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This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Registration of the Australia Post Superannatation Scheme'.










 
 
 
 
Internal review decision  
Applicant: 
 
Phillip Sweeney 
Decision-maker: 
Ben (person number 2355), an authorised officer of the 
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) for the 
  purposes of section 23(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 
1982 (‘FOI Act’).  
FOI reference: 
FOI 21 – 5  
Decision: 
Set aside the original decision and grant access to the 
relevant document.   
Summary 
 
1. 
On 26 July 2020 you made the following FOI request: 
“The document I seek is a copy of the letter advising the trustee [of the Australia 
Post Superannuation Scheme] that APRA had granted this registration number.” 
 
2. 
On 24 August 2020 APRA made the decision to refuse access to one document on the 
basis of section 38 of the FOI Act (‘the original FOI decision’).  
 
3. 
On 24 August 2020 APRA received your email request for an internal review of the 
original FOI decision (‘the internal review application’).  
Material taken into account  
4. 
I relied on the following evidence and material in making my decision: 
a) 
the FOI request dated 26 July 2020; 
b) 
acknowledgment of FOI request from FOI Officer to the Applicant dated 27 July 
2020; 
c) 
email correspondence between APRA staff between 31 July – 5 August 2020; 
d) 
the original FOI decision; 
e) 
the internal review application; 
f) 
memorandum from FOI Officer dated 18 September 2020; 
g) 
relevant sections of the FOI Act; and 
h) 
guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to date 
(FOI Guidelines). 
 

 
 
 
Reasons  
5. 
I reproduce relevant paragraphs of the original FOI decision:  
“APRA has conducted all reasonable searches of its records and identified one 
document relevant to the FOI request.  
I have decided to refuse access to the relevant document under section 38 of the FOI 
Act and section 56 of the APRA Act. My reasons for the refusal are as follows:  
Secrecy Provisions 
I have taken the following approach in applying section 38 of the FOI Act and section 
56 of the APRA Act:  
a.  under section 38 of the FOI Act, a document is exempt if disclosure is prohibited 
under a provision of an enactment and section 38 expressly applies to that 
provision;   
b.  subsection 56(11) of the APRA Act expressly applies section 38 of the FOI Act so 
that any document that is a ‘protected document’ or contains ‘protected 
information’ within the meaning of subsection 56(1) of the APRA Act is also an 
exempt document under section 38 of the FOI Act;  
c. under 
section 56(2) of the APRA Act it is an offence to directly or indirectly 
disclose protected documents and/or protected information unless a specified 
exemption applies. This offence provision is binding on APRA staff members. 
The offence is punishable by up to two years imprisonment; 
d. a 
‘protected document’ is defined in section 56(1) of the APRA Act to include 
documents given or produced under or for the purposes of a prudential 
regulation framework law, and containing information relating to the affairs of 
a financial sector entity. The Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 
is a prudential regulation framework law. The relevant document was given or 
produced and disclosed or obtained under, or for the purposes of, this 
prudential regulation framework law. Therefore, the document is a protected 
document unless otherwise publicly available;  
e.  ‘protected information’ is defined in section 56(1) of the APRA Act to include 
information disclosed or obtained under or for the purposes of a prudential 
regulation framework law, and relating to the affairs of a financial sector entity. 
For the same reasons set out in paragraph (d) above, information contained in 
the document is protected, unless otherwise publicly available; and  
f.  the information and the document are not otherwise publicly available. 
6. 
The following statements were made in support of the internal review application: 
a) 
“I have made a similar request in the past for the same document except for the 
name of the fund being different. I refer to my FOI request dated 13 August 2018 
seeking a copy of the decision of APRA to register the MLC Super Fund.” 
b) 
“Lauren Willars granted access, under 11A(3) of the FOI Act and provided a copy 
of the letter dated 8 June 2016 signed by Paul Tattersall, GM, Diversified 
Institutions Division that confirmed to NULIS Nominees (Australia) Ltd that APRA 
had granted fund registration (R1077223) to MLC Super Fund.” 
 
 
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY 
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c) 
“On the basis that the document I seek does not contain any protected information 
and that APRA has released a near-identical document in the past I am seeking 
an Internal Review of the response to this FOI request.” 
7. 
I considered your statements, reviewed all relevant documentation and the process that 
was undertaken by the FOI Officer.  
8. 
I set aside the original FOI decision and grant access to the relevant document under 
section 11A(3) of the FOI Act. 
Rights of review  
9. 
Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you have the right to apply to the OAIC for a review 
of my decision. The application for review by the OAIC must be made in writing within 
60 days of the date of this letter, and be lodged in one of the following ways: 
Online 
Complete and lodge the online review form at:  
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-
and-complaints/information-commissioner-review/ 
Post 
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001 
Email 
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx 
Facsimile 
(02) 9284 9666 
Delivered in person 
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner 
Level 3, 175 Pitt Street 
Sydney NSW 2000 
 
10.  More information about your review rights under the FOI Act is available here: 
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-guidelines/part-10-review-by-the-
information-commissioner/  
Ben (person number 2355)  
FOI Officer  
 
23 September 2020 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY 
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Schedule of relevant documents 
Doc No.  
Description 
Method of release 
1 
Decision to register an RSE – Australia Post  Attached  
Superannuation Scheme  
 
 
 
 
 
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY 
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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 (CTH) 
 
11A Access to documents on request  
Scope 
             (1)  This section applies if: 
                     (a)  a request is made by a person, in accordance with subsection 15(2), to an 
agency or Minister for access to: 
                              (i)  a document of the agency; or 
                             (ii)  an official document of the Minister; and 
                     (b)  any charge that, under the regulations, is required to be paid before access 
is given has been paid. 
             (2)  This section applies subject to this Act. 
Note:          Other provisions of this Act are relevant to decisions about access to documents, for 
example the following: 
(a)    section 12 (documents otherwise available); 
(b)    section 13 (documents in national institutions); 
(c)    section 15A (personnel records); 
(d)    section 22 (access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted). 
Mandatory access—general rule 
             (3)  The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document in 
accordance with this Act, subject to this section. 
Exemptions and conditional exemptions 
             (4)  The agency or Minister is not required by this Act to give the person access to 
the document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is an exempt 
document. 
Note:          Access may be given to an exempt document apart from under this Act, whether or not 
in response to a request (see section 3A (objects—information or documents otherwise 
accessible)). 
             (5)  The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document if it is 
conditionally exempt at a particular time unless (in the circumstances) access to 
the document at that time would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest. 
Note 1:       Division 3 of Part IV provides for when a document is conditionally exempt. 
Note 2:       A conditionally exempt document is an exempt document if access to the document 
would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest (see section 31B (exempt 
documents for the purposes of Part IV)). 
Note 3:       Section 11B deals with when it is contrary to the public interest to give a person access 
to the document. 
             (6)  Despite subsection (5), the agency or Minister is not required to give access to 
the document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is both: 
                     (a)  a conditionally exempt document; and 
                     (b)  an exempt document: 
                              (i)  under Division 2 of Part IV (exemptions); or 
                             (ii)  within the meaning of paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of exempt 
document in subsection 4(1). 
 
 
 
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY 
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