Our ref:
FOI22/019-IR; CM22/4494
2 May 2022
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Stoyan
Freedom of Information Request FOI22/019 – Internal Review decision
The purpose of this letter is to advise you of my decision fol owing your request under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for internal review of the Attorney-General’s Department’s (the
department's) decision of 8 March 2022.
Your request
On 6 February 2022, you requested access to:
a) the APS role evaluation summary record (i.e. the completed record of the template set out on
pages 3 – 5 of the “Australian Public Service Role evaluation tool” – see
https://www.apsc.gov.au/working-aps/aps-employees-and-managers/classifications/aps-role-
evaluation-guidance-and-tool) for the EL1 position that the AGD employee making $145,000 was
engaged to fil ; and
b) the APS role evaluation summary record (i.e. the completed record of the template set out on
pages 3 – 5 of the “Australian Public Service Role evaluation tool” – see
https://www.apsc.gov.au/working-aps/aps-employees-and-managers/classifications/aps-role-
evaluation-guidance-and-tool) for the EL2 position that the AGD employee making $203,408 was
engaged to fil ; and
c) other pertinent documents, such as position descriptions, setting out the scope of the EL1 and EL2
roles for which the relevant AGD employees are paid $145,000 and $203,408 respectively; and
d) vacancy notices published in the Public Service Gazette for the EL1 and EL2 positions for which
the relevant AGD employees are paid $145,000 and $203,408 respectively; and
e) if, and only if, the role evaluation summary records referred to in a) and b) have not been
maintained, any and all documents setting out the research (e.g. interviews with other staff,
analysis of similar roles in other agencies, analysis of going market rates in relation to the work to
be performed etc.) undertaken by appropriate staff members in the AGD to determine the proper
scope of the relevant EL1 and EL2 positions; and
f) a written record of any individual flexibility arrangement entered into between the EL1 non-AGS
AGD employee and the Secretary of the AGD (or an approved delegate); and
g) a written record of any individual flexibility arrangement entered into between the EL2 non-AGS
AGD employee and the Secretary of the AGD (or an approved delegate); and h)in respect of f) and g)
above, any documents recording how the arrangements meet the genuine needs of the AGD and
the relevant employees in relation to i) arrangements about when the work is performed, ii)
overtime rates, ii ) penalty rates), iv) allowances, v) employer superannuation contributions, vi)
remuneration and/or vi ) leave entitlements.
In relation to f) and g), you are welcome to redact the names, residential addresses, and email
addresses of the relevant employees. Otherwise, I do not, at least pre-emptively, agree to
redactions other than what is permitted by, and necessary according to, the law.
On 10 February 2022, the department acknowledged your request.
On 21 February 2022, the department wrote to you to clarify the scope of your request due to the potential
number of documents fal ing with parts (f) and (g) of your request. In relation to parts (a), (b), (c) and (d) of
your request which relate to the salaries of $145,000 and $203,408, the department sought your
agreement to confine parts (e), (f) and (g) of your request to the same salaries, or a specific date range.
On 22 February 2022, you provided the fol owing response:
I confirm that my intention was that the scope of the request for parts (e), (f) and (g) are limited to
the $145,000 EL1 position and the $203,408 EL2 position.
On 8 March 2022, the department made a decision in response to your request. The department decided
to refuse access in full to three documents on the basis that the material they contain is exempt pursuant
to sections 47E(c) and 47F.
The department advised you under ‘Additional Information’ of the decision letter that Parts (a), (b) and (c)
of your request, seeking the APS role evaluation summary records and other pertinent documents do not
exist within the department’s record holdings. The department also noted that Part (d) the Executive Level
1 and Executive Level 2 positions were not advertised and therefore no vacancy notices were published in
the Public Service Gazette.
On 2 April 2022, you requested internal review of that decision. In particular, you stated:
I am writing to request an internal review of Attorney-General's Department's handling of my FOI
request 'Documents relating to certain positions in AGD'.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/documents relating to certain po
A decision in relation to your internal review request is due on 2 May 2022.
My decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to FOI requests
made to the department.
In making my decision, I have taken the following material into account:
• the terms of your request
• the content of the documents identified as within scope of your request
• the provisions of the FOI Act
• the department’s decision under the FOI Act
• the terms of your internal review request, and
• the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act
(the Guidelines).
I have decided to affirm the original decision.
Freedom of Information request FOI22/019-IR – Internal Review Decision letter
Page 2 of 4
Additional information
Departmental staff conducted a detailed search of the department’s record-keeping systems. Electronic
files were interrogated via the use of particular search terms developed with reference to the scope of your
request.
While you were refused access in ful to three documents identified within scope of your request, I note
that the department, in order to assist you with your request, took significant steps to address your request
scope by providing you with detailed background and information regarding the EL1 and EL2 employee
classifications (Attachment D: Additional Information), in lieu of access to the documents exempt in full
under 47E(c) and 47F(1) of the FOI Act.
I am of the view the documents within scope contain material regarding the operations of the department,
specifically the personal information of employees, which is not available in the public domain. I consider
there to be significant harm in releasing these documents, and would adversely affect the personal privacy
of the employees involved and the ongoing operations of the department.
In reviewing Attachment D ‘Additional Information’, I note there was a drafting error at Page 3, with the
inclusion of the wording: ‘
A copy of the IFA has been provided’. This may have given you cause to believe
documents were released in response to your FOI request. After making further enquiries, I confirm this
wording was a mistake and should not have been included in the decision package. I affirm the original
decision to refuse access in full to the documents listed at Attachment B ‘Schedule of documents’ of the
original decision package.
I am satisfied the information you were provided in the department’s original decision accords with the
provisions of the FOI Act.
Your review rights under the FOI Act are set out at
Attachment A to this letter.
Questions about this decision
If you wish to discuss this decision, the FOI case officer for this matter is Mila, who can be reached on
(02) 6141 6666 or by email to xxx@xx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Cameron Gifford
Chief Operating Officer
Enabling Services Group
Attachments
Attachment A:
Review rights – Information Commissioner Review
Freedom of Information request FOI22/019-IR – Internal Review Decision letter
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Attachment A - FOI Review rights
If you are dissatisfied with the decision of the department, you may apply for Information Commissioner
review of the decision.
Information Commissioner review
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 the decision letter, and be lodged in one of the fol owing ways:
online: https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=ICR_10
email: xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
post: GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
More information about Information Commissioner review is available on the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner website. Go to https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-
complaints/information-commissioner-review/
Freedom of Information request FOI22/019-IR – Internal Review Decision letter
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