FOI ref: 2020/0094
21 September 2020
Mr John Smith
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Smith,
Notice of Decision for Freedom of Information Request no. 2020/0094
The purpose of this letter is to give you a decision about access to documents that you
have requested under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (
FOI Act).
Summary
I am an officer authorised under s 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to
FOI requests.
You lodged an FOI request on 20 August 2020 for access to:
1. The actual dollar amount paid by the AAT, to Launch Recruitment; in association with
Purchase Orders 4500000288, 4500000293, and 4500000368. (Document 1)
2. The total number of hours worked by the labour hire employees subject to each of those
purchase orders. (Item 2)
3. The number of months worked by the labour hire employees subject to each of those purchase
orders, at the AAT. (Item 3)
Searches
I have liaised with the AAT’s procurement team in order to identify the documents
relevant to your request.
Document 1 - As the requested information does not already exist in a discrete
document, I have processed your request under section 17 of the FOI Act. This means
that we have used our existing computer systems to retrieve data to produce a written
document for you. As a result, the document released to you records the total amount of
payments made under each of the purchase orders identified in your FOI request.
Items 2 and 3 – The requested information does not already exist in a discrete
document or in a report designed to contain this information. As such I have been
unable to process these requests under section 17 of the FOI Act, as our existing
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
computer systems and software are unable to produce an individual document which
contains the requested information without the aid of additional components. To obtain
the requested information it would require various pieces of information to be extracted
from different reports and for calculations to be made. Combining the various sources to
obtain the total number of hours and months worked, will also take an unreasonable
amount of time compared to producing a report from existing systems.
The obligation under section 17 of the FOI Act to produce a written document only
arises if the Tribunal can produce the written document containing the information by
using a ‘computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available’ for retrieving or
collating stored information, or making a transcript from a sound recording, and
producing a written document would not substantially and unreasonably divert the
resources of the Tribunal from its operations. I consider that these conditions are not
met in relation to obtaining the information requested in items 2 and 3 and find that the
obligation under section 17(1) does not arise.
Decision
I have decided to:
1. Grant partial access to Document 1,
2. Refuse access to items 2 and 3 of your request.
In making my decision, I have taken the following into account:
• the content of the document that falls within the scope of your request;
• the FOI Act, specifically sections 17, 22, 24A, 47E(d) and 47G;
• the guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section
93A of the FOI Act (
FOI Guidelines).
Document 1
Section 47G of the FOI Act – Business operations
Section 47G conditionally exempts documents where disclosure would disclose
information concerning a person in respect of his or her business or professional affairs,
or concerning the business, commercial or financial affairs of an organisation or
undertaking (business information), where the disclosure of the information:
• would, or could reasonably be expected to, unreasonably affect the person
adversely in respect of his or her lawful business or professional affairs or that
organisation or undertaking in respect of its lawful business, commercial or
financial affairs (s 47G(1)(a)).
I have reviewed the document and have considered whether the dollar amounts of the
purchase orders would have an unreasonable adverse effect, on the business or
professional affairs of an individual, or the lawful business, commercial or financial
affairs of an organisation or undertaking, if disclosed. I note that there may be an
adverse effect, on Launch Recruitment’s business affairs as it is reasonably likely that
this information is not generally known to other competitors or external parties. Also, the
dissemination of this information to third parties for another purpose could unreasonably
affect its lawful business, commercial or financial affairs. I have assessed these
unreasonable effects against the public interests such as to promote effective oversight
of public expenditure. I consider that the dollar amount for the three purchase orders are
just one part of the agreement between Launch Recruitment and the Tribunal. I find that
on balance the disclosure of these three figures would not prejudice the overall business
affairs and operations of Launch Recruitment with the Tribunal.
For these reasons, I have decided that on this occasion, the information relating to the
dollar amounts is
not conditionally exempt under section 47G of the FOI Act.
Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act – Certain agency operations Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act provides that information is conditionally exempt where its
disclosure could reasonably be expected to have a substantial adverse effect on the
proper and efficient conduct of agency operations.
I consider that the disclosure of the vendor number in the document would enable any
person to use the vendor number to misrepresent themselves to the Tribunal, or any
other Commonwealth entity, and request payment for services that have not been
ordered or provided by them. I find that this risk is made more likely by the release of the
information over an internet website and could be reasonably expected. Changes to the
Tribunal’s business practices would be required to prevent fraudulent use of the
information and these would have a substantial adverse effect on the Tribunal’s financial
operations. Accordingly, I find the vendor number information is conditionally exempt
under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act.
Public interest test – Section 11A(5) of the FOI Act
I have considered whether, disclosure of the vendor number would be contrary to the
public interest. While disclosure would provide information to the public generally, I do
not consider that the vendor number will assist the scrutiny of government expenditure.
Whereas the risk of fraud, and the cost of amending processes to avoid fraud, is
contrary to the interests of the taxpayer. On balance, I consider that the public interest in
fraud avoidance and the minimisation of costs outweighs the interest in the provision of
the particular vendor number. As a result, I have decided the vendor number information
is exempt under 47E(d) of the FOI Act.
An edited copy of the document has been released to you with the exempt information
redacted pursuant to section 22 of FOI Act.
Items 2 and 3 of your request
Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that, after all reasonable steps have been taken to
find the documents, access to documents may be refused if the documents do not exist
or cannot be found.
As mentioned above, the Tribunal is not required to produce or create a document in
relation to items 2 and 3 of your request, as the obligation under section 17 of the FOI
Act did not arise. As the Tribunal does not have an existing discrete document or a
report which contains the requested information, I am therefore satisfied that documents
under items 2 and 3 do not exist. As such, I refuse access to the documents under
section 24A of the FOI Act.
Your review rights
Information about how you can apply for a review of this decision or complain about how
we have dealt with this matter is set out in the attached fact sheet, FOI 2.
If you have any questions about this decision, please contact me at xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely,
Rohini L
Authorised FOI Officer (APS 6)
Attachments
FOI 2 – Information about reviews and complaints under the Freedom of Information Act
Information about reviews and complaints under the
Freedom of Information Act
What should I do prior to applying for internal review or contacting the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner?
Before you apply for an internal review or contact the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner, we recommend that you telephone the officer who made the FOI
decision. It is often possible to resolve concerns or answer your questions using this
approach and, if not, the officer will be able to assist you in applying for review.
How do I apply for internal review to the AAT?
You can apply to us for an internal review of the FOI decision. The application for
internal review must be made within 30 days or such further period as we allow, after the
day the decision is notified to you. To apply for an internal review you must do so in
writing. You may also wish to explain why you are not satisfied with the decision. A
different and more senior officer authorised under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) will conduct the internal review and make a new decision within 30 days
after receipt of your application.
If you have already applied for internal review and want to seek a further review of that
decision, you will need to apply to the Australian Information Commissioner.
How do I apply for review to the Australian Information Commissioner?
You may also apply directly to the Australian Information Commissioner for review of the
FOI decision. The application for review must be made within 60 days after the day
notice of the decision was given. An application for review must be in writing, include
details of how notices in relation to the review are to be sent to you and include a copy
of the decision. You may also wish to explain why you are not satisfied with the decision.
An online application form is available on the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner’s website, details of which are provided below.
What if I want to make a complaint about the handling of a Freedom of
Information request?
If you have a complaint about the way in which we have processed your request for
access under the FOI Act you can ask the Australian Information Commissioner to
investigate. An online complaint form is available on the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner’s website, details of which are provided below.
Where can I find further information or contact details for the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner?
Further information is available on the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner’s website at www.oaic.gov.au and you can contact the office on 1300 363
992 or by email at xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx..
FOI 2 (July 2016)