Our ref:
FOI22/182; CM22/22832
5 September 2022
BE
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear BE
Freedom of information request FOI22/182 – Request consultation process
The purpose of this letter is to seek information from you about your request for 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 4 August 2022, you requested access to:
Question Time briefs (however described). This request is limited to Question Time briefs for the
47th Parliament (ie Question Time briefs prepared for 27 – 28 July and 1-4 August).
I also request a copy of the Department’s current index of Question Time briefs.
Duplicate copies of the same document are not required, although different or updated versions of
a document are. If a document contains tracked changes or comments, it is requested that the
document be provided in a form where all tracked changes and comments are visible.
Names and contact details for departmental staff below the SES level are not required and can be
treated as irrelevant under s22 of the Act for the purposes of this request.
On 9 August 2022, the department sought to clarify the scope of your request. On 10 August 2022, you
confirmed the following scope:
(1) Question Time Briefs prepared by the Attorney-General’s Department (the department) for the
Attorney-General’s Office (the Office), excluding portfolio agencies, for sitting days 27 July to
4 August 2022.
Cleared briefs provided by the department to the Office are included (showing tracked changes from
the previous cleared version), but uncleared working drafts held within the department are not.
Duplicates wil be excluded, along with documents which are assessed as functionally duplicate (for
example, where the only update has been to things like date, formatting or minor
editorial/grammatical changes but no substantive text changes).
(2) The department’s current QTB index (as at 4 August 2022).
On 11 August 2022, the department acknowledged your request and sought a 30-day extension from you
pursuant to s 15AA of the FOI Act.
On 12 August 2022, you did not agree to the department’s request for a 30-day extension for the entire
request. You offered to agree to a 30-day extension for part 1 of your request, but not for part 2.
The department has considered your proposal and advises that it does not agree to provide the documents
that are within scope of your request on two different dates, as this will add additional complexity to the
processing of your request which, for the reasons outlined below, is already voluminous and complex.
Practical refusal reason
I am an officer authorised under s 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to FOI requests made
to the department.
I have decided that the work involved in processing your request in its current form would substantial y and
unreasonably divert the resources of this department from its other operations due to its size and
complexity. Section 24AA of the FOI Act refers to this as a ‘practical refusal reason’ (copy at
Attachment A).
A search of the department’s holdings indicates the department holds more than 115 documents relevant
to your request, totalling over 700 pages. Our preliminary assessment of the relevant documents indicates
that making a decision about access to these documents will require extensive consultation across the
department, and with a number of government agencies and non-government stakeholders.
The resources required to undertake this consultation, to collate all documents within the scope of your
request, and decide whether to grant, refuse or defer access to each of those documents will unreasonably
divert the resources of the department from its other operations.
Request consultation process
Before I make a decision to refuse access to the documents you requested, s 24AB of the FOI Act provides
for a ‘request consultation process’ (copy at
Attachment A). This means you have 14 days in which to
respond to this notice.
If you would like to proceed with your FOI request, you must make a revised request, in writing, within
14 days of the date you receive this letter.
The practical refusal reason in relation to your request will no longer exist if you narrow the scope of your
request sufficiently to make it more manageable. One option you may wish to consider is to amend the
scope of your current request to only part 2 – that is, the QTB index dated 4 August 2022 – and to withdraw
part 1 of your request. Access to the index may assist you to identify the specific QTB that is of interest to
you, for which you could then make a separate FOI request.
During the consultation period, you are welcome to seek assistance from the contact person listed below to
revise your request. If you revise your request in a way that adequately addresses the practical refusal
grounds outlined above, the department wil recommence processing it.
The time taken to consult you about the scope of your request is not included in the 30-day time limit for
processing your request.
In relation to the external consultation required for your request, please be advised if you continue with a
revised request, the department may still need to apply an additional 30-day processing period under
s 15(6) of the FOI Act. We will advise you of the new due date for your decision if a further extension is
applied.
If you do not wish to proceed with your FOI request, you may either withdraw your request or advise the
department that you do not wish to revise your request. Your request wil be withdrawn if you do not
contact us or provide written notice of the revised scope of your request within 14 days from receipt of this
notice.
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Questions
If you wish to discuss this decision, the FOI case officer for this matter is Dana, who can be reached on
(02) 6141 6666 or by email to
xxx@xx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
xxxxx Christensen
Director
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section
Attachments
Attachment A:
Sections 24AA and 24AB of the FOI Act
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Attachment A
Section 24AA of the FOI Act: When does a practical refusal reason exist?
(1) For the purposes of section 24, a
practical refusal reason exists in relation to a
request for
a
document if either (or both) of the fol owing applies:
(a) the work involved in processing the
request:
(i) in the case o
f an agency--would substantial y and unreasonably divert the resources
of the
agency from its other operations; or
(ii) in the case of a Minister--would substantial y and unreasonably interfere with the
performance of the Minister's functions;
(b) the
request does not satisfy the requirement
in paragraph 15(2)(b) (identification
of
documents).
(2) Subject to
subsection (3), but without limiting the matters to which the
agency or Minister may
have regard, in deciding whether a
practical refusal reason exists, the
agency or Minister must
have regard to the resources that would have to be used for the fol owing:
(a) identifying, locating or collating the
documents within the filing system of the
agency, or
the office of the Minister;
(b) deciding whether to grant, refuse or defer access to a
document to which
the
request relates, or to grant access to an
edited copy of such a
document, including
resources that would have to be used for:
(i) examining the
document; or
(ii) consulting with any person or body in relation to the
request;
(c) making a copy, or
an edited copy, of the
document; (d) notifying any interim or final decision on the
request.
(3) In deciding whether a
practical refusal reason exists, an
agency or Minister must not have regard
to:
(a) any reasons that the
applicant gives for
requesting access; or
(b) the
agency's or Minister's belief as to what the
applicant's reasons are
for
requesting access; or
(c) any maximum amount, specified in the regulations, payable as a charge for processing
a request of that kind.
Section 24AB of the FOI Act: What is a request consultation process?
Scope
(1) This section sets out what is a
request consultation process for the purposes of section 24.
Requirement to notify
(2) Th
e agency or Minister must give th
e applicant a written notice stating the following:
(a) an intention to refuse access to a
document in accordance with a
request; (b) the
practical refusal reason; (c) the name of an
officer of the
agency or member of staff of the Minister (the contact
person ) with whom th
e applicant may consult during a period;
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(d) details of how the
applicant may contact the contact person;
(e) that the period (the consultation period ) during which the
applicant may consult with the
contact person is 14 days after the day th
e applicant is given the notice.
Assistance to revise request
(3) If th
e applicant contacts the contact person during the consultation period in accordance with the
notice, the
agency or Minister must take reasonable steps to assist the
applicant to revise
the
request so that th
e practical refusal reason no longer exists.
(4) For the purposes of
subsection (3), reasonable steps includes the fol owing:
(a) giving the
applicant a reasonable opportunity to consult with the contact person;
(b) providing the
applicant with any information that would assist the
applicant to revise
the
request.
Extension of consultation period
(5) The contact person may, with the
applicant's agreement, extend the consultation period by
written notice to th
e applicant.
Outcome of request consultation process
(6) Th
e applicant must, before the end of the consultation period, do one of the fol owing, by written
notice to the
agency or Minister:
(a) withdraw the
request; (b) make a revised
request; (c) indicate that the
applicant does not wish to revise the
request.
(7) Th
e request is taken to have been withdrawn under
subsection (6) at the end of the consultation
period if:
(a) the
applicant does not consult the contact person during the consultation period in
accordance with the notice; or
(b) the
applicant does not do one of the things mentioned in
subsection (6) before the end of
the consultation period.
Consultation period to be disregarded in calculating processing period
(8) The period starting on the day a
n applicant is given a notice under
subsection (2) and ending on
the day the
applicant does one of the things mentioned in
paragraph (6)(b) or (c) is to be
disregarded in working out the 30 day period mentioned in
paragraph 15(5)(b).
Note:
Paragraph 15(5)(b) requires that an
agency or Minister take all reasonable steps to notify
an
applicant of a decision on the
applicant's request within 30 days after the
request is made.
No more than one request consultation process required
(9) To avoid doubt, this section only obliges th
e agency or Minister to undertake a
request
consultation process once for any particular
request.
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