Principal Registry
Our ref: 2020/0068
18 September 2020
Mr John Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Smith
Re: Freedom of Information Internal Review of Request 2020/0068
Thank you for your email dated 18 September 2020 in which you state that the grounds
of your internal review request included an issue that was not addressed in my letter of
17 September 2020.
I have reviewed the records of this review and note that you lodged your request for
internal review in two separate emails, one of which did include the additional issue:
I seek to know the individual's payment amounts and position titles for these
contracts.
This letter addresses that issue.
I am an officer authorised under s 23(1) of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) to make decisions in relation to FOI requests.
Background
On 18 August 2020 the original decision-maker decided to release 4 documents to you.
These were the terms of agreement, discussed in my letter of 17 September 2020, and
3 purchase orders. I have examined the unredacted versions of the documents released
to you.
Individual’s payment amounts
The payment amounts on each purchase order were released to you.
Level 6, 83 Clarence St
T: 1800 228 333 or 02 9276 5000
National Relay Service
SYDNEY NSW 2000
F: 02 9267 5538
www.relayservice.gov.au
GPO Box 9955 Sydney NSW 2001
E: enquiries@aat gov.au
ABN 90 680 970 626
www.aat gov.au
Position titles
A position title only appears on one of the 3 purchase orders. Where the position title
appears, it was released to you.
While the purchase documents contain other reactions, in the column titled “Description”,
these were made to the names of individuals under section 47F of the FOI Act (personal
privacy), and not to position titles.
The FOI Act only applies to existing documents and not to information generally. In this
sense it does not require an agency to create new documents, or to synthesise material
from multiple sources, to answer specific questions. This means that, if the documents
that fall within the scope of your request do not contain the answer to your question,
your query may not be answerable by way of the FOI process.
For the above reasons, I have decided not to vary the original decision on request
number 2020/0068.
Your review rights
If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply to the Australian Information
Commissioner for review. An application for review by the Information Commissioner
must be made in writing within 60 days of the date of this letter, and be lodged in one of
the following ways:
online:
https://forms.business.gov.au/aba/oaic/foi-review-/
email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
post:
GPO Box 2999, Canberra ACT 2601
or, in person: Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW
More information about Information Commissioner review is available on the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner website: www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-
information/foi-reviews.
If you have any questions about this decision, please contact me at xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely,
Sandra Koller
Authorised FOI Officer (EL2)
PAGE 2 OF 2
