Department Reference: FOI 2922
Anonymous
via email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Anonymous
NOTICE OF DECISION UNDER SECTION 24A
OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
I refer to your request of the 25 August 2021 to the Department of Health (the
department) seeking access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the
FOI Act) to documents related to COVID-19. Your request is in the following terms:
1. Instructions, notices, evidence to support, in regards to the wearing of face masks by
your internal staff and public that was sent to you from either the State or Federal
Authorities in 2021.
Decision
I am authorised under section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to
Freedom of Information requests. I am writing to notify you of my decision on your
request.
I have identified three documents falling within the scope of your request. The
documents are set out in the schedule at Attachment A.
I have decided to grant you access to all three documents with irrelevant material
removed under section 22 of the FOI Act.
My reasons for this decision are set out at Attachment B.
FOI review rights
If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for a review.
Internal review
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply for internal review of this decision.
In accordance with section 54B of the FOI Act, an application for internal review
must be made in writing within 30 days after the day you are notified of this
decision (or such further period as the department allows). To assist in the internal
review process, please provide reasons you consider the review of my decision is
necessary. The internal review will be carried out by another officer of this
department within 30 days of receipt of your application.
An application for an internal review should be addressed to:
Email:
xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx
Mail:
FOI Unit (MDP 516)
Department of Health
GPO Box 9848
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Information Commissioner review
Alternatively, under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for review of my decision by the
Information Commissioner (IC).
In accordance with subsection 54S(1) of the FOI Act, an IC review application in
relation to a decision covered by subsection 54L(2) (access refusal decisions) must be
made in writing within 60 days after the day you are notified of this decision (if you
do not request an internal review).
More information about IC review is available on the OAIC website at:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews/
The OAIC can be contacted by:
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Phone:
1300 363 992
Complaints
If you are dissatisfied with action taken by the department, you may also make a
complaint.
Complaint to the department
Complaints to the department are covered by the department’s privacy policy. A
form for lodging a complaint directly to the department is available on the
department’s website:
https://www.health.gov.au/about-us/contact-us/complaints
Complaint to the IC
Information about making a complaint to the IC about action taken by the
department is available on the OAIC website:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/make-
an-foi-complaint/
Relevant provisions
The FOI Act, including the provisions referred to in this letter, can be accessed from
the Federal Register of Legislation website:
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00311
Publication
You should be aware that where I have decided to release documents to you, the
department may also publish the released material on its Disclosure Log. The
department will however, not publish information (such as personal or business
information) where it would be unreasonable to do so.
For your reference the department’s Disclosure Log can be found at:
https://www.health.gov.au/resources/foi-disclosure-log
Contacts
If you require clarification of any of the matters discussed in this letter you should
contact Freedom of Information Unit at xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx
Yours sincerely
Tim Abrahams
Acting Assistant Secretary
People, Communications and Parliamentary Division
27 September 2021
link to page 4
ATTACHMENT A
SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS – FOI 2922
Doc No.
Date
Pages
Description Decision
Exemption
on Access1
1
28 June
3
Email
RIE
section 22
2021
(Part)
2
21 July 2021
3
Email
RIE
section 22
(Part)
3
2 July 2021
3
Email
RIE
section 22
(Part)
1 RIE = Release with Irrelevant and Exempt Information Removed
ATTACHMENT B
REASONS FOR DECISION – FOI 2992
Material taken into account
In making my decision, I had regard to the following:
• the terms of your request;
• the content of the documents sought;
• advice from departmental officers with responsibility for matters relating to
the documents sought;
• the relevant provisions of the FOI Act; and
• guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section
93A of the FOI Act.
My reasons for applying the identified exemptions to the documents are set out
below.
Section 22 – deletion of irrelevant and/or exempt material
Section 22 of the FOI Act applies to documents containing exempt material
(subparagraph 22(1)(a)(i)) and irrelevant information (subparagraph 22(1)(a)(ii)) and
allows an agency to delete such material from a document.
I have deleted irrelevant information from Documents 1 to 3 in accordance with the
department’s redaction policy as advised to you on 2 September 2021. Irrelevant
material deleted from those documents consists of the names and contact details of
Australian Public Service officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES).