LEGAL
GPO Box 1700 Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone (02) 6276 6431 •
ABN 41 687 119 230
Email: xxx@xxxxx.xx
1 March 2021
Our ref: FOI 2021/8
Mr Richard Smith
Right to Know
Via Email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Smith
Notice of intention to refuse FOI request - request consultation process under s 24AB(2) of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (“FOI Act”)
I refer to your request
of
5 March 2021, under which you sought access under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to:
“the fol owing Government Information documents:
a) Documents relating to the engagement of CSIRO for the provision of any work, research or
consultancy services by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation in the period 1 July 2019 to 30th
June 2020; and
b) Documents relating to any work, services or advice provided by the CSIRO to the Great
Barrier Reef Foundation in the period 1 July 2019 to 30th June 2020 regarding initiatives to
improve water quality in and around the Great Barrier Reef; and
c) Documents relating to any invoices issued by the CSIRO to the Great Barrier Reef
Foundation in the period 1 July 2019 to 30th June 2020; and
d) Documents relating to the receipt of monies transferred from the Great Barrier Reef
Foundation to CSIRO in the period 1 July 2019 to 30th June 2020.”
This is a notice of an intention to refuse access to the documents you have requested because a
practical refusal reason exists under s 24(1) of the FOI Act. I am issuing this notice under s 24AB(2)
of the FOI Act.
The practical refusal reason is that the work involved in processing the request would substantial y
and unreasonably divert the resources of CSIRO from its other operations as specified in
s 24AA(1)(a)(i) of the FOI Act.
Request is substantial
Following initial search and retrieval results there are approximately
and at least 1220 documents,
including emails and attachments relevant to your request. CSIRO has already spent 7.5 hours for
search and retrieval including searching CSIRO central database and individual CSIRO Officers’
records.
I therefore estimate that there are at least 5000 pages, even removing/allowing for significant
duplication, which would result in an estimated and at least 250 hours being undertaken to process
your request. This includes the consideration of the material to confirm its status as exempt or
releasable; including internal consultation with the CSIRO Officers involved. Coupled with the search
time and consultation, this would result in a total estimate of approximately 257.5 hours to process
your request. I am satisfied that the diversion of resources is substantial.
Request is unreasonable
For the purpose of providing you with this notice, I have considered that the substantial resource
burden would be unreasonable having regard to:
• the need to ensure that other FOI applicants are afforded an opportunity to have their
requests dealt with in a timely way;
• the public interest in not diverting officers involved in the subject matter of the request away
from performing their usual duties for an excessive duration and;
• the time already invested by CSIRO the search and retrieval process.
What you should do
I am the agency officer with whom you may consult with a view to making the request in a form
that would remove the ground for refusal. You can contact me via email,
xxx@xxxxx.xx, should you
wish to discuss how to revise your request.
I will assist you, as far as possible, to revise your request so that the practical refusal reason no
longer exists, noting that given if you limited your request to request items (c) and (d) this may
remove the practical refusal reason.
You have 14 days from the date you receive this notice to either:
• withdraw your request
• make a revised request
• indicate you do not wish to revise your request.
If you do not respond in one of these ways within 14 days your request wil be taken to have been
withdrawn pursuant to s 24AB(7) of the FOI Act. If you indicate you do not wish to revise your
request, I wil proceed to make a decision on whether to refuse your request on resource grounds
under s 24(1). If you need more time to respond, please contact me within the 14 day period to
discuss your need for an extension of time.
Under s 24AB(8) of the FOI Act, the time for processing your FOI request is suspended from the day
you receive this notice until the day you do one of the things listed in above paragraph.
Kind regards,
Beth Cribb
Senior Legal Counsel
CSIRO
