FOI ref: 2020/0048
10 July 2020
Mr John Smith
By email
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Smith,
Consultation following applicant contention that charge be reduced or not imposed (s
29(8))
I refer to your email of 18 June 2020 in which you requested a waiver of charges pursuant to
section 29(5)(a) of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), on the grounds of
financial hardship and pursuant to section 29(5)(b), on the grounds of public interest.
I also refer to your email of 19 June 2020 in which you requested that the charge estimate
be amended to reflect the amount that is to be imposed if deleted or archived emails are to
be included.
Deleted and archived emails
The parts of your request that include a request for access to deleted or archived emails are:
6. Any emails or instant message chat records within the inbox of either Chris Sutton or
Sera Clemens that discuss the story: https://www.michaelwest.com.au/boomers-vs-
millennials-the-gig-economy-breaks-enters-the-australian-public-service/
Please include only emails or skype records from the dates 9th & 10th of April
inclusive. Please include deleted or achived emails for these two dates.
7. The earliest ten emails between AAT senior officer Sera Clemens & the labour hire
recruitment firm Launch recruitment pty ltd. Please include deleted or archived emails
within this FOI request. Please exclude from these emails, any emails that do not
discuss salary or the terms and conditions for the employment of labour hire staff on
premises at the AAT.
The AAT holds both emails and Skype records on our email exchange server. The exchange
server also holds deleted or archived emails and Skype records. However, if any emails or
records relating to your above request have been deleted or archived, they may be held in
either the exchange server
or the AAT’s backup storage system. Emails and Skype records
on the exchange server have a retention period, after which the records can be found in the
backup system. If an email is permanently deleted, we can also search for that email in our
backup system.
Level 6, 83 Clarence Street
T: 02 9276 5000 or 1800 228 333
National Relay Service
SYDNEY NSW 2000
F: 02 9276 5599
www.relayservice.gov.au
GPO Box 9955 Sydney NSW 2001
E: xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
ABN 90 680 970 626
www.aat.gov.au
A search of the exchange server is a relatively straight forward exercise. A search of the
backup storage system requires monthly backup copies of the mail server to be restored,
one copy at a time. Our Tribunal storage system equipment currently allows us to retain one
restored backup copy in an online database at the one time.
The AAT’s Information Technology section has advised that if any emails or Skype records
which may fall within the scope of your request have been deleted, they would need to
restore and search one backup copy of the mail server. They have estimated that this would
take approximately
3 working days. This would equate to 22.5 hours of work @ $15 an
hour. Therefore, the total for searching and retrieving this information is $337.50.
The revised cost of your request now totals
$1,226 (rounded). As the charge exceeds $100,
a 25% deposit of
$306 (rounded) will be sought if the charge is imposed.
Until the number and the kind of documents relevant to your request have been identified, I
am unable to calculate other additional resources that are necessary to make a decision on
access to those documents, make copies or edited copies of them, or notify you of any
interim or final decision on the request. This means that the final charge may differ from the
estimate if documents within the scope of your request are found.
Waiver on public interest grounds
You have not stated why the fees for the request should be waived on the basis that it is
made in the public interest. The AAT does not currently consider your request to concern
public interest issues. Please advise if there are any aspects that you would like us to
consider.
Section 29(5)(a) of the FOI Act – Financial hardship
Before determining your request for reconsideration of the charge on financial hardship
grounds, please provide sufficient details of your financial circumstances to enable the
Tribunal to make a well-informed decision in this regard.
Yours sincerely,
Skye M Authorised FOI Officer (APS 6)
Attachments
FOI 2 – Information about reviews and complaints under the Freedom of Information Act
Level 6, 83 Clarence Street
T: 02 9276 5000 or 1800 228 333
National Relay Service
SYDNEY NSW 2000
F: 02 9276 5599
www.relayservice.gov.au
GPO Box 9955 Sydney NSW 2001
E: xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
ABN 90 680 970 626
www.aat.gov.au
