29 October 2021
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Greg,
Request for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
The purpose of this letter is to give you a decision about access to documents you requested
under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) from the eSafety Commissioner
(eSafety) on 29 September 2021.
Summary
I, Maria Vassiliadis, am an officer authorised under section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions
in relation to requests under the Act.
The scope of your request is as follows:
• ‘Correspondence, including emails, whether internal to the office or between the office and
outside parties;
• diary entries, calendar entries, and notifications of online meetings;
• minutes of meetings; and
• discussion of policy, and any draft or final policy papers or proposals;
where those documents discuss or relate (in whole or in part) to:
• the proposed involvement of Mastercard, or any individual or entity closely related to
Mastercard, in delivering or influencing the delivery of online age verification services in
Australia;
covering the period:
• 1 February 2020 to 7 October 2021.’
Thank you for working with eSafety to confirm the following:
1. Your request relating to any individual or entity closely related to Mastercard refers to
‘employees and representatives of Mastercard, or employees or representatives of
companies or organisations that are, to the Commissioner's knowledge, subsidiaries or
subcontractors of Mastercard.’
2. eSafety will interpret point 1 as referring only to the names of people eSafety is aware (to
the best of our knowledge) represent Mastercard or names that appear on a document in
eSafety's possession related to, or which references, Mastercard, where those names
relate to Mastercard. eSafety will then conduct a further search of its documents in relation
to those names.
3. Your request does not refer to publicly available information or news articles.
P: 3399287
1800 83 80 176
E: xxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
esafety.gov.au
Scope of your request
I have identified 5 documents as falling within the scope of your request.
eSafety took all reasonable steps to obtain these documents, including searching our records
systems and contacting relevant individuals and asking them to provide any documents relating to
the matter outlined in your request.
Timeframe for processing
eSafety received your request on 29 February 2021 and the 30-day statutory period for processing
your request commenced from the day after that date. The time period therefore concludes
on 29 October 2021.
We are providing you a response within the statutory timeframe.
Material taken into account
I have taken the following material into account in making my decision on access:
• the FOI Act, specifically sections 11, 11A, 11B, 22, 47 and 47E
• the guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of the
FOI Act (Guidelines), and
• the content of the documents that fall within the scope of your request.
Decision and Reasons for Decision
I have decided that of the 5 documents identified as relevant to your request:
• 3 are released in full, with redactions on the grounds of relevance, and
• 2 are wholly exempt from release.
Pursuant to section 22 of the FOI Act, I have redacted information that is irrelevant to the scope of
your request. Given the broad nature of your request, several documents are heavily redacted
because the majority of the content is not within the scope of your request. We have also redacted
information we assume you do not require, including the names of public servants.
The attached schedule of documents provides a description of each document and my decision
about access for each one. The reasons for my decisions are outlined below.
Released in full
I have granted you access in full to documents 3, 4 and 5.
As outlined above, the redactions in these documents are because the redacted content is either
irrelevant to, or does not fall within the scope of, your request.
Refused access
I have refused you access to documents 1 and 2, in accordance with the exemptions outlined
below.
P: 3399287
1800 83 80 176
E: xxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
esafety.gov.au
Exemption – Section 47 – Documents disclosing trade secrets or commercially valuable
information
Section 47 provides that a document is exempt if its disclosure would disclose trade secrets or
any other information having a commercial value that would be, or could reasonably be expected
to be, destroyed or diminished if the information were disclosed.
Documents 1 and 2 relate to information of a commercial value to the Digital Transformation
Agency (DTA). I consider that this information is not publicly known and that this confidential
commercial information may lose some of its commercial and competitive value if it becomes more
widely known.
I also consider that disclosing the information may reduce the value of a business operation or
commercial activity being discussed.
I have therefore determined that documents 1 and 2 are wholly exempt from release pursuant to
section 47.
I note that the DTA supports the view that the information contained in these 2 documents is
commercially valuable information and should be exempt from release.
While I am satisfied documents 1 and 2 are exempt under section 47, I note that I also consider
they would be exempt under section 47E, as outlined below.
Public interest conditional exemption – Section 47E of the FOI Act – Certain operations of
agencies Section 47E(d) provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure would, or could
reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of
the operations of an agency.
Documents 1 and 2 contains material that, if disclosed, would result in the disclosure of information
relating to the operation of the DTA’s functions.
Overall, I consider it would make it more difficult for the DTA to fulfil its legislative role of providing
strategic and policy leadership on Whole-of-Government and shared information and
communications technology investments and digital service delivery. Given the DTA’s functions
rely on competitive and commercial activities, disclosure of this information would have a
substantially adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the DTA.
Public interest Under section 11A of the FOI Act, access to a document covered by a conditional exemption must
be given unless it would be contrary to the public interest.
In considering whether to exempt the documents, I have considered and weighed factors for and
against disclosure, as outlined in the FOI Guidelines and section 11B of the FOI Act. I have
considered that disclosure is generally considered to promote the objects of the FOI Act, can
enhance the scrutiny of government decision making and can inform debate on matters of public
importance. However, I have also considered that disclosure of the information would be contrary
to the public interest, including that it could reasonably be expected to prejudice the competitive
commercial activities of an agency and could reasonably be expected to prejudice an agency’s
ability to obtain similar information in the future. The public interest weighs in favour of not
P: 3399287
1800 83 80 176
E: xxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
esafety.gov.au
disclosing this information, particularly given the need for the DTA to be able continue to engage in
competitive commercial activities.
I note that the DTA also supports the view that the information contained in these 2 documents is
information relating to the operation of the DTA’s functions and should be exempt from release.
Having weighed these factors and determined that release at this time would be contrary to the
public interest, I consider that documents 1 and 2 are wholly exempt from release under section
47E of the FOI Act.
Final assessment of charges
I have decided that you are not liable to pay a charge in respect of your request.
Your rights of review
If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for internal review or Information
Commissioner review of the decision. We encourage you to seek internal review as a first step as it
may provide a more rapid resolution of your concerns.
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx for an
internal review of my decision. The internal review application must be made within 30 days of the
date of this letter. Where possible, please attach reasons why you believe review of the decision is
necessary. The internal review will be carried out within 30 days.
Under section 54L of the FOI 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://forms.business.gov.au/aba/oaic/foi-review-/
email: xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
post: GPO Box 2999, Canberra ACT 2601
in person: Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW
More information about Information Commissioner review is available on the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner website at
www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-
reviews. If you have any questions in this regard, please contact me on 1800 880 176 or at
xxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely,
Maria Vassiliadis
Office of the eSafety Commissioner
Authorised decision maker pursuant to section 23(1) of the FOI Act
P: 3399287
1800 83 80 176
E: xxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
esafety.gov.au
Schedule of documents
Number
Date
Size
Description
Decision on
Exemptions of
access
deletions on the
grounds of
relevance
1
3 August
2
Speaking notes for
Access refused
Section 47 and
2021
pages
DTA presentation on
47E
age verification and
digital identity
2
3 August
23
Slides for DTA’s
Access refused
Sections 47 and
2021
pages
presentation on age
47E
verification and digital
identity
3
9 August
2
eSafety meeting note
Release
Section 22
2021
pages
from meeting with
DTA
4
14
1 page eSafety meeting note
Release
Section 22
September
from meeting with
2021
DTA
5
27
1 Page Email between
Release
Section 22
September
eSafety staff on news
2021
article relating to DTA
and Mastercard
P: 3399287
1800 83 80 176
E: xxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
esafety.gov.au
