Our reference: RQ22/01849
Agency reference: FOI/2022/100
Mr Francis Unmoepa
Sent by email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Notification to: xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Extension of time under s 15AC
Dear Mr Unmoepa
On 18 May 2022, the Department of the Prime Minister And Cabinet (Department) advised
this office that it had not made a decision on your FOI request of 30 March 2022 within the
statutory period provided by the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act).
Consequently, the FOI Act deems that the Department has refused your request.
However, s 15AC of the FOI Act al ows the Information Commissioner to extend the
processing time for an FOI request where the initial decision period has ended and the
agency or Minister has not provided the applicant with notice of a decision. The Department
has applied for further time to finalise your request.
Decision
As a delegate of the Information Commissioner, I am authorised to make decisions on
applications for extensions of time under s 15AC(5) of the FOI Act.
I have decided to grant the Department further time to 30 May 2022 to process your request.
My reasons and considerations fol ow:
•  On 30 March 2022, the Department received your FOI request.
•  The Department considers your request to be complex as it is constructed into two
parts, relating to the subject of numerous past and current requests. This required
review of the Department’s disclosure log to determine documents within scope.
•  An added complexity relates to the significant delays in retrieving search results due
to documents dating back to 2012, requiring officers to check legacy systems for
searches of documents.
•  On 29 April 2022, the Department conducted additional searches with revised search
terms.
1300 363 992
T +61 2 9284 9686
GPO Box 5218
www.oaic.gov.au
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
F +61 2 9284 9666
Sydney NSW 2001
ABN 85 249 230 937

• The Department further advise that the small operational team is currently
managing a larger than usual workload which has impacted the processing of the
request.
• The Department advise the decision has been drafted, however further time is
required to undergo the clearance process and finalise the decision by 30 May 2022.
This extension of time under s 15AC of the FOI Act means that the deemed refusal is taken
never to have applied if the Department makes a decision on your request by 30 May 2022.
Such an extension can only be granted once and cannot be extended by a variation.
I note that the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019 provides if an applicant is
not notified of a decision on a request within the statutory time limit (including any
extension of time), the agency or minister cannot impose a charge for providing access, even
if the applicant was earlier notified that a charge was payable (regs 7(2), (3)). This extension
under s 15AC of the FOI Act does not mean that charges can be reimposed and any deposit
you have paid should be refunded.
If you do not receive a decision by 30 May 2022 or you disagree with the Department’s
decision, you may wish to seek Information Commissioner review here. Further information
on applying for IC review is available on the OAIC website.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact me on (02) 9284 9847 or via email
xxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. Please quote OAIC reference number at the top of this page in all
correspondence.
Yours sincerely

Jasmin Clarke
Review and Investigation Advisor
FOI Regulatory Group
25 May 2022

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Review rights
If you disagree with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) decision
you can apply to the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit Court for a review of a
decision of the Information Commissioner if you think that a decision by the Information
Commissioner to grant an extension of time is not legally correct. You can make this
application under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977.

The Court will not review the merits of your case but it may refer the matter back to the
Information Commissioner for further consideration if it finds the decision was wrong in law
or the Information Commissioner’s powers were not exercised properly.

An application for review must be made to the Court within 28 days of the OAIC sending the
decision to you. You may wish to seek legal advice as the process can involve fees and costs.
Please contact the Federal Court registry in your state or territory for more information, or
visit the Federal Court website at http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/.
Further information
Further information about how applications to extend the timeframe to process an FOI
request are handled by the OAIC can be found published on our website:
For FOI applicants: How to make an FOI request: Extensions of time
For agencies and ministers: Guidance and advice: Extension of time for processing
requests
The OAIC has the power to investigate complaints about an agency’s actions under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). This is a separate process from asking for an
Information Commissioner review fol owing a decision made under the FOI Act. Complaints
usual y focus on how an agency has handled your FOI request or complied with other
obligations under the FOI Act, rather than the decision itself.
In some cases, the Information Commissioner's investigation of a complaint may lead to the
agency addressing the issues that you have complained about. In other cases, the
Information Commissioner may make suggestions or recommendations that the agency
should implement. The Information Commissioner can only make non-binding
recommendations as a result of a complaint. You and the agency will be notified of the
outcome of the investigation.
FOI complaints to the OAIC must be made in writing. Our preference is for you to use
the online FOI complaint form if at al possible.
Further information about how to make a complaint can be found published on our website:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/make-an-foi-
complaint/ .
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Document Outline

Extension of time under s 15AC