19 February 2021
Dear Lola,
We are writing in relation to the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) request you made to the
eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) on 18 February 2021.
We would like to discuss and seek further information about your request.
The subject line of your email states you are seeking ‘documents containing anti sex, anti abortion
and anti LGBTQI+ sentiment’. The wording for your FOI request is as follows:
‘Any emails or final documents between the e-safety commissioner and anyone who works on
her behalf, and any other party, between January 2017 and now, containing the words
"prostitution" "pornhub" "onlyfans" "FOSTA/SESTA" "FOSTA" "SESTA" "NCOSE" "EARNIT"
"SISEA" "traffickinghub" "trafficking hub" or "exodus cry".’
We are unclear as to the scope and subject matter of your request. In particular, it is unclear whether
you are seeking emails and final documents that contain the words "prostitution" "pornhub" "onlyfans"
"FOSTA/SESTA" "FOSTA" "SESTA" "NCOSE" "EARNIT" "SISEA" "traffickinghub" "trafficking hub" or
"exodus cry" and that also ‘contain anti sex, anti abortion and anti LGBTQI+ sentiment’, or whether
the emails and final documents containing these words are not related to the subject line of your
request.
Given the broad nature of your request, the time required to process your request is also likely to
require a significant use of eSafety’s resources.
As you may know, an agency may refuse a request under the FOI Act if a practical refusal reason
exists. A practical refusal reason exists if:
• in the case of an agency, the work involved in processing the request would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from its other operations (section
24AA(1)(a)(i)), or
• a request does not sufficiently identify the requested documents (section 24AA(1)(b)).
Under section 24 of the FOI Act, if an agency believes they may need to refuse access to a request,
they are to request a consultation process with the applicant. The consultation period runs for 14
days. Under section 24AB(8), the consultation period is to be disregarded in working out the 30 day
period for processing an FOI request under section 15(5)(b).
Pursuant to section 24 of the FOI Act, we may need to refuse your request due to the reasons set out
above under sections 24AA(1)(a)(i) and 24AA(1)(b)). We would therefore like to consult with you and
assist you to revise your request so that a practical refusal reason does not exist.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your FOI request with you. Please contact the FOI
Coordinator a
t xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx to determine a time when you are available to discuss.
Kind regards,
FOI Coordinator
eSafety Commissioner