LEX2846
Andrew
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Andrew
FOI Request: Freedom of Information Request No. LEX2846 (PART 1)
Your FOI Request
On 18 May 2022 you wrote to the Australian Electoral Commission (
AEC) seeking access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to:
•
all documents, including but not limited to ministerial briefs and internal and external
correspondence, relating to the development of the Electoral Legislation Amendment (COVID
Enfranchisement) Bil 2022 and the Commonwealth Electoral (COVID Enfranchisement)
Regulations 2022;
•
any advice to AEC social media staff and call-centre workers on how to assist voters who are
COVID-positive during the election period;
•
any policy documents relating to the use of postal voting for COVID-positive voters;
•
a list of files from the AEC's record management systems whose titles or descriptions contain
the words "COVID", "COVID-19", "coronavirus" or "pandemic".
On 6 June 2022, you agreed to a narrow the scope of the FOI request to:
•
all drafts of legislation, drafts of explanatory material, policy tables, policy papers, executive
briefs and ministerial briefs relating to the development of the COVID Enfranchisement Bil
and Regulations (Category A);
•
any advice to AEC social media staff and call-centre workers on how to assist voters who are
COVID-positive during the election period (Category B);
•
any policy documents relating to the use of postal voting for COVID-positive voters
(Category C);
•
a list of files from the AEC's record management systems whose titles or descriptions contain
the words "COVID", "COVID-19", "coronavirus" or "pandemic" (Category D).
You also agreed to extend the timeframe of this FOI request to 20 July 2022 to allow the AEC further
time to process your request (s 15AA FOI Act).
Following this, the Of ice of the Australian Information Commissioner granted a further extension to
19 August 2022 on the basis that the request is complex and voluminous (s 15AC FOI Act).
We thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this regard.
10 Mort Street, Canberra ACT 2601 P 02 6271 4411 F 02 6215 9999
www.aec.gov.au
I am writing to you today to give you my decision in relation to the documents within scope for
Categories B, C & D. The AEC is continuing to process your FOI request in relation to Category A
and wil endeavour to provide you with a decision and the documents as soon as reasonably
possible.
Identification of Documents
I identified 6 documents that fell within the scope of Categories B, C & D of your FOI Request (the
‘Relevant Documents’).
The schedule of documents in
Attachment A provides a description of each of the Relevant
Documents and the access decision for each of the Relevant Documents.
I did this by contacting the relevant business areas and requesting a copy of all relevant documents.
Decision With regard to the Relevant Documents identified in
Attachment A, I have decided grant:
• Access in ful : Document No. 1, Document No. 2, Document No. 3, Document No. 4,
Document No. 5
• Edited copy: Document No. 6 (s 47F, s 42)
The relevant documents are provided as a separate attachment to this decision.
More information, including my reasons for my decision, is set out in
Attachment B.
Review Rights
You are entitled to seek review of this decision.
Attachment C sets out your rights to apply for review
if you are dissatisfied with my decision.
Yours sincerely
Melahni Dean
Senior Government Lawyer
Legal and Procurement Branch
2 August 2022
10 Mort Street, Canberra ACT 2601 P 02 6271 4411 F 02 6215 9999
www.aec.gov.au
Document Outline
