DEFENCE FOI 051/22/23 STATEMENT OF REASONS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION ACT 1. I refer to the application by Charles Stevens under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act) for access to:
“Presentations, including slide decks, audio/visual material and accompanying
reference documents, such as members guides or work books provided to members of
the Royal Australian Navy Band (Sydney) regarding the current state of workplace
culture and steps to be undertaken to improve any perceived or actual negative
workplace culture within the organisation. The time frame of my request is for the
period July 2021-August 2022”
FOI decision maker
2. I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23 of the FOI Act to make a decision on
this FOI request.
Documents identified
3. I identified nine documents as matching the description of the request.
4. The decision in relation to each document is detailed in a schedule of documents.
5. I have added an FOI reference number and item/document number to each of the
documents, which corresponds with the schedule.
Decision
6. I have decided to:
a. release three documents in full; and
b. partially release six documents in accordance with section 22 [access to edited
copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted] of the FOI Act, on the grounds
that the deleted material is considered exempt under section 47F [public
interest conditional exemptions-personal privacy] of the FOI Act.
Material taken into account
7. In making my decision, I had regard to:
a. the terms of the request;
b. the content of the identified documents in issue;
c. relevant provisions in the FOI Act;
d. the Guidelines published by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act (the Guidelines).
Defending Australia and its National Interests
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Reasons for decision
Section 47F - Personal Privacy
8. Upon examination of the document, I identified information, specifically names and
ranks of individuals other than the applicant.
9. When assessing whether the disclosure of personal information is unreasonable, I
considered the following factors:
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. the effect the release of the personal information could reasonably have on the
third party.
10. I found that the:
a. specific personal information listed is not well known
b. individuals whose personal information is contained in the documents are not
widely known to be associated with the matters dealt with in the documents
c. information is not readily available from publicly accessible sources.
11. The release of the names and ranks of individuals identified in the documents could
reasonably be expected to cause harm to their privacy. Taking into account the above factors,
I consider that the release of the personal information of individuals other than the applicant
would be an unreasonable disclosure of personal information and conditionally exempt under
section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.
Section 47F - Public interest considerations 12. Subsection 11A(5) of the FOI Act requires Defence to allow access to a conditionally
exempt document unless, in the circumstances, access to the document would, on balance, be
contrary to the public interest. The term 'public interest' is necessarily broad and non-specific
because what constitutes the public interest depends on the particular facts of the matter and
the context in which it is being considered.
13. In assessing whether disclosure of the conditionally exempt material is, on balance, in
the public interest, I considered the range of relevant factors set out in section 11B(3) of the
FOI Act which favours access to a document to:
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
14. While I consider that release of the material removed under section 47F may be of some
interest to the applicant, disclosure of the conditionally exempt material would not inform
public debate on any matter of public importance in any meaningful way. Furthermore, the
public interest is better served in protecting the privacy of the individuals whose personal
details are contained within these documents from release to the public at large.
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15. Paragraph 6.22 of the Guidelines specifies a non-exhaustive list of public interest
factors against disclosure. The factors I find particularly relevant to this request are that
release of this information could reasonably be expected to prejudice or harm:
a. the protection of an individual’s right to privacy;
b. the interests of an individual or group of individuals;
c. an agency’s ability to obtain confidential information;
d. an agency’s ability to obtain similar information in the future; and
e. the management function of an agency.
16. None of the factors listed in section 11B(4) of the FOI Act were taken into account
when making this decision.
17. After weighing all of the above, I consider that, on balance the public interest factors
against disclosure outweigh the factors for disclosure. I have therefore decided that it would
be contrary to the public interest to release the information considered exempt under section
47F of the FOI Act.
CMDR Cathy Rice
Accredited Decision Maker
Navy Group
31 August 2022
Document Outline
