Our ref: LEX540
Vanessa Teague
By email at:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Ms Teague
I refer to your request for documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) made through the
rightoknow website on 23 June 2021.
I am authorised to make this decision under s 23 of the FOI Act.
The terms of your request are:
My request concerns the answer to a question taken on notice by the AEC at Senate Estimates on 23
March 2021, Question on notice no. 68; Portfolio question number: F068, linked here:
https://www.aph.gov.au/api/qon/downloadestimatesquestions/EstimatesQuestion-CommitteeId1-
EstimatesRoundId10-PortfolioId2-QuestionNumber68
The question concerned the error rate of the Senate scanning and counting solution. The AEC's answer
states: "In 2016 IBM were engaged to provide a quality assurance process prior to the election to help
validate the developed Senate scanning solution. The result of this process was IBM considered the
quality of the AEC solution to be high. Based upon IBM’s outputs, it was stated the error rate appears to
be <0.5%."
Although it does not say what form "IBM's outputs" took, I assume those outputs are documents in a
form that could be made available to the public
A decision on the request was due on 26 July 2021, but it was unfortunately not forwarded to the AEC FOI
team for processing. Emails from rightoknow have since been whitelisted so they will not be blocked by our
Spam filter. I wrote to you on 28 July 2021 to advise you of the issue and, on the same day, you advised you
wished to proceed with the request.
On 2 August 2021, a 20 day extension of time to deal with the request was sought under s 15AC of the FOI
Act. The request for an extension of time was granted by the Australian Information Commissioner until 17
August 2021. Accordingly, a decision on your request is due on 17 August 2021.
All relevant searches were conducted for documents meeting the terms of your request. I have identified 107
batch exception reports that meet the ‘IBM outputs’ description.
I have decided to release the reports in full and they are enclosed.
Review Rights
If you are dissatisfied with any part of the decision you can ask for an internal review or request an
independent review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). You can also apply to
10 Mort Street, Canberra ACT 2601 P 02 6271 4411 F 02 6215 9999
www.aec.gov.au
the OAIC after an internal review has been conducted. Attachment A contains information about how to
arrange a review.
Yours sincerely
Louise Parrott
Principal Government Lawyer
17 August 2021
10 Mort Street, Canberra ACT 2601 P 02 6271 4411 F 02 6215 9999
www.aec.gov.au
RIGHTS OF REVIEW
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
ATTACHMENT A
RIGHTS OF REVIEW
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
The
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) gives you the right to apply for a review of a Freedom
of Information (FOI) decision. Under section 54 and section 54L of the FOI Act, you can apply for a
review of an FOI decision by:
1. an internal review officer in the Australian Electoral Commission (the AEC); and/or
2. the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner ( the OAIC).
There are no fees associated with requesting a review of an FOI decision.
Applying for an internal review by the AEC
If you apply for internal review, a different decision-maker to the delegate who made the original
decision will carry out the review. The internal review officer will consider all aspects of the original
decision and decide whether the decision should be changed. An application for internal review must
be:
made in writing;
made within 30 days of receiving this letter;
be sent, quoting reference number LEX540;
o by email to
xxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx; or
o by mail to Locked bag 4007 CANBERRA ACT 2601.
Applying for external review by the OAIC
If you disagree with the original decision or the internal review decision, you can ask the OAIC to
conduct an independent review of the original FOI decision.
You may also apply to the OAIC if you have not been informed of the outcome of an internal review
within 30 days.
Your application for OAIC review must:
be sent within 60 days of being notified of the decision;
if you have one, include a copy of the decision on your FOI request;
set out the reasons(s) why you disagree with the decision; and
include an address where notices can be sent (eg your email address).
10 Mort Street, Canberra ACT 2601 P 02 6271 4411 F 02 6215 9999
www.aec.gov.au
You may lodge your application for OAIC review:
online by using the OAIC ‘Review Application Form’, available at:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/information-
commissioner-review/
by email to
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
by mail to:
Director of FOI Dispute Resolution
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
by fax to 02 9284 9666
For further details regarding the OAIC visit
www.oaic.gov.au
Complaints
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Any complaint about the processing of your FOI request can be forwarded to the OAIC. The
complaint must be in writing and identify the agency against which the complaint is made. There is
no particular form required to make a complaint, but the complaint should set out the grounds on
which you consider the action should be investigated. The OAIC’s contact details are:
telephone: 1300 363 992
website:
www.oaic.gov.au
Commonwealth Ombudsman
The Commonwealth Ombudsman also has the power to investigate the AEC’s actions and make
recommendations where appropriate. Complaints made to the Commonwealth Ombudsman may be
made in person, by telephone or in writing. The Commonwealth Ombudsman will consult with the
OAIC before deciding who should investigate your complaint. The Commonwealth Ombudsman’s
contact details are:
telephone: 1300 362 072
website:
www.ombudsman.gov.au
10 Mort Street, Canberra ACT 2601 P 02 6271 4411 F 02 6215 9999
www.aec.gov.au
