OFFICIAL
Freedom of Information (FOI) request
Notice of Decision
References: FOI/2022/252
To: BE
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear BE,
I refer to your request to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department), under
the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act), received on 30 August 2022.
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your request for access under the
FOI Act.
Scope of request
On 30 August 2022 you set out your request in the fol owing terms:
I seek documents relating to the meeting and press conference attended by the Prime Minister,
Minister Burney and Shaquille O’Neal and press conference held on 27 August 2022
(https://www.pm.gov.au/media/press-conference-sydney-3).
In particular I seek all communication (including emails, messages, advice, briefings, talking
points etc) between the Department and the Prime Minister or Minister Burney (or their
respective offices) in relation to the meeting or the press conference.
Authorised decision-maker
I am authorised to make this decision in accordance with arrangements approved by the
Department’s Secretary under section 23 of the FOI Act.
Material taken into account
In reaching my decision I referred to the fol owing:
• the terms of your request
• searches and inquiries undertaken by the Department
Postal Address: PO Box 6500, CANBERRA ACT 2600
Telephone: +61 2 6271 5849 Fax: +61 2 6271 5776 www.pmc.gov.au ABN: 18 108 001 191
1
OFFICIAL
• the documents relevant to your request
• the FOI Act
• the Guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner1 (the FOI Guidelines)
Documents in scope of request
The Department has identified four documents that fal within the scope of your request.
These documents are set out in the Schedule of Documents at Attachment A.
Decision
I have decided to grant access to one document in ful , with irrelevant material deleted, and to three
documents in part, with exempt and irrelevant material deleted, on the basis that the documents
contain information exempt under:
• Section 22 of the FOI Act (irrelevant material), and
• Section 47F of the FOI Act (personal privacy)
Reasons for decision
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that certain information is exempt or irrelevant are set
out below.
1.
Personal privacy (section 47F of the FOI Act)
Section 47F(1) of the FOI Act provides:
(1) A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would involve the
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person …
For the purposes of the FOI Act, I note that ‘personal information’ has the same meaning as in the
Privacy Act 1988 (
Privacy Act).
I have identified third party ‘personal information’ within the documents, and considered the
provisions of section 47F(2), which require me to have regard to:
(a) the extent to which the information is well known;
(b) whether the person is known to be associated with the matters in the document
(c) the availability of the information from a public source; and
(d) any other matters relevant, for example if it is reasonable to suspect the person would expect
their information to be released as part of an FOI request.
1 s 93A of the FOI Act
2
OFFICIAL
Documents 2-4 contain the name, title, employer and contact details of a person who is not
associated with the Department. I have considered the circumstances and find that the identified
personal information is not wel known and this information is not currently available through a public
source. I am satisfied the individual concerned would not reasonably expect their information to be
released by the Department.
I am satisfied that the parts of documents 2-4 identified as ‘personal information’, are conditional y
exempt from release under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.
2.
Public interest
The FOI Act provides that a conditional y exempt document must nevertheless be disclosed unless its
disclosure would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest2. In determining whether its disclosure
would be contrary to the public interest, the FOI Act requires a decision-maker to balance the public
interest factors.
As I have decided that parts of documents are conditional y exempt, I am now required to consider
the public interest factors. In doing so I have not taken into account the irrelevant factors as set out in
section 11B(4) of the FOI Act.
In applying the public interest, I have noted the objects of the FOI Act3 and the factors favouring
access as listed in s 11B(3) of the FOI Act. Having regard to the material before me and the
circumstances of the documents found to be conditional y exempt I am satisfied of the fol owing:
• access would promote the objects of the FOI Act4
• access may inform debate on a matter of public importance
The FOI Act does not set out any public interest factors against disclosure and require that agencies
are to have regard to the FOI Guidelines in order to work out if disclosure would, on balance, be
contrary to the public interest. The FOI Guidelines contain a non-exhaustive list of factors that,
depending on the circumstances of the documents found to be conditional y exempt, may weigh
against disclosure.
In relation to the material I found to be conditional y exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act, I
consider that the fol owing factor weighs against disclosure:
• Disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice an individual’s personal privacy.
After careful consideration of al relevant factors, I have decided that, on balance, the factors against
disclosure outweigh those favouring disclosure. Accordingly, I am of the view that disclosure of the
personal information within the requested documents would be contrary to the public interest.
2 s 11A(5) of the FOI Act
3 s 3 of the FOI Act
4 s 11B(3)(a) of the FOI Act
3
OFFICIAL
3.
Deletion of irrelevant matter
Section 22 of the FOI Act provides that if giving access to a document would disclose information that
would be reasonably regarded as irrelevant to the request, it is possible for the Department to
prepare an edited copy of the document, modified by deletions, ensuring that the edited copy would
not disclose any information that would reasonable be regarded as irrelevant to the request.
Document 1 contains information which is not related to the terms of your request. The irrelevant
material comprises briefing which is not related to Mr Shaquil e O’Neal’s visit to Australia, or his
meeting with the Prime Minister. I consider this unrelated information to be irrelevant to your request
and have prepared an edited copy of the documents, with the irrelevant information deleted.
On 1 September 2022, the Department advised you of its policy to exclude the personal and direct
contact details of officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES) and any Ministerial staff, as well as
any person’s signature, and the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers, which are contained in
documents that fal within the terms of an FOI request. This category of information is identified as
irrelevant and documents can be modified by the Department to delete the irrelevant material.
Accordingly I am satisfied that parts of the documents are irrelevant under section 22(1)(a)(i ) of the
FOI Act. The remainder of the documents have been released to you.
Review rights
If you disagree with my decision, you may apply for internal review or Information Commissioner
review of the decision.
Internal review
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to the Department for an internal review of
my decision. The internal review application must be made within 30 days after the date of this letter.
Where possible please attach reasons why you believe review of the decision is necessary. The internal
review wil be carried out by another officer within 30 days from the date it is received.
Applications for review should be sent to xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
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 after the date of this letter.
4
OFFICIAL
More information about Information Commissioner review is available here.5
FOI Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your FOI request, please let us know what we could
have done better. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can make a complaint to the
Australian Information Commissioner. A complaint to the Information Commissioner must be made in
writing. More information about complaints is available here.6
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your requests, you can contact the FOI Section by email at
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Kimberley McDonald
Assistant Secretary
Social Policy Division
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
28 September 2022
5 https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/information-commissioner-review
6 https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/make-an-foi-complaint
5