16 June 2020
Robert Gorwa
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Gorwa
Request for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
The purpose of this letter is to:
acknowledge that the eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) has received your request
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act); and
notify you of a part transfer of your request to the Department of Infrastructure,
Transport, Regional Development and Communications and the Attorney-General’s
Department.
I confirm that I am an authorised decision maker within the meaning of section 23 of the FOI
Act.
On 8 June 2020, you lodged a freedom of information (FOI) request with the Office of the
eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) requesting access to:
-Al policy-making and administrative documents relating to the adoption and implementation
of the Criminal Code Amendment (Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material) Act 2019, or AVM
act
-Al documentation relating to the engagement with civil society and industry stakeholders in
the lead up and fol ow up to the AVM legislation being passed, including but not limited to
documents pertaining to the (a) 'summit with digital services and ISPs regarding AVM' and
the (b) 'eSafety Commisioner's meetings with industry stakeholders,' both mentioned in the
Commisioner's Factsheet on the AVM act published on the 24th of March.[1] These
documents may include but not be limited to email correspondence, meeting minutes and
agendas, draft reports and policy memos.
[1]: https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/eSafety-AVM-factsheet.pdf
Part transfer under subsection 16(1) of the FOI Act
Under subsection 16(1) of the FOI Act, a request may be transferred to another agency if the
requested documents are not in the possession of eSafety but may be in the possession of
another agency or if the subject matter of the document is more closely connected with the
functions of another agency.
(a) Attorney-General’s Department
In relation to the part of your request:
-Al policy-making and administrative documents relating to the adoption and implementation
of the Criminal Code Amendment (Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material) Act 2019, or AVM
act
P: 3139
8 9
0 208 783 80 176
E: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
esafety.gov.au
the subject matter of this part of the request more closely connected with the functions of the
Attorney-General’s Department, as this is the Department which developed the AVM Act and
which has policy responsibility for it.
On 15 June 2020, the above part of the request was transferred to the Attorney-General’s
Department, which is now responsible for processing that part of the request.
As eSafety received your request on 8 June 2020, the Attorney-General’s Department wil
treat your request as being received by it on the same day. The statutory timeframe for
responding to your request under the FOI Act is general y 30 days, commencing the day
fol owing the day on which a valid application is received, unless the timeframe is extended
under the FOI Act. The receiving agency (Attorney-General’s Department) wil advise you of
the due date for processing the part of the transferred request.
The Attorney-General’s Department may be contacted by email at xxx@xx.xxx.xx should
you have any questions about the processing of this part of the request.
(b) Transfer to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and
Communications (DITRDC)
In relation to the part of your request:
Al documentation relating to the engagement with civil society and industry stakeholders in
the lead up and fol ow up to the AVM legislation being passed, including but not limited to
documents pertaining to the (a) 'summit with digital services and ISPs regarding AVM'…
mentioned in the Commisioner's (sic) Factsheet on the AVM act published on the 24th of
March.[1] These documents may include but not be limited to email correspondence,
meeting minutes and agendas, draft reports and policy memos..
the subject matter of this part of the request referring to ‘(a) summit with digital services and
ISPs regarding AVM’ is more closely connected with the functions of DITRDC which hosted
the summit.
On 12 June 2020, the above part of the request was transferred to DITRDC, which is now
responsible for processing that part of the request.
As eSafety received your request on 8 June 2020, DITRDC wil treat your request as being
received by it on the same day. The statutory timeframe for responding to your request
under the FOI Act is general y 30 days, commencing the day fol owing the day on which a
valid application is received, unless the timeframe is extended under the FOI Act. The
receiving agency (DITRDC) wil advise you of the due date for processing the part of the
transferred request.
The DITRDC may be contacted by email at xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx should you have any
questions about the processing of this part of the request.
FOI request to eSafety
The part of your request which wil remain with eSafety is as fol ows:
Al documentation relating to the engagement with civil society and industry stakeholders in
the lead up and fol ow up to the AVM legislation being passed, including but not limited to
P: 3139
8 9
0 208 783 80 176
E: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
esafety.gov.au
documents pertaining to the… (b) 'eSafety Commisioner's meetings with industry
stakeholders,' … mentioned in the Commisioner's Factsheet on the AVM act published on
the 24th of March.[1] These documents may include but not be limited to email
correspondence, meeting minutes and agendas, draft reports and policy memos.
[1]: https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/eSafety-AVM-factsheet.pdf
Charges
The processing charges which eSafety is entitled to charge are prescribed in the Freedom of
Information (Charges) Regulations 2019. These charges include:
searching and retrieving ($15 per hour)
making a decision on access ($20 per hour after the first five hours, which are for
free)
photocopying a written document (10 cents per page)
making a copy of a written document other than a photocopy ($4.40 per page)
postage or delivery (an amount not exceeding cost of postage or delivery)
transcribing ($4.40 per page)
supervising, if the applicant wishes to inspect ($6.25 per half an hour, or part
thereof).
eSafety wil , in accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act, advise you if you are liable to pay
any charge and provide a preliminary assessment of those charges.
Timeframe for processing
eSafety received your request on 8 June 2020 and the 30-day statutory period for
processing your request commenced from the day after that date. You
should therefore expect a decision regarding your request by 8 July 2020, unless the
timeframe is extended under the FOI Act.
We wil contact you via this email address (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx),
unless you advise us otherwise.
Please note that eSafety general y publishes information released under the FOI Act on our
disclosure log, subject to exceptions.
Further information about the FOI Act, including eSafety’s publication obligations, is available
on our website at https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/corporate-documents/freedom-of-
information.
If you have any questions, please contact me.
Kind regards,
FOI Coordinator
Office of the eSafety Commissioner
E: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
T: 1800 880 176
W: www.esafety.gov.au
P: 3139
8 9
0 208 783 80 176
E: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
esafety.gov.au