17 ACT-DPP communications
Dear Australian Federal Police,
I request a copy of any communication from ACT Policing to the (ACT) DPP where:
1. The communication is sent on or after 1 August 2023 and on or before 31 December 2024, and
2. The communication is to the DPP (that is, this scope does not include communications from the DPP to ACT Policing), and
3. The communication relates to an investigation into, or including, alleged sexual offences, and
4. ACT Policing's view in their communication is, or could be understood to be, or could be inferred to be when reading between the lines to be, that the investigation or part of it should not proceed to charges, or
5. ACT Policing's view in their communication is, or could be understood to be, or could be inferred to be when reading between the lines to be, less supportive of the investigation or part of it proceeding to charges when compared to the DPP's view (including a view actually expressed by the DPP and a view the DPP is anticipated to have)
Exclusions:
A. Non-SES personal information (SES includes acting SES)
B. Direct phone numbers
C. Non-public email addresses excluding the domain
D. Personal information of people that are not AFP or DPP employees (for example, complainants, witnesses, and defendants)
I note that redactions on the basis of legal professional privilege will be closely scrutinised. Communications from the DPP are presumptively legal advice and are excluded for that reason. However, a police officer providing their opinion in relation to an investigation is not legal advice and nor is it inherently a request for legal advice.
(if relevant, as I understand it, later FOI requests cannot be combined into earlier FOI requests where the earlier FOI request has not been decided within its statutory timeframe)
Yours faithfully,
Reasonable Prospects
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon Reasonable Prospects,
Please note, we have recently updated our Freedom of Information webform
which is our preferred method for FOI request submissions. It would be
greatly appreciated when submitting requests in the future if you could
please lodge them through the FOI [1]webform.
I refer to your request dated 13 February 2026, seeking access to
documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act) as follows:
“Request:
I request a copy of any communication from ACT Policing to the (ACT) DPP
where:
1. The communication is sent on or after 1 August 2023 and on or before 31
December 2024, and
2. The communication is to the DPP (that is, this scope does not include
communications from the DPP to ACT Policing), and
3. The communication relates to an investigation into, or including,
alleged sexual offences, and
4. ACT Policing's view in their communication is, or could be understood
to be, or could be inferred to be when reading between the lines to be,
that the investigation or part of it should not proceed to charges, or
5. ACT Policing's view in their communication is, or could be understood
to be, or could be inferred to be when reading between the lines to be,
less supportive of the investigation or part of it proceeding to charges
when compared to the DPP's view (including a view actually expressed by
the DPP and a view the DPP is anticipated to have)”
Timeframe – Seeking your agreement to an extension of time
Upon consideration of your request, the AFP is of the view that your
request will take longer than 30 days to process. The delay is
regrettable, however, due to an excessive number of requests that have
come through our office it will not be possible to advise you of a
decision by 16 March 2026.
Accordingly, pursuant to section 15AA of the Act, I seek your agreement to
extend the period by 30 days to notify you of a decision by 14 April 2026.
I would be grateful if you would advise this office in writing of your
agreement to the proposed extension of time by close of business 23
February 2026.
Consents – Please provide your response: YES/NO
Please advise this office whether you consent to exclude the following
information:
• All identifying information of AFP members and Commonwealth employees
below SES level (names, ID numbers, signatures, images) (AFP members
and Commonwealth employees);
• AFP and Commonwealth agency contact details other than the official
public channels (direct telephone numbers and email addresses);
• Job titles of AFP members and Commonwealth employees below SES;
• Draft documents;
• Personal information of any individual other than you from the
documents you are seeking;
• Information provided by third parties to the AFP from the documents
you are seeking;
• Duplicate documents; and
• Documents you have already provided to us, or that we have already
sent to you.
Please advise this office of the following: YES/NO
• Do the documents you seek relate to current court proceedings?
Disclosure of your identity: YES/NO
The AFP may be required to consult with third parties in accordance with
sections 26A, 27 and 27A of the Act. Please advise us if you consent to
being identified as a third party where consultation with a third party is
necessary? If we do not receive your consent, we will not disclose your
identity to third parties.
Information Publication Scheme
Please be advised that effective 1 May 2011 and in accordance with section
8(2) of the Act, an agency is required to publish information on the AFP
website following the notification of a decision in respect of a freedom
of information request. Details of the decision will be published in a
Disclosure Log which can be found at
[2]https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/informat....
The requirement to publish information released under FOI reinforces the
objectives of the FOI Act to promote a pro-disclosure culture across
government, and to increase recognition that information held by
government is a national resource. Exceptions to the requirement to
publish information would apply to personal information and information
concerning the business affairs of a person if it was considered
‘unreasonable’ to do so.
If however, after noting the above, you wish to raise any concerns about
the publication of information concerning your request prior to the
notification of a decision, please advise the AFP in writing before 16
March 2026.
If you have any queries in relation to this matter, please do not hesitate
to contact our team at [3][AFP request email].
Yours sincerely,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
SUPPORT OFFICER
AFP LEGAL
Writing to you from the country of the Menang peoples of the Noongar
Nation.
[4]Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police acknowledges the Traditional Owners and
Custodians of Country
throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and
community. We pay
our respects to First Nations people, culture and Elders past, present and
emerging.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/governan...
2. https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/informat...
3. mailto:[AFP request email]
4. http://www.afp.gov.au/