Notice of Decision FOI 2245.pdf

Department Reference: FOI 2245

J M
Right to Know

Via email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear J M
NOTICE OF DECISION

I refer to your request of 8 February 2021 to the Department of Health (the
department) seeking access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the Act)
to the following documents:

All communications pertinent to this request (FOI 2033). This includes, but is not
limited to internal/external messages & emails, transcripts, phone conversations, etc.

I am authorised under subsection 23(1) of the Act to make decisions in relation to
Freedom of Information requests. I am writing to notify you of my decision on your
request.

Decision

I have identified 15 documents falling within the scope of your request. The
documents are set out in the Schedule at Attachment A.

I have decided to:
•  grant access to three documents in full
•  grant access to 10 documents in part, subject to the deletion of irrelevant
material, and
•  grant access to two documents in part, subject to the deletion of exempt and
irrelevant material.

My reasons for this decision are set out at Attachment B.


Freedom of Information Unit (MDP 516)  GPO Box 9848 Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone: (02) 6289 1666  ABN: 83 605 426 759

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Review rights

If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for an internal review or
Australian Information Commissioner review of the decision.

Internal review

Under section 54 of the Act, you may apply in writing to the department for an
internal review of my decision. The internal review application must be made
within 30 days of the date of this notice (or such further period as the department
allows). To assist in the internal review process, please provide reasons you
consider review of my decision is necessary.  The internal review will be undertaken
by another officer of the department within 30 days of your application being
received.

An application for an internal review can be sent to:
Email:
xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx
Mail:
FOI Unit (MDP 516)

Department of Health

GPO Box 9848

CANBERRA ACT 2601

Information Commissioner Review

Alternatively, under section 54L of the Act, you may apply to the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for review of my decision. An
application for review must be made in writing within 60 days of this notice (if you
do not request an internal review).

You may also make a complaint to the OAIC about action taken by the department
in relation to your application.

The OAIC can be contacted by:

Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx

Phone:
1300 363 992

More about OAIC review and making a complaint is available on the OAIC website
at https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews/.

Relevant provisions

The Act, including the provisions referred to in this letter, can be accessed from the
Federal Register of Legislation website:
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A02562.

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Contacts

If you require clarification of any of the matters discussed in this letter, you should
contact the FOI Unit on (02) 6289 1666 or email: xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely

K Bishop
Principal Lawyer
Legal Advice and Legislation Branch

9 March 2021

ATTACHMENT A
SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS – FOI 2 245

Document
Date
Size
Description
Decision
Exemption
No.
on access1
1
19/10/2020
1
Freedom of
RI
Section 22 –
Information Request
page 1 (part)
2033
2
20/10/2020
1
FW FOI request
RI
Section 22 –
page 1 (part)
3
20/10/2020
2
FW New FOI Request  REI
Section 22 –
page 1 (part)
Section 47F –
page 1 & 2
(part)
4
20/10/2020
1
FW New FOI Request  REI
Section 22 –
– Data
page 1 (part)
Section 47F –
page 1 (part)
5
20/10/2020
2
FW Freedom of
RI
Section 22 –
Information Request
page 1 & 2
2033
(part)
6
20/10/2020
4
Freedom of
R

Information Request
2033 – Notification of
Receipt
7
21/10/2020
4
New FOI Request 2033  RI
Section 22 –
– Right to Know –
page 1 (part)
Seeking Decision
Maker
8
21/10/2020
4
RE New FOI Request
RI
Section 22 –
2033 – Right to Know –
page 1 & 2
Seeking Decision
(part)
Maker

1 R: Release; RI: Release with irrelevant material deleted; REI: Release with irrelevant and exempt material
deleted.


Freedom of Information Unit (MDP 516)  GPO Box 9848 Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone: (02) 6289 1666  ABN: 83 605 426 759

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Document
Date
Size
Description
Decision
Exemption
No.
on access1
9
21/10/2020
3
RE_ New FOI request  RI
Section 22 –
2033 - Right to Know -
page 1 (part)
Seeking Decision
Maker
10
27/10/2020
2
FOI Request Received -  RI
Section 22 –
FOI 2033 (J M Right to
page 1 & 2
Know) (LALB_LAD) –
(part)
COVID-19 deaths with
comorbidities
11
06/11/2020
1
Freedom of
R

Information Request
2033 - Notice of
Decision
12
09/11/2020
2
Re_ Freedom of
R

Information Request
2033 - Notice of
Decision
13
10/11/2020
3
FW_ Freedom of
RI
Section 22 –
Information Request
page 1 (part)
2033 - Notice of
Decision
14
10/11/2020
3
RE_ Freedom of
RI
Section 22 –
Information Request
page 1 (part)
2033 - Notice of
Decision
15
10/11/2020
3
FW_ Freedom of
RI
Section 22 –
Information Request
page 1 (part)
2033 - Notice of
Decision

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ATTACHMENT B

REASONS FOR DECISION – FOI 2245

Material taken into account

In making my decision, I had regard to the following:
•  the terms of your request
•  the content of the documents sought
•  advice from departmental officers with responsibility for matters relating to
the documents sought
•  the relevant provisions of the Act, and
•  guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under
section 93A of the Act (the FOI Guidelines).

Finding of facts and reasons for decision

My findings of fact and reasons for deciding the exemptions identified in the
Schedule of Documents at Attachment A apply to the documents, are set out below.

Section 22 – deletion of irrelevant or exempt material

Section 22 of the Act applies to documents containing exempt material
(subparagraph 22(1)(a)(i)) and irrelevant information (subparagraph 22(1)(a)(ii)), and
permits an agency to provide a copy of a document, edited to remove information
that would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request.

Documents 1 to 5, 7 to 10, and 13-15 contain irrelevant and/or exempt material,
which has been deleted in accordance with section 22 of the Act. The irrelevant
material includes the names and contact details of Australian Public Service officers
not in the Senior Executive Service (SES) and material that is outside the scope of
your FOI request.

Section 47F – personal privacy

Section 47F of the Act conditionally exempts a document if its disclosure would
involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person. The
Act shares the same definition of ‘personal information’ as the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth),
which regulates the handling of personal information about individuals. Personal
information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an
individual who is reasonably identifiable:
a.  whether the information or opinion is true or not, and
b.  whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not
(refer to paragraph 6.128 of the FOI Guidelines).

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Paragraph 6.130 of the FOI Guidelines provides that personal information includes a
person’s name, address, telephone number, date of birth, medical records, bank
account details, taxation information and signature.

Documents 3 and 4 contain the names of third parties who have not consented to
their personal information being made publicly available. This is personal
information for the purposes of section 47F of the Act and paragraph 6.130 of the
FOI Guidelines.

It is my view that personal information in the documents is conditionally exempt
under section 47F of the Act.

I also consider this information irrelevant to the scope of your request.

Test of reasonableness

Subsection 47F(2) of the Act requires me to consider whether disclosure of
conditionally exempt personal information would be unreasonable, and in doing so I
am required to take into account:
•  the extent to which the information is well known
•  whether the person or persons to whom the information relates is known to
be (or to have been) associated with the matters dealt with in the document
•  the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources, and
•  any other matters I consider relevant.

I am satisfied from the nature of the information and my own enquiries that the
personal information contained in the documents is not well known or available
from publicly accessible sources. The individuals are also not known to be associated
with the matters discussed in the documents. Disclosure of the relevant personal
information could unreasonably affect personal privacy as a reasonable person
would not expect such information to be put in the public domain.

Public interest test

I have turned my mind to whether disclosure of the third parties’ personal
information would be contrary to the public interest, and have included my
reasoning in that regard below.

When weighing up the public interest factors in favour of disclosure, a relevant
public interest factor I have considered in this instance is that disclosure may
promote the objects of the Act by facilitating and promoting public access to
information held by the department.

However, I have weighed up the above factor against the following factors,
indicating access would be contrary to the public interest. I find there is a public
interest in protecting the privacy of an individual's personal information. The

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specific harm in disclosing the individuals’ personal information without their
agreement would be an interference with those individuals’ right to privacy. Release
of the personal information would not add any substance to the information being
provided under this request and there would be no public purpose achieved
through the release of the personal information. Further, most of the personal
information is not available in full or in part from publicly-accessible sources.

I confirm I have not had regard to any of the irrelevant factors set out in
subsection 11B(4) of the Act.

After careful consideration of all relevant factors, I consider that, on balance, the
benefits of protecting the individuals’ privacy must be given greater weight.
Accordingly, I have decided the personal information in documents 3 and 4 is
exempt from disclosure under section 47F and subsection 31B(b) of the Act.