.
The ACT Integrity Commission has information available on its website here:
https://www.integrity.act.gov.au/about-us/accountability
https://www.integrity.act.gov.au/about-us/freedom-of-information
Charges
Pursuant to
Freedom of Information (Fees) Determination 2018 processing charges are
not applicable for this request as no documents are being released to you.
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, or 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/
Queries on your request can be referred to the CMTEDD Freedom of Information Team
by telephone on (02) 6207 7754 or email
xxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Emma Hotham
Information Officer
Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate
16 February 2026
Document Outline
