CSIRO
csiro.au
xxx@xxxxx.xx
ABN 41 687 119 230
24 January 2022
Our ref: FOI 2021/50
Mr Richard Smith
Via Email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Smith
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST – DECISION FOI2021/50
Your request
On 24 November 2021, you sought access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to:
“a) 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
b) 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.
To assist the CSIRO in the processing of my request, I would regard a list summarising the fol owing
items for each invoice as satisfying my request for item a), namely:
i) invoice date
i ) invoice number
iii) invoice amount and
iv) a brief summary of services and or materials provided by CSIRO.”
I have identified 1 document in relation to Part A and 11 documents in relation to Part B of your FOI
request.
Decision maker
I am an authorised decision maker under section 23 of the FOI Act. This letter sets out my decision
and reasons for the decision in relation to your application.
Decision
I have decided that exemptions apply to parts of the relevant documents. The relevant
provision/exemption provisions include:
Section 47F – Personal Information
CSIRO
Australia’s National Science Agency
Section 22 – Irrelevant Material
Reasons for decision
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that the exemption provision applies to a document or
part of a document are set out below.
Exemptions Claimed
Section 22 Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted
Section 22 of the FOI Act provides:
(1) This section applies if:
(a) an agency or Minister decides:
(i)
to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or
(ii) that to give access to a document would disclose information that would reasonably be
regarded as irrelevant to the request for access; and
(b) it is possible for the agency or Minister to prepare a copy (an edited copy) of the document,
modified by deletions, ensuring that:
(i)
access to the edited copy would be required to be given under section 11A (access to
documents on request); and
(ii) the edited copy would not disclose any information that would reasonably be regarded
as irrelevant to the request; and
(c)
it is reasonably practicable for the agency or Minister to prepare the edited copy, having regard
to:
(i)
the nature and extent of the modification; and
(ii) the resources available to modify the document; and
(d) it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the applicant) that the applicant
would decline access to the edited copy.
Access to edited copy
(2) The agency or Minister must:
(a) prepare the edited copy as mentioned in paragraph (1)(b); and
(b) give the applicant access to the edited copy.
I have decided that some of the information in the documents such as contact details and payment details,
as identified in the schedule, is irrelevant to your request and should be removed under section 22. I have
decided that I can easily prepare an edited copy of the document with the irrelevant material deleted and
have done so.
Section 47F personal privacy
Section 47F of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditional y exempt from disclosure to the
extent that it contains personal information; the disclosure of which would be unreasonable.
CSIRO
Australia’s National Science Agency
link to page 3
'Personal information' is defined in s 4 of the FOI Act to include information or an opinion, whether
true or not about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can be reasonably ascertained, from
the information or opinion. I am satisfied that the information in the documents over which the
exemption is claimed under s 47F, is personal information in the relevant sense.
In considering whether disclosure would be unreasonable s 47F(2) requires me to take into account:
i. The extent to which the information is wel known
ii. Whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have been)
associated with the matters dealt with in the document
iii. The availability of the information from publicly accessible sources
iv. Any other matter I consider relevant.
I consider that the information is not wel known but does relate to CSIRO’s employees' identity and
work related information. Personal information of this type usually is considered to be reasonable
to disclose.
1
However, some of the information that is not wel known also includes personal information relating
to members of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Cumulatively, I have considered whether the
disclosure of personal information of members of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation is not wel
known would shed light on the workings of CSIRO or enhance accountability or transparency; given
the nature of the information, release would have no such effect.
Weighing all these things up, I have concluded that disclosure of personal information relating to
members of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation in the documents would be unreasonable. I am
therefore satisfied that part of the documents are/is conditional y exempt.
The public interest test: s 47F
Conditionally exempt matter must be released unless, in the circumstances, access to that
document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest under s 11A(5) of the FOI Act. As
the Guidelines state at 6.8 - 6.9:
The term ‘public interest’ is necessarily broad and non-specific because what constitutes the public
interest depends on the particular facts of the matter and the context in which it is being considered.
To conclude that, on balance, disclosure of a document would be contrary to the public interest is to
conclude that the benefit to the public resulting from disclosure is outweighed by the benefit to the
public of withholding the information. The decision maker must analyse, in each case, where on
balance the public interest lies, based on the particular facts of the matter at the time the decision
is made.
In balancing the public interest in this case, I have considered the fol owing factors in favour of
disclosure:
i. promoting the objects of the Act, particularly in increasing scrutiny, discussion, comment
and review of the Government's activities (s 3(2)(b) FOI Act)
1 See paragraph 6.153 of the FOI Guidelines.
CSIRO
Australia’s National Science Agency
I have considered the fol owing factors against disclosure:
i. protecting individuals from unreasonable interferences with their privacy
In this case, I have formed the view that the disclosure of the personal information of members of
the Great Barrier Reef Foundation will make no contribution to those factors in favour of disclosure.
By contrast the interference with the privacy of other individuals is in my view unreasonable, as
outlined above. Accordingly, I have concluded that disclosure would, on balance, be contrary to the
public interest.
Rights of Review
In accordance with section 26(1)(c) of the FOI Act, a statement setting out your rights of review
under the Act is at Attachment A.
Yours sincerely
K Maloney
Kate Maloney
Senior Legal Counsel
CSIRO
CSIRO
Australia’s National Science Agency
Attachment A
Review rights
You are entitled to seek review of this decision.
Internal Review
Firstly, under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply for an internal review of the decision. Your
application must be made by whichever date is the later between:
30 days of you receiving this notice; or 15 days of you receiving the documents to which you have
been granted access.
An internal review will be conducted by a different officer from the original decision-maker. No
particular form is required to apply for review although it will assist your case to set out in the
application the grounds on which you believe that the original decision should be overturned. An
application for a review of the decision should be addressed to:
xxx@xxxxx.xx
If you choose to seek an internal review, you wil subsequently have a right to apply to the Australian
Information Commissioner for a review of the internal review decision.
External review by the Australian Information Commissioner
Alternatively, under 54L of the FOI Act, you may seek review of this decision by the Australian
Information Commissioner without first going to internal review. Your application must be made
within 60 days of you receiving this notice.
The Information Commissioner is an independent office holder who may review decisions of
agencies and Ministers under the FOI Act. More information is available on the Information
Commissioner's website
www.oaic.gov.au.
You can contact the Information Commissioner to request a review of a decision online or by writing
to the Information Commissioner at:
GPO Box 2999
Canberra ACT 2601
Complaints to Ombudsman or Information Commissioner
You may complain to either the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the Information Commissioner
about action taken by CSIRO in relation to the application. The Ombudsman wil consult with the
Information Commissioner before investigating a complaint about the handling of an FOI request.
Your enquiries to the Ombudsman can be directed to:
CSIRO
Australia’s National Science Agency
Phone 1300 362 072 (local call charge)
E
mail xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Your enquiries to the Information Commissioner can be directed to:
Phone 1300 363 992 (local call charge)
E
mail xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
There is no particular form required to make a complaint to the Ombudsman or the Information
Commissioner. The request should be in writing and should set out the grounds on which it is
considered that the action taken in relation to the request should be investigated and identify CSIRO
as the relevant agency.
CSIRO
Australia’s National Science Agency
Document Outline