Our reference: RQ21/02296
Agency reference: 1-Q4FX2EC
Mr Trent Morrison-Francis

Sent by email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Extension of time under s 15AC
Dear Mr Morrison-Francis
On 18 August 2021, the Australian Taxation Office (the ATO) advised this office that it had not
made a decision on your FOI request of 17 July 2021 within the statutory period provided by
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act). Consequently, the FOI Act deems
that the ATO has refused your request.
However, section 15AC of the FOI Act allows the Information Commissioner to extend the
processing time for an FOI request where the initial decision period has ended and the
agency or Minister has not provided the applicant with notice of a decision. The ATO has
applied for further time to finalise your request.
The ATO advised that it attempted to obtain an agreement under s 15AA of the FOI Act for an
extension of time from you. The ATO advised that you refused the request for a 30-day
extension.
Contact with you
On 19 August 2021, I wrote to you to seek your view on the ATO’s application.
On 22 August 2021, you responded to my inquiries and provided comments that I have taken
into consideration, including:
… this matter is an ongoing fight between veterans and CSC and the ATO.
I refer you to the several requests on right to know from CSC that have just been ignored and
never processed.
As the ATO now has all the information it needs I would approve an extension of 7 days from
today. Anything over that would not be in the public interest and will result in further
processing delays of veterans Tax and other benefits.
1300 363 992
T +61 2 9284 9686
GPO Box 5218
www.oaic.gov.au
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
F +61 2 9284 9666
Sydney NSW 2001
ABN 85 249 230 937

Decision
As a delegate of the Information Commissioner, I am authorised to make decisions on
applications for extensions of time under s 15AC(5) of the FOI Act.
I have decided to grant the ATO further time to 7 September 2021 to process your request.
My reasons and considerations follow:
•  the ATO has advised that the scope of the FOI request includes 6 parts relating to
communications between the ATO and another government agency
•  the ATO further advised that identification of the relevant documents was delayed by
the COVID related lockdown that required a key ATO officer to work from home, and
as such was unable to search hardcopy documents which were kept in the ATO
Office. The relevant officer has since been permitted to return the ATO Office and has
conducted the relevant searches, and
•  the ATO is conducting a consultation with another government agency, and as such,
the has advised that further time is required to finalise its decision.
I note your objections to this extension of time and your agreement to a 7-day extension of
time from the date of your response to the OAIC’s consultation. However, based on the
information currently before the OAIC, I am satisfied that this extension of time is
appropriate in this circumstance, particularly in consideration of the lockdown situations
and that the ATO experienced a delay in accessing hard copy documents due to lockdown.
This extension of time under s 15AC of the FOI Act means that the deemed refusal is taken
never to have applied if the ATO makes a decision on your request by 7 September 2021.
Such an extension can only be granted once and cannot be extended by a variation.
I note that the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019 provides if an applicant is
not notified of a decision on a request within the statutory time limit (including any
extension of time), the agency or minister cannot impose a charge for providing access, even
if the applicant was earlier notified that a charge was payable (regs 7(2), (3)). This extension
under s 15AC of the FOI Act does not mean that charges can be reimposed and any deposit
you have paid should be refunded.
If you do not receive a decision by 7 September 2021, you may wish to seek Information
Commissioner review of the ATO’s deemed refusal of your request here. Further information
on applying for IC review is available on the OAIC website.
Contact
If you have any questions about this letter, please contact me on (02) 9284 9721 or via email
xxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. In all correspondence please include OAIC reference number at
the top of this letter.
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Yours sincerely

Shelley Napper
Assistant Director
FOI Regulatory Group
24 August 2021

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Review rights
If you disagree with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) decision
you can apply to the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit Court for a review of a
decision of the Information Commissioner if you think that a decision by the Information
Commissioner to grant an extension of time is not legally correct. You can make this
application under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977.

The Court wil not review the merits of your case but it may refer the matter back to the
Information Commissioner for further consideration if it finds the decision was wrong in law
or the Information Commissioner’s powers were not exercised properly.

An application for review must be made to the Court within 28 days of the OAIC sending the
decision to you. You may wish to seek legal advice as the process can involve fees and costs.
Please contact the Federal Court registry in your state or territory for more information, or
visit the Federal Court website at http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/.
Further information
Further information about how applications to extend the timeframe to process an FOI
request are handled by the OAIC can be found published on our website:
For FOI applicants: How to make an FOI request: Extensions of time
For agencies and ministers: Guidance and advice: Extension of time for processing
requests
The OAIC has the power to investigate complaints about an agency’s actions under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). This is a separate process from asking for an
Information Commissioner review following a decision made under the FOI Act. Complaints
usually focus on how an agency has handled your FOI request or complied with other
obligations under the FOI Act, rather than the decision itself.
In some cases, the Information Commissioner's investigation of a complaint may lead to the
agency addressing the issues that you have complained about. In other cases, the
Information Commissioner may make suggestions or recommendations that the agency
should implement. The Information Commissioner can only make non-binding
recommendations as a result of a complaint. You and the agency will be notified of the
outcome of the investigation.
FOI complaints to the OAIC must be made in writing. Our preference is for you to use
the online FOI complaint form if at all possible.
Further information about how to make a complaint can be found published on our website:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/make-an-foi-
complaint/ .
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Document Outline

Extension of time under s 15AC