LEX 48565
Decision and Statement of reasons issued under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982
Decision and reason for decision of Joanna (Position Number 62329542), Information Access
Unit, Client Access Rehabilitation Branch, Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Applicant:
Ms Verity Pane
Decision date:
11 May 2022
FOI reference number:
LEX 48565
Sent by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Ms Pane,
Freedom of Information Request: LEX 48565
Decision
1.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (
the department) has undertaken a reasonable search of
its records and has identified one (1) document relevant to your request, which has been
created under section 17 of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (
FOI Act).
2.
I have made a decision to refuse access to that document in full.
Authority to make decision
3.
I, Joanna (Position Number 62329542), Information Access Officer, Information Access Unit,
am an officer authorised by the Secretary of the department to make decisions about access
to document in the possession of the department in accordance with section 23(1) of the
FOI Act.
Summary
4.
On 11 March 2022, you made a request for access to information in the possession of the
department. Your request sought access to the following:
1
I desire copy of a document listing all entries allocated to the below Cost Centres, for the
period 1 July 2020 to 11 March 2022:
9A0200
9A0201
9A0301
9A0401
9A0102
9A0101
9A0001
2A0401
8B0101
2D0601
5.
On 18 March 2022, the department acknowledged your request via email.
6.
The departmental cost centres identified in your request, relate to the department’s Royal
Commission Reviews & Inquires Branch and the current Royal Commission into Defence and
Veteran Suicide (
the Royal Commission).
7.
As an extension of time was applied to process your request in accordance with section 15AB
of the FOI Act, a decision on your request is due by 11 May 2022.
8.
I have decided not to impose a charge in relation to this request, in accordance with
Regulation 8 of the
Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019.
Material taken into account
9.
In accordance with section 26(1)(a) of the FOI Act, my findings on any material question of
fact, the material on which those findings were based and the reasons for my decision to
refuse access to the document follows.
10. I have taken the following material into account in making my decision:
the terms of your request;
the types of information and documents that are in the department’s possession;
the content of the document that falls within the scope of your request;
the availability of information relevant to your request, insofar as it determines the
practicality and ease in which the department can create a document under section 17
of the FOI Act;
2
Sections 3, 11 and 11A of the FOI Act which give the Australian community a legally
enforceable right to obtain access to information held by the Government of the
Commonwealth. I also considered the following provisions of the FOI Act relevant to my
decision:
- Section 11B Public interest exemption – factors
- Section 15 Request for Access
- Section 17 Requests involving use of computers etc. (e.g. request for the
department to create a document)
- Section 47 Documents disclosing trade secrets or commercially valuable
information
- Section 47E Public interest conditional exemptions--certain operations of agencies
- Section 47F Public interest conditional exemptions--personal privacy
the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of
the FOI Act (
FOI Guidelines); and
the status of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
11. A full extract of all FOI Act provisions used to make my decision are provided in
Schedule 1.
Creation of a document in response to your FOI request (section 17)
12. In considering the information relevant to your request, the department’s General Counsel
Division extracted the relevant data and created a document in response to your request. This
document was created in accordance with section 17 of the FOI Act.
Reasons for decision
13. I have decided to
refuse access in full to the document within the scope of your request in
accordance with the following exemptions in the FOI Act:
Documents disclosing trade secrets or commercially valuable information (section 47)
14. Section 47 of the FOI Act provides that a document is an exempt document if its disclosure
would disclose:
(a)
trade secrets; or
3
(b)
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.
15. The document contains detailed costings information of third-party service providers and
contractors engaged by the department to assist with the department’s role in the Royal
Commission. The document includes detailed commercial costing information about the
services undertaken by those providers.
16. I consider that this information has a commercial value as disclosure would likely reveal the
charge-out rates of the contractors from those companies. It is generally accepted that fees
and invoicing information is information which has a commercial value under section 47(1)(b)
of the FOI Act.
17. I note that the Royal Commission is still taking place, and therefore the engagement of these
third-party service providers is ongoing.
18. In respect of the second limb of section 47(1)(b) of the FOI Act, and whether disclosure could
reasonably be expected to destroy or diminish that commercial value, the relevant
information as to the rates of the contractors are only known by the department and its
contractual providers, and is not otherwise known. Revealing this information publicly would
give a competitive advantage to other providers, thereby diminishing the commercial value of
this information.
19. Accordingly, I have decided that material contained within the document is exempt in
accordance with this provision. As section 47 of the FOI Act is not a conditional exemption, I
am not required to consider a public interest test.
Public interest conditional exemptions - certain operations of agencies (sections 47E(c) and 47E(d))
20. The document comprises of a detailed record of costs relating to the department’s role in the
Royal Commission. As noted above the Royal Commission is still taking place and the costs
associated with the Royal Commission are ongoing.
21. The document also contains the names, salary information and other identifying personal
information of staff members of the department, as well as the personal information of third-
party service providers. I have decided that section 47E(c) and section 47E(d) of the FOI Act
apply to such material.
4
22. Section 47E(c) conditionally exempts documents where disclosure would, or could reasonably
be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the management or assessment of
personnel by the Commonwealth or an agency. Management of personnel by the department
includes, among other things, human resources policies and activities, recruitment, and work
health and safety.
23. Section 47E(d) conditionally exempts documents where 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.
24. I consider that the release of this material would have a substantial adverse effect on the
operations of the department in relation to its role in the Royal Commission. Release of
specific costing information at a time where the Royal Commission is still ongoing would likely
impact the department’s ability to easily and efficiently arrange for staff members to
undertake activities in relation to and in attendance at the Royal Commission.
25. In relation to the release of individual staff information, I note that the department has
policies and procedures to support staff within its operating environment and to meet its
obligations as an employer to provide a safe working environment. Some policies restrict the
amount of identifying information generally provided by individual staff members to clients.
For example, staff are generally required to identify themselves in correspondence with
clients by a given name and position number.
26. This is consistent with the approach taken by other Commonwealth agencies with similar
functions, including provision of support services and administration of statutory benefits
schemes.
27. Implementation of these policies provides staff at more junior levels with confidence that they
will not be inappropriately named or contacted in relation to actions taken in the course of
their routine work for the department.
28. Disclosure of identifying information about staff members contained within the documents
would be inconsistent with these departmental policies. Knowledge that identifying
information about them may be disclosed in documents accessed under the FOI Act would be
likely to undermine the confidence of staff in departmental policies intended to support their
work health and safety. Staff concern about inappropriate contact and the potential for
harassment by clients is based on known instances of such things occurring. For example,
public identification of individual staff members in an online client forum.
29. An additional adverse effect on the department’s ability to manage staff could reasonably be
expected to result from widespread staff concern about disclosure of identifying information
5
about staff members. Staff members may experience concern even when not based on
personal experience of harassment. Given that the staff members mentioned in the particular
cost centres requested in your application are specifically working on the ongoing Royal
Commission, I also consider the heightened concern of harassment in the circumstances.
30. Finally, I note that the department provides a wide range of services to its clients. To facilitate
efficient conduct of its operations, the department has established channels for
communication on specific topics and in relation to specific services. These channels, such as
email inboxes and telephone support lines, enable services to be delivered efficiently by
directing clients to the most appropriate point of contact. In addition, the department is able
to manage staffing efficiently by providing staff with access to communication points attached
to a role rather than to an individual.
31. Once details of individual staff members undertaking work relating to the Royal Commission
are disclosed it may be that individuals seek to contact these specific staff members directly.
This would likely undermine departmental arrangements to channel communications based
on role rather than individual. Reduced efficiency in communication and delivery of services
could reasonably be expected to result.
32. Accordingly, for the reasons outlined above I consider that information within the document
of your request meets the criteria for conditional exemption under section 47E(c) and 47E(d)
of the FOI Act.
Public interest conditional exemptions - personal privacy (section 47F)
33. Section 47F of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure
would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person
(including a deceased person).
34. Section 4 of the FOI Act provides that personal information has the same meaning as in the
Privacy Act 1988 (
Privacy Act). Personal information is defined in section 6 of the Privacy Act
as:
..information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is
reasonably identifiable:
(a)
whether the information or opinion is true or not;
(b)
whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.
6
35. The elements of ‘personal information’ are:
(a)
it relates only to a natural person (not, for example, a company);
(b)
it says something about the individual;
(c)
it may be in the form of an opinion, it may be true or untrue, and it may form
part of a database;
(d)
the individual’s identity is known or is reasonably ascertainable using the
information in the document.
36. If information is personal information, it will be conditionally exempt if disclosure would be
‘unreasonable’. In considering whether disclosure would be unreasonable, section 47F(2) of
the FOI Act requires me to take into account:
(a)
the extent to which the information is well known;
(b)
whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have
been) associated with the matters dealt with in the document;
(c)
the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources; and
(d)
any other matter I consider relevant.
37. The document contains the full names, staff identifiers and payroll information of staff of the
department, third party service providers and other third party individuals.
38. In relation to employment and payroll information, the department has obligations of
confidentiality in respect of matters of employment. Matters to do with an employee’s
employment such as their pay or employment arrangements meet the definition of personal
information and are confidential.
39. The department also has policies and procedures to support staff within its operating
environment and to meet its obligations as an employer to provide a safe working
environment. These policies extended to contracted employees. Some policies restrict the
amount of identifying information generally provided by individual staff members to clients.
As outlined above, staff are generally required to identify themselves in correspondence with
clients by a given name and position number. This reduces the likelihood that individuals are
reasonably identifiable in a different context. For example, it reduces the likelihood that a
7
private social media profile can be linked with an individual who is a staff member of the
department.
40. I consider that disclosure of personal information of individual staff members in the document
would be unreasonable because it would be inconsistent with departmental policies and
procedures designed to support a sage and efficient working environment. It would also be
inconsistent with the department’s obligations of confidentiality to its employees. I consider
that release of the material would be contrary to the expectations of those individual staff
members, who may rely on those departmental policies, procedures and understanding of
confidentiality for assurance of their personal privacy.
41. I further consider that the release of third-party personal information contained within the
document would be unreasonable. I consider that there is a risk that if this material was
disclosed, third party individuals who are identified within the documents, due to their
involvement with Royal Commission matters, may be contacted and potentially harassed by
members of the public.
42. Accordingly, I have decided that the parts of the document which contain such information in
accordance with this provision, meet the criteria for conditional exemption. Where a
document is assessed as conditionally exempt, access must be given subject to the public
interest test in accordance with section 11A(5).
Application of the public interest test – sections 47E(c), (d) and 47F
43. Section 11A(5) of the FOI Act provides that an agency must give the person access to the
document if it is conditionally exempt at a particular time unless (in the circumstances) access
to the document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.
44. In order to assess whether release of the exempt material would be contrary to the public
interest, I considered the following factor which favours disclosure:
(a)
disclosure would promote the objects of the FOI Act by providing access to
government held information.
45. I also considered the following factors which do not favour disclosure:
(a)
disclosure could be expected to adversely affect the management of staff of the
department, resulting in a likely reduction in the capability of the department to
efficiently carry out its functions;
8
(b)
the staff members and contractors named in the document are identified as being
involved in the Royal Commission, which could lend itself to a higher possibility of
harassment if their involvement in the Royal Commission was publicly known;
(c)
disclosure could be expected to adversely affect the delivery of services by the
department in accordance with its functions; and
(d)
disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the protection of an individual’s
right to privacy, both in relation to the third-party individuals and staff of the
department and other commonwealth agencies.
46. I have placed greater weight on these factors. I consider that disruption of established
channels for communication and delivery of services would be likely to follow disclosure of
contact information about individual staff members. I consider that impairment of the
department’s ability to efficiently deliver services to veterans and their families could
reasonably be expected as a result. Such efficiency is particularly important for big projects
such as the Royal Commission.
47. Further, I consider that there is little public interest in the disclosure of the personal and
employment information of staff members and third parties connected to department’s
involvement in the Royal Commission, particularly at a time when the Royal Commission is
ongoing. Disclosure of that personal information could reasonably be expected to result in
interference with the privacy of those individuals by enabling them to be identified in their
private lives and associated with actions for which the department is responsible.
48. On balance, I consider the public interest factors against disclosure to be more persuasive than
the public interest factors favouring disclosure. I am satisfied that the public interest is to
withhold the exempt material.
49. I am satisfied that no irrelevant factor has been considered, as set out in section 11B(4) of the
FOI Act.
Your rights of review
50. If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for internal review or request the Office
of the Australian Information Commissioner (
OAIC) review my decision. We encourage you to
seek internal review as a first step to resolve any concerns you may have.
9
Internal review
51. Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to the department 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 by another officer within 30 days.
52. You can make your application for Internal Review in one of the following ways:
Post:
Information Access Unit
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998
Brisbane QLD 4001
Facsimile:
(02) 6289 6337
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
OAIC review
53. Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the OAIC to review my decision. An
application for review by OAIC must be made in writing within 60 days of the date of this
letter, and be lodged in one of the following ways:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
Director of FOI Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Facsimile:
(02) 9284 9666
Phone:
1300 363 992
Email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
54. More information about your review rights under the FOI Act is available published by the
OAIC:
Reviews and complaints - Home (oaic.gov.au)
Contact us
55. If you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the Information Access
Unit using the following details:
Online:
https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview/reporting/freedom-
information/access-information
Post:
Information Access Unit
10
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998
Brisbane QLD 4001
Facsimile:
(02) 6289 6337
Phone:
1800 838 372
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Joanna (Position Number 62329542)
Information Access Officer
Information Access Unit
11
LEX 48565
Schedule 1
Schedule of relevant provisions in the FOI Act
3
Objects—general
(1)
The objects of this Act are to give the Australian community access to information held by
the Government of the Commonwealth or the Government of Norfolk Island, by:
(a)
requiring agencies to publish the information; and
(b)
providing for a right of access to documents.
(2)
The Parliament intends, by these objects, to promote Australia’s representative democracy
by contributing towards the following:
(a)
increasing public participation in Government processes, with a view to promoting
better informed decision-making;
(b)
increasing scrutiny, discussion, comment and review of the Government’s
activities.
(3)
The Parliament also intends, by these objects, to increase recognition that information held
by the Government is to be managed for public purposes, and is a national resource.
(4)
The Parliament also intends that functions and powers given by this Act are to be
performed and exercised, as far as possible, to facilitate and promote public access to
information, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost.
11
Right of access
(1)
Subject to this Act, every person has a legally enforceable right to obtain access in
accordance with this Act to:
(a)
a document of an agency, other than an exempt document; or
(b)
an official document of a Minister, other than an exempt document.
(2)
Subject to this Act, a person’s right of access is not affected by:
(a)
any reasons the person gives for seeking access; or
(b)
the agency’s or Minister’s belief as to what are his or her reasons for seeking
access.
11A Access to documents on request
Scope
(1)
This section applies if:
(a)
a request is made by a person, in accordance with subsection 15(2), to an agency or
Minister for access to:
(i)
a document of the agency; or
(ii)
an official document of the Minister; and
(b)
any charge that, under the regulations, is required to be paid before access is given
has been paid.
(2)
This section applies subject to this Act.
Note:
Other provisions of this Act are relevant to decisions about access to documents, for example the following:
(a)
section 12 (documents otherwise available);
(b)
section 13 (documents in national institutions);
(c)
section 15A (personnel records);
(d)
section 22 (access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted).
12
Mandatory access—general rule
(3)
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document in accordance with
this Act, subject to this section.
Exemptions and conditional exemptions
(4)
The agency or Minister is not required by this Act to give the person access to the
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is an exempt document.
Note:
Access may be given to an exempt document apart from under this Act, whether or not in response to a request
(see section 3A (objects—information or documents otherwise accessible)).
(5)
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document if it is conditionally
exempt at a particular time unless (in the circumstances) access to the document at that
time would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.
Note 1: Division 3 of Part IV provides for when a document is conditionally exempt.
Note 2: A conditionally exempt document is an exempt document if access to the document would, on balance, be
contrary to the public interest (see section 31B (exempt documents for the purposes of Part IV)).
Note 3: Section 11B deals with when it is contrary to the public interest to give a person access to the document.
(6)
Despite subsection (5), the agency or Minister is not required to give access to the
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is both:
(a)
a conditionally exempt document; and
(b)
an exempt document:
(i)
under Division 2 of Part IV (exemptions); or
(ii)
within the meaning of paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of exempt
document in subsection 4(1).
11B
Public interest exemptions — factors
Scope
(1)
This section applies for the purposes of working out whether access to a conditionally
exempt document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest under
subsection 11A(5).
(2)
This section does not limit subsection 11A(5).
Factors favouring access
(3)
Factors favouring access to the document in the public interest include whether access to
the document would do any of the following:
(a)
promote the objects of this Act (including all the matters set out in sections 3 and
3A);
(b)
Inform debate on a matter of public importance;
(c)
promote effective oversight of public expenditure;
(d)
allow a person to access his or her own personal information.
Irrelevant factors
(4)
The following factors must not be taken into account in deciding whether access to the
document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest:
(a)
access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Commonwealth
Government, or cause a loss of confidence in the Commonwealth Government;
(b)
access to the document could result in any person misinterpreting or
misunderstanding the document;
(c)
the author of the document was (or is) of high seniority in the agency to which the
request for access to the document was made;
(d)
access to the document could result in confusion or unnecessary debate.
Guidelines
13
(5)
In working out whether access to the document would, on balance, be contrary to the
public interest, an agency or Minister must have regard to any guidelines issued by the
Information Commissioner for the purposes of this subsection under section 93A.
15
Requests for access (as related to the requirements for requests)
Persons may request access
(1)
Subject to section 15A, a person who wishes to obtain access to a document of an agency
or an official document of a Minister may request access to the document.
Requirements for request
(2)
The request must:
(a)
be in writing; and
(aa)
state that the request is an application for the purposes of this Act; and
(b)
provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably necessary to
enable a responsible officer of the agency, or the Minister, to identify it; and
(c)
give details of how notices under this Act may be sent to the applicant (for
example, by providing an electronic address to which notices may be sent by
electronic communication).
(2A) The request must be sent to the agency or Minister. The request may be sent in any of the
following ways:
(a)
delivery to an officer of the agency, or a member of the staff of the Minister, at the
address of any central or regional office of the agency or Minister specified in a
current telephone directory;
(b)
postage by pre-paid post to an address mentioned in paragraph (a);
(c)
sending by electronic communication to an electronic address specified by the
agency or Minister.
17
Requests involving use of computers etc
(1)
Where:
(a)
a request (including
a request in relation to which
a practical refusal reason exists)
is made in accordance with the requirements o
f subsection 15(2) to
an agency;
(b)
It appears from the
request that the desire of th
e applicant is for information that
is not available in discrete form in writt
en documents of the
agency; and
(ba)
it does not appear from th
e request that th
e applicant wishes to be provided with
a computer tape or computer disk on which the information is recorded; and
(c)
the agency could produce a writt
en document containing the information in
discrete form by:
(i)
the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the
agency for retrieving or collating stored information; or
(ii)
the making of a transcript from a sound recording held
in the agency;
the agency shall deal with th
e request as if it were
a request for access to a written
document so produced and containing that information and, for that purpose, this Act
applies as if
the agency had such
a document in its possession.
(2)
An agency is not required to comply
with subsection (1) if compliance would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of th
e agency from its other operations.
24
Power to refuse request--diversion of resources etc.
(1)
If an agency or Minister is satisfied, when dealing with a request for a document, that a
practical refusal reason exists in relation to the request (see section 24AA), the agency or
Minister:
14
(a)
must undertake a request consultation process (see section 24AB); and
(b)
if, after the request consultation process, the agency or Minister is satisfied that
the practical refusal reason still exists--the agency or Minister may refuse to give
access to the document in accordance with the request.
(2)
For the purposes of this section, the agency or Minister may treat 2 or more requests as a
single request if the agency or Minister is satisfied that:
(a)
the requests relate to the same document or documents; or
(b)
the requests relate to documents, the subject matter of which is substantially the
same.
26
Reasons and other particulars of decisions to be given
(1)
Where, in relation to a request, a decision is made relating to a refusal to grant access to a
document in accordance with the request or deferring provision of access to a document,
the decision-maker shall cause the applicant to be given notice in writing of the decision,
and the notice shall:
(a)
state the findings on any material questions of fact, referring to the material on
which those findings were based, and state the reasons for the decision; and
(aa)
in the case of a decision to refuse to give access to a conditionally exempt
document—include in those reasons the public interest factors taken into account
in making the decision; and
Note:
Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it would be contrary to the public
interest (see section 11A).
(b)
where the decision relates to a document of an agency, state the name and
designation of the person giving the decision; and
(c)
give to the applicant appropriate information concerning:
(i)
his or her rights with respect to review of the decision;
(ii)
his or her rights to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner in
relation to the decision; and
(iii)
the procedure for the exercise of the rights referred to in subparagraphs (i)
and (ii); including (where applicable) particulars of the manner in which an
application for internal review (Part VI) and IC review (Part VII) may be
made.
(1A)
Section 13 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 does not apply to a
decision referred to in subsection (1).
(2)
A notice under this section is not required to contain any matter that is of such a nature
that its inclusion in a document of an agency would cause that document to be an exempt
document.
(see section 11A).
47
Documents disclosing trade secrets or commercially valuable information
(1)
A document is an exempt document if its disclosure under this Act would disclose:
(a)
trade secrets; or
(b)
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.
(2)
Subsection (1) does not have effect in relation to a request by a person for access to a
document:
(a)
by reason only of the inclusion in the document of information concerning that
person in respect of his or her business or professional affairs; or
(b)
by reason only of the inclusion in the document of information concerning the
business, commercial or financial affairs of an undertaking where the person
making the request is the proprietor of the undertaking or a person acting on
behalf of the proprietor; or
15
(c)
by reason only of the inclusion in the document of information concerning the
business, commercial or financial affairs of an organisation where the person
making the request is the organisation or a person acting on behalf of the
organisation.
(3)
A reference in this section to an undertaking includes a reference to an undertaking that is
carried on by, or by an authority of, the Commonwealth, Norfolk Island or a State or by a
local government authority.
Public interest conditional exemptions
47E
Public interest conditional exemptions—certain operations of agencies
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or could reasonably be
expected to, do any of the following:
(a)
prejudice the effectiveness of procedures or methods for the conduct of tests,
examinations or audits by an agency;
(b)
prejudice the attainment of the objects of particular tests, examinations or audits
conducted or to be conducted by an agency;
(c)
have a substantial adverse effect on the management or assessment of personnel
by the Commonwealth, by Norfolk Island or by an agency;
(d)
have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the
operations of an agency.
Note: Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it would be contrary to the public
interest (see section 11A).
47F
Public interest conditional exemptions—personal privacy
General rule
(1)
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would involve the
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased
person).
(2)
In determining whether the disclosure of the document would involve the unreasonable
disclosure of personal information, an agency or Minister must have regard to the following
matters:
(a)
the extent to which the information is well known;
(b)
whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have
been) associated with the matters dealt with in the document;
(c)
the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources;
(d)
any other matters that the agency or Minister considers relevant.
(3)
Subject to subsection (5), subsection (1) does not have effect in relation to a request by a
person for access to a document by reason only of the inclusion in the document of matter
relating to that person.
Access given to qualified person instead
(4)
Subsection (5) applies if:
(a)
a request is made to an agency or Minister for access to a document of the agency,
or an official document of the Minister, that contains information concerning the
applicant, being information that was provided by a qualified person acting in his or
her capacity as a qualified person; and
(b)
it appears to the principal officer of the agency or to the Minister (as the case may
be) that the disclosure of the information to the applicant might be detrimental to
the applicant’s physical or mental health, or well-being.
(5)
The principal officer or Minister may, if access to the document would otherwise be given
to the applicant, direct that access to the document, so far as it contains that information,
is not to be given to the applicant but is to be given instead to a qualified person who:
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(a)
carries on the same occupation, of a kind mentioned in the definition of qualified
person in subsection (7), as the first-mentioned qualified person; and
(b)
is to be nominated by the applicant.
(6)
The powers and functions of the principal officer of an agency under this section may be
exercised by an officer of the agency acting within his or her scope of authority in
accordance with arrangements referred to in section 23.
(7)
In this section:
qualified person means a person who carries on, and is entitled to carry on, an occupation
that involves the provision of care for the physical or mental health of people or for their
well-being, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes any of the
following:
(a)
a medical practitioner;
(b)
a psychiatrist;
(c)
a psychologist;
(d)
a counsellor;
(e)
a social worker.
Note: Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it would be contrary to the public
interest (see section 11A).
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