Verifysp
By email:
verifys
p xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
27 September 2021
Dear Sir/Madam,
ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
I refer to your email dated 28 August 2021, seeking access to the following documents under
the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the Act);
• Documents circulated to staff of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (the
Institute) in response to instructions issued by State and Federal authorities during the
period 1 January 2021 to 27 August 2021, regarding the requirement to wear masks in
relation to the Delta Variant of the CVOID-19 outbreak; and
• Documents issued by State and Federal authorities during the period 1 January 2021
to 27 August 2021, regarding the requirement to wear masks in relation to the Delta
Variant of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Decision
I am an officer authorised under s.23(1) of the Act to make decisions in relation to requests
under the Act, and have been authorised to make this decision.
I have identified 9 documents totalling 15 pages within the scope of your request, as detailed
in the attached Schedule.
In relation to the first part of your request, I have decided to release the documents to you with
redactions. Those redactions fall within two categories, namely:
• staff names under s.47 of the Act; and
• parts of the documents under s.22 of the Act, on the basis they are not within the scope
of your request.
In relation to the second part of your request, I refuse to give access to the documents in
accordance with s.24A of the Act, on the basis that:
(a) Al reasonable steps have been taken to find the documents; and
(b) I am satisfied that the documents do not exist.
Conditional exemption – personal information
Section 47F of the Act provides that material is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this
Act would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person.
Documents 1 to 9 inclusive, contains the personal information of officers of the Institute, namely
their names or contact details. I have decided that the disclosure of the individual’s personal
details would be an unreasonable disclosure of personal information about those persons and
consider this information to be conditionally exempt under s.47F of the Act.
The Public Interest
Even though I have decided that all documents are conditionally exempt under s.47F of the
Act, I am also required to consider whether disclosing this information would, on balance, be
contrary to the public interest. If I am not satisfied that the disclosure of this information would
be contrary to public interest, then access must granted.
Section 31B of the Act provides that material is exempt if it is conditionally exempt under
Division 3 of Part IV of the Act, and access to the material would also, on balance, be contrary
to the public interest for the purposes of s.11A(5) of the Act. In applying this test, I have
weighed the factors in favour of disclosure against those against it.
I have identified the following factor for disclosure:
• It would promote the objects of the Act, as described in s.3 of the Act; and
I have identified the following factor against disclosure:
• It could reasonably be expected to prejudice the protection of the right to privacy of
individuals other than you.
In weighing the public interest factors for the purposes of this exemption, I have determined
that access to this information would not be characterised as a matter of public importance, in
favour of disclosure.
On the other hand, disclosure of the personal information would intrude on the right to privacy
of the individuals concerned by providing personal information which is not available from
publicly accessible sources.
On balance, I consider that the public interest favours the protection of this personal
information and would be contrary to the public interest to release this information to you for
this reason.
Application for internal review of decision
Section 54 of the Act gives you the right to apply for an internal review of my decision. An
application for internal review of my decision must be made in writing within 30 days of receipt
of this later.
No particular form is required, but it is advisable to set out in the application the grounds on
which you consider that the decision should be reviewed. An application for review should be
addressed to Freedom of Information at the following address:
Email: xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Post: Freedom of Information
Ethics, Privacy & Legal Unit
Data Governance Group
Australian Institute of Health & Welfare
GPO Box 570, Canberra ACT 2601
Review by the Australian Information Commission
Alternatively, under s.54L of the Act, you may apply to the Australian Information
Commissioner to review my decision. An application for review by the Information
Commissioner must be made in writing within 60 days of the date of this letter, and be lodged
in one of the following ways:
Online:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-
complaints/information-commissioner-review/
Email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Post:
Director of FOI Dispute Resolution,
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Phone:
1300 363 992
Yours sincerely
Anne Anastasi
General Counsel
Data Governance Group
Schedule
No. Date of Document Description of Document
Decision
1
28 June 2021
COVID-19 Health Directions –
Part exempt:
How these apply in the workplace s.47F:
2
29 June 2021
Face masks
Part exempt:
s.47F
3
2 July 2021
Matthew’s Update
Part exempt:
s.47F;
s.22
4
5 July 2021
AIHW Birthday – THIS
Part exempt:
THURSDAY!
s.47F;
s.22
5
7 July 2021
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIHW!
Part exempt:
s.47F;
s.22
6
8 July 2021
Face masks no longer mandatory
Part exempt:
as of Friday, 9 July, 11.59pm
s.47F
7
13 August 2021
Update from CEO
Part exempt:
s.47F;
s.22
8
16 August 2021
CEO Update
Part exempt:
s.47F;
s.22
9
25 August 2021
Changes to Canberra based
Part exempt:
meeting/training room capacity
s.47F
