Mr Richard Smith
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear Mr Richard Smith
LS6224 – FOI Request – Decision record and reasons
I refer to your email received Wednesday 16 August 2015 5:29 PM, sent via the Right to Know website,
in which you request (‘your FOI Request’) the Australian Electoral Commission (‘AEC’) under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (‘FOI Act’) for access to documents relating to the nomination of Mr
Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce at the 2013 Federal election.
2.  I am writing today to give you a decision about access to documents that you requested in your
FOI Request.
Summary
3.  I, Saskia Rosenblatt, Lawyer, of the AEC, am an officer authorised under subsection 23(1) of the
FOI Act to make decisions in relation to FOI requests.
4.  I have interpreted your FOI Request as seeking:
•  “A copy of the Nomination Form for House of Representatives Candidates in use by the
AEC immediately prior to the writs being issued for the 2013 Federal Election;
•  A copy of any Information for House of Representatives Candidates documents produced
by or provided by the Commonwealth and in use immediately prior to the writs being issued
for the 2013 Federal Election;
•  Documents received by the AEC relating to the Nomination of Mr Barnaby Thomas Gerard
Joyce to run for election in the seat of New England to the House of Representatives in the
2013 Federal Election, being documents relating to his nomination and not his campaign
for election;
•  A copy of the completed nomination form relating to the Nomination of Mr Barnaby Thomas
Gerard Joyce to run for election in the seat of New England to the House of Representatives
in the 2013 Federal Election; and
•  Documents, including any receipts issued, relating to the refund of the deposit made in
relation to the Nomination of Mr Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce to run for election in the
seat of New England to the House of Representatives in the 2013 Federal Election.”
5.  I coordinated searches for relevant documents to be conducted of files held by the  NSW State
Office, Elections Branch and the Finance & Business Services Branch of the AEC.
6.  Following these searches I have identified 9 documents (10 files in total) that fall within the scope
of your request.

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•  1 document relates to request part (a);
•  3 documents relate to request part (b);
•  3 documents relate to request part (c); and
•  2 documents, including 1 attachment, relates to request part (d).
7.  I have included as Attachment A  to this decision the schedule of relevant  documents.  This
schedule provides a description of each document that falls within the scope of your request and
the access decision for each of those documents.
8.  Having considered the documents outlined in Attachment A, I have decided to:
•  Grant access in full to 6 documents;
•  Grant access in part to edited copies of 3 documents; and
•  Refuse access to 1 document.
Material considered
9.  In reaching my decision, I have taken the following information into account:
(a)  the content of the documents that fall within the scope of your FOI Request;
(b)  the FOI Act, specifically sections 4, 11A, 11B, 22and 47F;
(c)  the  Privacy Act 1988 (the Privacy Act), specifically section 6 and the Australian Privacy
Principles (APPs) at schedule 1 to the Privacy Act.
(d)  the guidelines (the “FOI Guidelines”) issued by the Australian Information Commissioner
under section 93A of the FOI Act  (available here: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-
information/foi-guidelines/) specifically;
•  Part 2 – Scope of application of the Freedom of Information Act, specifically paragraphs
2.29 to 2.44, relating to the Meaning of ‘document’;
•  Part 3 – Processing and deciding on requests for access, specifically paragraphs 3.78
and 3.85 to 3.90, relating to Deleting exempt or irrelevant content from a document;
•  Part 6 –  Conditional exemptions, specifically paragraphs 6.127 to 6.179, relating to
Documents affecting personal privacy (s 47F).
Decision – access granted in full
10. Having considered the documents outlined in Attachment A, I have found Document Nos. 1, 2, 3,
4, 8 and 9 to be relevant to parts (a), (b) and (e) of your FOI Request.
11. I have decided to grant access in full to Document Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9.

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Decision – access granted to edited copy
12. Having considered the documents outlined in Attachment A, I have found Document Nos. 5, 6, and
7 to be relevant to parts (c) and (d) of your FOI Request.
13. I have decided to grant access in part by way of an edited copy of Document Nos. 5, 6, and 7.
Decision – access refused
14. Having considered the documents outlined in Attachment A, I have found Document No. 8.1, being
an attachment to Document 8, to be relevant, in part, to part (e) of your FOI Request.
15. I have decided to refuse access to Document 8.1.
Reasons for decision
Personal privacy conditional exemption
16. Section 47F of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt from disclosure to the
extent that it contains personal information; the disclosure of which would be unreasonable.
17. Personal information in the context of the FOI Act has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act.
Subsection 6(1) of the Privacy Act provides
personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual
who is reasonably identifiable:
(a) whether the information or opinion is true or not; and
(b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.
18. Paragraph 6.130 of the Guidelines provides:
Personal information can include a person’s name, address, telephone number, date of birth, medical
records, bank account details, taxation information and signature.
19. In determining whether the disclosure of a document would involve an unreasonable disclosure of
personal information, subsection 47F(2) of the FOI Act provides that an agency must have regard
to the following matters (the unreasonableness test):
•  the extent to which the information is well-known;
•  whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have been)
associated with the matters dealt with in the document;
•  the availability of the information from publically accessible sources; and
•  any other information that the agency considers is relevant.
20. Further, paragraph 6.138 of the FOI Guidelines states the following about the unreasonableness
test in section 47F:

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The personal privacy exemption is designed to prevent the unreasonable invasion of third parties’
privacy. The test of ‘unreasonableness’ implies a need  to balance the public interest in disclosure of
government-held information and the privacy interest in the privacy of individuals.
21. I have considered the conditional  exemption as outlined by section 47F of the FOI Act  and the
relevant parts, extracted above, from the FOI Guidelines, and have found that it applies to aspects
of Documents Nos. 5, 6 and 7.
22. With the respect to these documents I found that:
•  Document  No.  5 contains a facsimile  of the signature of the Mr Gregory Dezman, the
Registered Officer of the National Party of Australian – NSW, Mr Barnaby Joyce MP and
the AEC officer who processed the application. Additionally, it contains the personal contact
details for Mr Barnaby Joyce MP;
•  Document No. 6 contains a facsimile of the signature of the AEC officer who processed the
payment of the candidacy fee; and
•  Document No. 7 contains a facsimile of a signature of two AEC officers, Mr Barnaby Joyce
MP and also contains the personal contact details for Mr Barnaby Joyce MP.
23. I accept that both Mr Gregory Dezman and Mr Barnaby Joyce MP have a public presence and so
this personal information may already be in the public domain. However, I do need to balance this
against principles established by the Privacy Act, in particular Australian Privacy Principle (APP) 6
at schedule 1 to the Privacy Act, which prevents the disclosure of personal information except for
in specific circumstances.
24. I am satisfied that it would be unreasonable to disclose a facsimile of an individual’s signature and
the personal contact details for Mr Joyce because this personal information relates to the personal
affairs of third parties to this request and you do not have consent from the relevant individuals for
the release of their personal information.
25. Further, this information clearly constitutes personal information that identifies an individual not
being the applicant which is prevented from disclosure by APP 6 except for in specific
circumstances.
26. Accordingly, I am satisfied that the identified documents fall within the scope of the conditional
exemption for personal privacy provided by section 47F of the FOI Act.
27. Having found that Document Nos. 5, 6 and 7  are conditionally exempt I am required, in accordance
with subsection 11A(5) of the FOI Act, to consider whether it would be contrary to the public interest
to give access to these documents.

Public interest considerations
28. Subsection 11A(5) of the FOI Act provides that an agency must give access to a document if it is
conditionally exempt unless (in the circumstances) access to the document would, on balance, be
contrary to the public interest (the public interest test).

50 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT 2600  P 02 6271 4411  F 02 6215 9999
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29. Paragraph 6.5 of the FOI Guidelines provides a definition of the public interest test with reference
to relevant case law. That is, the public interest test is something that is of serious concern or
benefit to the public, not merely of individual interest and not something of interest to the public,
but in the interest of the public.
30. When weighing up the public interest factors for and against disclosure under subsection 11A(5) of
the FOI Act, I have taken the following factors into consideration in favour of disclosure, reflecting
on the extent to which disclosure would:
•  promote the objects of the FOI Act;
•  inform debate on a matter of public importance; and
•  promote agency transparency.
31. I have also consider the following against disclosure, reflecting on the extent to which disclosure
would:
•  reasonably be expected to prejudice an individual’s right to privacy;
•  release into the public forum information which is not otherwise well-known;
•  be contrary to the circumstances in which the information was obtained; and
•  be limited in its application to a matter of public, as opposed to private, concern.
32. In accordance with subsection 11B(4) of the FOI Act I excluded from my consideration the following
matters:
•  access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Commonwealth Government,
or cause a loss of confidence in the Commonwealth Government;
•  access to the document could result in any person misinterpreting or misunderstanding the
document;
•  the author of the document was (or is) of high seniority in the agency to which the request
for access to the document was made;
•  access to the document could result in confusion or unnecessary debate.
33. In making my decision I had regard to:
•  the extent to which the information is well known;
•  whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have been)
associated with the matters dealt with in the document;
•  the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources;
•  FOI Guidelines, Part 6 (Conditional Exemptions) specifically paragraphs 6.1 –  6.28 and
6.124 – 6.179;
•  the following matters that the I considered relevant:

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(i)
access to documents has been requested by email with the consequence that
electronic copies of documents will be given; and
(ii)
a signature authenticates the acts of the actor; and
(iii)  there is a risk of harm arising from identity theft facilitated by access to a facsimile
of a signature; and
(iv)  that the AEC has a duty to an individual in dealing with their personal information to
take all reasonable measures to protect that individual from harm arising from its
dealings with that personal information.
Public interest and facsimiles of signatures
34. Document Nos. 5, 6 and 7 contain facsimiles of signatures of Mr Gregory Dezman, Mr Barnaby
Joyce MP as well as four different AEC officers.
35. I have identified that harm could be suffered by these individuals as a result of identity theft should
the facsimiles of their signatures contained with Document Nos. 5, 6 and 7 be released.
36. Specific to the disclosure of a facsimile of Mr Barnaby Joyce’s MP signature and Mr Gregory
Dezman’s signature I have considered in favour of disclosure the positions in which they hold in
the public domain  and it is reasonable to believe that an electronic facsimile of each of their
signatures may already be available on a public forum.
37. To the contrary, I have considered  the risk of harm arising from identity theft and the AEC’s
obligations under the Privacy Act to protect the personal information of those in which we interact.
I further note that a signature authenticates the acts of the actor and this authentication can still be
gleaned from the documents.
38. In my view the factors against disclosure a facsimile of signatures within Document Nos. 5, 6 and
7 outweigh the factors in favour of disclosure.
39. According, I am satisfied that disclosure of parts of Document Nos. 5, 6, and 7 would be contrary
to the public interest. I have then considered whether an edited copy of these documents could be
prepared in accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act so as to protect the personal information
and allow the remainder of the document to be released.
Pubic interest and contact details
40. Document Nos. 5 and 7 contain the residential address, postal address, mobile and landline phone
numbers of Mr Barnaby Joyce MP.
41. I note that in making a valid nomination of a candidate, the nomination must set out the name,
place of residence and occupation of the candidate, (see section 166 of the Commonwealth
Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act) and schedule 1 to the Electoral Act, in particular Forms D and
DA relating to the Nomination of a Member of the House of Representatives).

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42. As part of the nomination process, candidates are asked what information they authorise for release
to the public, see Document No. 4 as a copy of the 2013 House of Representatives nomination
form. I note that Mr Barnaby Joyce MP has expressly identified that he does not consent to the
release of his residential  address to the public but has consented to the release of his postal
address. For completeness I note that even where consent has been given that consent to publish
is limited by the circumstances in which it was given, being the 2013 Federal Election.
43. While Mr Barnaby Joyce MP has a public profile, and as such much of his personal information is
in the public domain, this needs to be balanced against his right to privacy and a private life
separate to that public profile.
44. I have identified that Mr Barnaby Joyce MP may suffer harm by way of a loss of his personal privacy
should his personal contact information be disclosed.
45. When weighing public interest factors I have formed the view that the factors against disclosure
outweigh any factors in support of disclosure.
46. According, I am satisfied that disclosure of parts of Document Nos 5 and 7, namely personal contact
information for Mr Barnaby Joyce MP, would be contrary to the public interest. I have then
considered whether an edited copy of the documents could be prepared in accordance with section
22 of the FOI Act so as to protect the personal information and allow the remainder of the document
to be released.

Access to an edited copy
47. Section 22 of the FOI Act allows for the deletion of exempt or irrelevant material from a document
so that the remainder of the document can be released.
48. Section 22 of the FOI Act provides:
22 Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted
Scope
(1)    This section applies if:
(a)    an agency or Minister decides:
(i)   to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or
(ii)    that to give access to a document would disclose information that would reasonably
be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access; and
(b)    it is possible for the agency or Minister to prepare a copy (an edited copy) of the document,
modified by deletions, ensuring that:
(i)   access to the edited copy would be required to be given under section 11A (access to
Document Nos. on request); and
(ii)    the edited copy would not disclose any information that would reasonably be regarded
as irrelevant to the request; and

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(c)     it is reasonably practicable for the agency or Minister to prepare the edited copy, having
regard to:
(i)   the nature and extent of the modification; and
(ii      the resources available to modify the document; and
(d)    it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the applicant) that the applicant
would decline access to the edited copy.
Access to edited copy
(2)    The agency or Minister must:
(a)    prepare the edited copy as mentioned in paragraph (1)(b); and
(b)    give the applicant access to the edited copy.
Notice to applicant
(3)    The agency or Minister must give the applicant notice in writing:
(a)    that the edited copy has been prepared; and
(b)    of the grounds for the deletions; and
(c)    if any matter deleted is exempt matter—that the matter deleted is exempt matter because of
a specified provision of this Act.
(4)     Section 26 (reasons for decision) does not apply to the decision to refuse access to the whole
document unless the applicant requests the agency or Minister to give the applicant a notice in
writing in accordance with that section.
Personal privacy exemption
49. In accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act I have considered whether it is both possible and
practicable to prepare an edited copy of Document Nos. 5, 6 and 7 from which the exempt material
has been removed.
50. Having regard to section 22 of the FOI Act and paragraphs 3.85-3.90 of the FOI Guidelines I have
found it is both possible and practical for an edited copy of the Document Nos. 5, 6 and 7 to be
prepared
51. Accordingly I have decided to grant access to an edited copy of Document Nos. 5, 6 and 7 with
the following information redacted:
•  Facsimiles of signatures; and
•  Personal  contact information including,  residential address, postal address, mobile and
landline phone numbers, for Mr Barnaby Joyce MP.
Irrelevant information
52. In considering Document No. 8.1 I have had regard to paragraph 3.88 of the FOI Guidelines which
advises that 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.

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53. Document No 8.1, being the attachment to Document No. 8, is an excel spreadsheet setting out all
of the NSW House of Representative candidates entitled to a refund following the 2013 federal
election.
54. Of the 51 rows of cells only one row is relevant to your FOI Request and one sets out the headings
for each of the columns.
55. Taking a common sense approach I have found that while it is possible to provide and edited copy
of Document No. 8.1, it is not practicable to prepare an edited copy, having regard to the nature
and extent of the modification required. Further, the remaining document would contain so little
information it would be of little to no value to the applicant.
56. I have considered whether the purpose of the FOI Act will still be served if an edited copy of
Document No. 8.1 were to be given and whether the extensive editing required will leave only a
skeleton of the former document. 1
0F
57. I have found that the extensive editing will result in a document of little to no value. Accordingly I
have decided to refuse access to this document.

Disposal and destruction of Commonwealth records
58. I note the following information for your information.
59. Section 24 of the Archives Act 1983  (Archives Act) regulates the disposal and destruction of
Commonwealth records. The AEC can destroy or transfer records by using legal instruments issued
by the National Archives of Australia, called Records Authorities. These Authorities cover agency-
specific core business, as well as common administrative business activities performed by many
Australian Government agencies.
60. Further to the regulation provided by section 24 of the Archives Act, section 393A of the
Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (‘Electoral Act’) provides for the preservation and destruction of
‘electoral documents.’
61. Subsection 393A(1) provides a definition for ‘electoral documents’
(1) In this section, electoral documents includes:
(a) ballot papers; and
(b) certified lists of voters; and
(ba) approved lists of voters; and
(c) certified copies of the Roll; and
(d) declarations; and
(e) postal vote certificates; and
(f) pre‑poll vote certificates for declaration voting; and

1 FOI Guidelines, part 3, paragraph 3.88 and Parnell & Dreyfus and Attorney-General’s Department [2014] ALCmr
71 - Full decision available here: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/AICmr/2014/71.html.

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(g) lists prepared under section 245.
62. Relevant to your FOI Request I note that subsection 393A(10) provides that the Electoral
Commissioner may direct that electoral documents be destroyed if:
(a)  not less than 6 months have elapsed since the declaration of the poll in the election in which the
documents were used; and
(b) the documents are no longer required by the Electoral Commission for the performance of its
functions.
63. Accordingly, the majority of documents that may have fallen within the scope of your request and
relating to the 2013  Federal Election  would  have been destroyed pursuant to section 24 of the
Archives Act or subsection 393A(10) of the Electoral Act.
Your review rights
64. If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for internal review or for review by the
Information Commissioner of my decision. We encourage you to seek internal review as a first step
as it may provide a more rapid resolution of your concerns.
Internal review
65. Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to the AEC for an internal review of my
decision.  In accordance with section 54B of the FOI Act an  internal review application must be
made in writing, within 30 days of receipt of this letter.
66. No particular form is required for an application for internal review, but to assist the decision-maker
who will conduct the review, please attach the reasons why you believe review of the decision is
necessary.
67. Applications for internal review can be lodged in one of the following ways:
By email
xxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
By post
Attention: FOI Officer - Locked Bag 4007, Canberra ACT 2601
68. The internal review will be carried out by another officer within 30 days of receipt of your application.
Information Commissioner review
69. Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Australian Information Commissioner to
review my decision. An application for review by the Information Commissioner must be made in
writing within 60 days of the receipt of this decision, and be lodged in one of the following ways:
Online
https://forms.business.gov.au/aba/oaic/foi-review-/
By email
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
By fax
+61 2 9284 9666

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By post:
GPO Box 52189, Sydney NSW 2001
In person:
Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW
70. More information about Information Commissioner review is available on the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner website. Go to www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-reviews.
Questions about this decision
71. If you wish to discuss this decision, please contact me at:
email
xxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
fax
02 6293 7657
post
Locked bag 4007, Canberra ACT 2601
phone
(02) 6271 4593

Yours sincerely

Saskia R. | Lawyer and FOI Officer
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission

08 September 2017.

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FOI Request LS6224

Attachment A
SCHEDULE OF RELEVANT DOCUMENTS – FOI REQUEST LS6224 – RICHARD SMITH VIA RIGHT TO KNOW
Request for:
•  A copy of the Nomination Form for House of Representatives Candidates in use by the AEC immediately prior to the writs being issued for the 2013
Federal Election;
•  A copy of any Information for House of Representatives Candidates documents produced by or provided by the Commonwealth and in use
immediately prior to the writs being issued for the 2013 Federal Election;
•  Documents received by the AEC relating to the Nomination of Mr Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce to run for election in the seat of New England to the
House of Representatives in the 2013 Federal Election, being documents relating to his nomination and not his campaign for election;
•  A copy of the completed nomination form relating to the Nomination of Mr Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce to run for election in the seat of New
England to the House of Representatives in the 2013 Federal Election; and
•  Documents, including any receipts issued, relating to the refund of the deposit made in relation to the Nomination of Mr Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce
to run for election in the seat of New England to the House of Representatives in the 2013 Federal Election.

Doc.
File
Description
Decision on release
Exemption
no.
page no.
1
1
Candidates’ Handbook: Federal elections and By-election
Access granted in full
N/A
2
85
Candidates’ Handbook: 2013 Addendum
Access granted in full
N/A
3
87
Nomination guide candidates
Access granted in full
N/A
4
92
House of Representatives (HoR) nomination form
Access granted in full
N/A
5
94
2013 Bulk HoR Nomination – National Party of Australia
Access granted to an edited  s47F  –  signature and personal
copy
contact information
6
96
2013 National Party of Australia – receipt of payment for 10 HoR  Access granted to an edited  s47F - signature
candidate nominations
copy
7
97
Declaration of Division of New England Poll – Mr Barnaby Joyce
Access granted to an edited  s47F  -  signature and personal
copy
contact information
8
99
Email from Enrolment Management NSW to Accounts mailbox  Access granted in full
N/A
regarding the refund of nomination deposits relating to the 2013
federal election
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8.1  –  Attachment to Document No. 8 –  spreadsheet of  Access refused
s22 – Irrelevant material
NSW HoR candidates entitled to a refused.
9
100
Extract from Account Payables software showing the payment of  Access granted in full
N/A
candidates fees received from the Nationals  Party of Australia
and refund of candidates fees from the AEC to the Nationals Party
of Australia

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Document Outline