I have had created 12 documents falling within the scope of your request.
I have decided to give you access to all 12 documents in part (the documents). In making my
decision, I have relied on the personal information exemption in the FOI Act.
The documents are edited under s 22 of the FOI Act to delete exempt material. The edited copy,
along with a detailed schedule is attached to this email.
I have set out my reasons for this decision below.
Reasons for decision
Provision of an edited copy of exempt document with exempt and irrelevant material
deleted – section 22
Section 22 of the FOI Act provides that where an agency decides that it is it is possible for the
agency to prepare an edited copy of a document, modified by deletions to remove exempt and
irrelevant material, and it is reasonably practicable to do so, the agency must prepare the edited
copy and give the applicant access to the edited copy.
As I have discussed above, I have decided to prepare and give you access to an edited copy of
each of the 12 documents that are within the scope of your request with exempt and irrelevant
material deleted.
Conditional exemption – personal information
The FOI Act contains a number of exemptions known as ‘conditional exemptions’. If a document
falls within a conditional exemption, the OAIC must give you access to the document unless doing
so at this time would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest (s 11A(5)).
Section 47F of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure would
involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person.
The documents contain individual case numbers which could, if combined with other available
information or if already known, identify individual privacy complainants and IC review applicants.
If disclosed the case numbers would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information
of complainants and applicants to the OAIC.
For this reason, I am satisfied that disclosing OAIC case numbers would unreasonably disclose
personal information, and that the relevant documents are conditionally exempt under section
47F of the FOI Act.
The public interest test
In finding that the documents contains conditionally exempt material, I am therefore required to
consider whether it would be contrary to the public interest to give you access to a conditionally
exempt document at this time (s 11A(5)).
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Section 11A(5) provides that the OAIC must give you access to a conditionally exempt document
unless (in the circumstances) access to the document at that time of my decision would, on
balance, be contrary to the public interest.
In assessing whether the disclosure of a document would be contrary to the public interest, I must
balance any public interest factors for and against disclosure.
Of the public interest factors favouring disclosure listed in s 11B(3) of the FOI Act, two are
relevant in this decision. Disclosure would:
• promote the objects of the FOI Act, including increasing scrutiny, discussion, comment and
review of the government’s activities, and
• inform debate on a matter of public importance
Factors against disclosure include the disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the
protection of an individual’s right to privacy.
In this case, I am satisfied that the public interest factor against disclosure should be given
substantial weight. The public interest is against disclosure.
Giving you access to the material that I have decided is conditionally exempt would, on balance,
be contrary to the public interest.
If you disagree with my decision
Internal review
You have the right to apply for an internal review of my decision under Part VI of the Act. If you
wish to apply for an internal review, you must do so in writing within 30 days. There is no
application fee for internal review.
If you wish to apply for an internal review, please mark your application for the attention of the
FOI Coordinator and state the grounds on which you consider that my decision should be
reviewed.
Further Review
You may apply to the Information Commissioner for a review of my decision (IC review). If you
wish to apply for IC review, you must do so in writing within 60 days. Your application must
provide an address (including an email address or fax number) that we can send notices to, and
include a copy of this letter. A request for IC review can be made in relation to my decision, or an
internal review decision.
It is the Information Commissioner’s view that it will usually not be in the interests of the
administration of the Act to conduct an IC review of a decision, or an internal review decision,
made by the agency that the Information Commissioner heads: the OAIC. For this reason, if you
make an application for IC review of my decision, it is likely that the Information Commissioner
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will decide (under section 54W(b) of the Act) not to undertake an IC review on the basis that it is
desirable that my decision be considered by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).
Section 57A of the FOI Act provides that, before you can apply to the AAT for review of an FOI
decision, you must first have applied for IC review.
Applications for internal review or IC review can be submitted to:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Email: xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Fax: 02 9284 9666
Yours sincerely
Amanda Nowland
Dispute Resolution Branch
23 December 2016
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