25 February 2013
Ms Margot Kingston
By email
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Ms Kingston
FOI REQUEST - REFERENCE NUMBER 2013-15
I refer to your email of 15 February 2013 in which you sought access to the following documents
under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act):
all documents touching upon the following decision found at
http://about.abc.net.au/complaints/mornings-17/
I am writing to clarify the scope of your request so that I may effectively and efficiently identify and
locate all relevant documents.
I am of the opinion that, as presently drafted, the scope of this request is not clear enough to enable
the ABC to commence processing your application. The term “touching upon” is not sufficiently
precise to enable me to easily identify relevant documents, and could potentially include any
document which relates to the interviews, the complaints, the investigation or the decision.
Without sufficient clarity, any searches would likely constitute an unreasonable diversion of the ABC’s
resources. ABC staff would be required to search through an extensive number of hard and soft copy
records in order to identify all individuals who have written anything which “touched upon” this
particular decision. This would involve a substantial amount time and resources. There will be a
further body of work required to make an assessment as to relevance and access.
It would be of assistance to clarify and refine the scope of your request by:
requesting only documents provided to or by specific ABC employees; and/or
requesting only documents contained on the complaints file relating to the published
Complaint Finding referred to above.
I note also that the ABC is specifically excluded from the operation of the FOI Act in relation to its
‘program material’ by virtue of s7(2) and Part II, Schedule 2 of the FOI Act. ‘Program material’ for the
purposes of that Part has been interpreted to mean:
“the program and all versions of the whole or any part of the program, any transmission
broadcast or publication of the program, and includes a document of any content or form
embodied in the program and any document acquired or created for the purpose of creating
the program, whether or not incorporated into the completed program...[and including] a
document created after a program is broadcast [such as] transcripts of programs ... and
documents produced by the ABC or incorporated in its records directly concerning the
substantive content of the broadcast program”
You should be aware that in considering whether to exclude any document in relation to your request,
I wil have regard to whether it falls within this definition of ‘program material’.
Please also note that in seeking to clarify your request I am not making any representations regarding
the existence of relevant documents or whether access to them will be granted.
I would be grateful if you could contact me to discuss the terms of your application. Once I have
clarified the scope of your request, the 30-day processing period will commence.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Judith Maude
Head, Corporate Governance
Direct line 02 8333 5316
2
