Our ref:
FOI22/086; CM22/3595

25 May 2022

Mr Alex Pentland
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Pentland
Freedom of Information Request FOI22/086 – Decision letter
The purpose of this letter is to give you a decision about your request or access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) which you submitted to the Attorney-General’s Department
(the department).
Your request
On 21 April 2022, you requested access to:
‘…all correspondence and documents from the Attorney General and the Department regarding
Petition EN3533 - Royal Commission into Supermarket and Fast Food Conditions and Culture.’
On 4 May 2022, the department acknowledged your request.
On 19 May 2022, under section 15AA of the FOI Act, the department requested an extension of a further
14 days to process your request. On the same day, you agreed to the extension.
A decision in relation to your request is due on 6 June 2022.
My decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to freedom of
information requests made to the department.
I have identified 21 documents that fal  within the scope of your request. I did this by making inquiries of
staff likely to be able to identify relevant documents and arranging for comprehensive searches of relevant
departmental electronic and hard copy holdings.
In making my decision regarding access to the relevant documents, 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; and
•  the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act
(the Guidelines).

I have decided to:
•  grant access in part to 21 documents, with deletion of material which:
o  may be regarded as irrelevant to your request under section 22(1) of the FOI Act; and
o  is exempt pursuant to sections 47E(d) of the FOI Act.
Additional information
Documents subject to your request contain material that is the deliberation and preparation of the
document that is publicly available at: e-petitions – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au).
Your review rights under the FOI Act are set out at Attachment A to this letter.
The schedule of documents at Attachment B sets out brief information about each document within the
scope of your request and my decision in relation to access to each of those documents.
The statement of reasons at Attachment C sets out the reasons for my decision to refuse access to certain
material to which you have requested access.
The documents to which I have decided to grant partial access under the FOI Act are at Attachment D.
Questions about this decision
If you wish to discuss this decision, the FOI case officer for this matter is Fiona, who can be reached on
(02) 6141 6666 or by email to xxx@xx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely

Laura Munsie
A/g Assistant Secretary
Strategy Branch

Attachments
Attachment A:
Review rights
Attachment B:    Schedule of documents
Attachment C:    Statement of reasons
Attachment D:    Documents
Freedom of Information request FOI22/086 – Decision letter                                                  Page 2 of 2

Attachment A - FOI Review rights
If you are dissatisfied with the decision of the Attorney-General’s Department (the department), you
may apply for internal review or Information Commissioner review of the decision.
The department encourages applicants to consider seeking internal review as a first step as it may
provide a more rapid resolution of your concerns.

Internal review
Under section 54 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), applications for internal review
must be made in writing within 30 days of the date of the decision letter, and be lodged in one of
the following ways:
email:  xxx@xx.xxx.xx
post:   Freedom of Information and Privacy Section
Strategy and Governance Branch
Attorney-General’s Department
3-5 National Circuit BARTON ACT 2600
An officer of the department other than the officer who made the original decision will complete the
internal review within 30 days of receipt of your request.
Providing reasons you believe internal review of the decision is necessary will facilitate the
completion of the internal review.

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 following 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 at https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-
information/reviews-and-complaints/information-commissioner-review/.
FOI Review rights

                                           Page 1 of 1

Attachment B - Schedule of documents - Freedom of Information Request FOI22/086
Document  Date
No.
Description
Access decision
Exemption/s applied
no.
pages
1
11/01/2022
3
Department Email
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material

Section 47E(d): Public interest conditional exemption - Certain
operations of agencies
2
30/11/2021
3
Department Email
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material

3
17/11/2022
4
Department Email – Attachment
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
document 20

Section 47E(d): Public interest conditional exemption - Certain
operations of agencies
4
17/11/2022
4
Department Email
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material

Section 47E(d): Public interest conditional exemption - Certain
operations of agencies
5
17/11/2022
2
Department Email – Attachment
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
document 20

6
12/11/2022
3
Department Email – Attachment
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
document 15

7
10/01/2022
1
Department Email – Attachment
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
document 2

8
17/01/2022
4
Department Email – Attachment
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
document 20

9
12/01/2022
4
Department Email
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material

10
11/01/2022
1
Department Email – Attachment
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
document 2

11
14/01/2022
1
Department Email – Attachment
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
document 20

12
11/01/2022
3
Department Email
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material

Section 47E(d): Public interest conditional exemption - Certain
operations of agencies
13
10/01/2022
2
Department Email
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
Freedom of Information request FOI22/086 – Schedule of documents

1 of 2

Document  Date
No.
Description
Access decision
Exemption/s applied
no.
pages

14
11/01/2022
2
Department Email – Attachment
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
document 2

15
17/01/2022
4
Department Email
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material

16
17/01/2022
4
Department Email
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material

17
11/01/2022
2
Department Email
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material

18
17/01/2022
2
Department Email – Attachment
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material
document 15

19
28/01/2022
2
Email – AGO to Petitions Committee
Grant access in part  Section 22(1): Irrelevant material

20
29/11/20211
2
Department Letter - Attorney-General  Grant access in part  Section 47E(d): Public interest conditional exemption - Certain
to Mr Ken O’Dowd MP
operations of agencies
21
27/01/2022
2
Letter – Attorney-General to Mr Ken
Grant access in full

O’Dowd MP

Freedom of Information request FOI22/086 – Schedule of documents

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Attachment C – Statement of reasons – FOI22/086
This document, when read in conjunction with the schedule of documents at Attachment B,
provides information about the reasons I have decided not to disclose certain material to you in
response to your request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
Section 22: Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted
Section 22 of the FOI Act provides that if an agency decides to give access to a document that would
disclose information that would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request, and it is
possible for the agency to prepare a copy (an edited copy) of the document, modified by deletions,
the agency must prepare the edited copy and give the applicant access to it.
In deciding to delete material which would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to a request, the
FOI Guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) (the
Guidelines) provide at paragraph 3.95 that:
It is important for agencies to keep in mind that the implicit purpose of s 22 is to facilitate
access to information promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost through the deletion of
material that can readily be deleted, and that an applicant has either agreed or is likely to
agree that the material is irrelevant.
When the department acknowledged your request by email on 4 May 2022, you were advised the
following information would be regarded as irrelevant to your request:
•  personal information of junior officers of the Attorney-General’s Department (the
department) or other government authorities
•  duplicate documents
•  draft documents, and
•  incomplete email chains within the scope of the FOI request.
As there is no record available to me to indicate you disagreed with this approach, I have decided to
regard the above categories of information as irrelevant to your request and, where relevant, have
deleted this material under section 22 of the FOI Act.
Public interest conditional exemptions
An agency or minister can refuse access to a document or part of a document that is conditionally
exempt from disclosure under Division 3 of Part IV of the FOI Act. Documents relevant to your
request which are conditionally exempt under Division 3 relate to the following categories:
•  certain operations of agencies (section 47E)
Brief information about the operation of these conditional exemptions is set out below and further
information is provided in the Guidelines available at: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-
information/foi-guidelines/part-6-conditional-exemptions.
Freedom of Information request FOI22/086– Statement of reasons
      Page 1 of 3

Where a document is assessed as conditionally exempt, it is only exempt from disclosure if
disclosure would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest. The public interest test is weighted
in favour of giving access to documents so that the public interest in disclosure remains at the
forefront of decision-making.
A single public interest test applies to each of the conditional exemptions. This public interest test
includes certain factors that must be taken into account where relevant, and other factors which
must not be taken into account. My reasoning in regard to the public interest is set out below.
Section 47E(d): Public interest conditional exemption—certain operations of agencies;
Substantial adverse effect on an agency
Section 47E of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure 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 or by an agency;
(d)  have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of an
agency.
I have decided to apply section 47E(d) to some of the documents fal ing within your request. My
reasons for applying this exemption are set out below.
Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act relevantly 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.
In applying this exemption and, in particular, determining whether disclosure would have
a substantial adverse effect, the Guidelines include the following:
Paragraph 5.20: The term ‘substantial adverse effect’ broadly means ‘an adverse effect
which is sufficiently serious or significant to cause concern to a properly concerned
reasonable person’. The word ‘substantial’, taken in the context of substantial loss or
damage, has been interpreted as ‘loss or damage that is, in the circumstances, real or
of substance and not insubstantial or nominal’; and
Paragraph 6.123: The predicted effect must bear on the agency’s ‘proper and efficient’
operations, that is, the agency is undertaking its expected activities in an expected
manner.
Certain documents subject to your request contain email addresses which are used by government
entities or officers for internal and operational reasons. I consider that disclosure of this information
could result in various communications and inquiries being received by the relevant areas of these
entities, which may require a diversion of resources from other duties and compromise the
operational effectiveness of those areas. I note that these entities have established channels of
communication through which members of the community may submit enquiries and feedback.

Freedom of Information request FOI22/086– Statement of reasons
      Page 2 of 3

Section 11A(5): Public interest test
Access to a conditional y exempt document must general y be given unless doing so would be
contrary to the public interest. The Guidelines issued by the OAIC provide at paragraph 6.5 that the
public interest test is considered to be:
•  something that is of serious concern or benefit to the public, not merely of individual interest,
•  not something of interest to the public, but in the interest of the public,
•  not a static concept, where it lies in a particular matter wil  often depend on a balancing of
interests,
•  necessarily broad and non-specific, and
•  related to matters of common concern or relevance to all members of the public, or a
substantial section of the public.
In deciding whether to disclose conditionally exempt material, I have considered the factors
favouring access set out in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act. I have not taken into account the irrelevant
factors listed under section 11B(4) of the FOI Act.
Of the factors favouring disclosure, I consider that release of the conditionally exempt material
identified for your request would promote the objects of the FOI Act, including by:
•  informing the community of the Government’s operations, and
•  contributing to the administration of justice generally, including procedural fairness.
The FOI Act does not list any specific factors weighing against disclosure. However, I have considered
the non-exhaustive list of factors against disclosure in the Guidelines as well as the particular
circumstances relevant to the conditionally exempt material.
I consider the release of the conditionally exempt material could, as the case may be, reasonably be
expected to:
•  prejudice the ability for the department to efficiently manage its incoming communication
with the public and agencies in relation functions of the department, and
•  harm the interest of an individual or group of individuals.
On balance, I consider the factors against disclosure outweigh the factors favouring access and that
providing access to the conditionally exempt material identified for your request would be contrary
to the public interest.
Freedom of Information request FOI22/086– Statement of reasons
      Page 3 of 3

Document Outline