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 s 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 s 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 – Statement of reasons – FOI22/331
This document 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 7 - Exemption of certain persons and bodies
Section 7 of the FOI Act provides that certain persons, bodies and departments are exempt from the
operation of the Act in relation to particular types of documents. Relevantly, under s 7(2), the
department is exempt from the operation of the FOI Act in relation to documents in respect of
activities undertaken by the Australian Government Solicitor.
I can confirm that parts of the documents subject to your request contain information in respect of
the activities of the Australian Government Solicitor. I am therefore satisfied that this information is
exempt from the operation of the FOI Act, and I have excluded it pursuant to s 7(2). For added
context, the relevant ‘activities’ I am referring to is the provision of legal advice.
In relation to the material I have deleted under s 7(2), I am also satisfied that:
•  there exists a legal adviser-client relationship;
•  the correspondence was created for the dominant purpose of giving or receiving legal
advice;
•  the advice was provided independently; and
•  the advice was provided on a confidential basis.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that legal professional privilege exists in relation to all of the material
concerned which has not been and should not be waived. I am therefore satisfied that this material,
were it not exempt under s 7(2), would be exempt from disclosure under s 42 of the FOI Act
(Documents subject to legal professional privilege).
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
Accordingly, I have identified material in the documents which was not relevant to the scope of your
request and I have deleted that material on that basis.

Freedom of Information request FOI23/331 – Statement of reasons
      Page 1 of 5

Exemptions
An agency or minister is not required to give access to a document or part of a document that is
exempt from disclosure under Division 2 of Part IV of the FOI Act. Exempt documents in Division 2 of
Part IV are:
•  documents affecting national security, defence or international relations (s 33)
•  documents subject to legal professional privilege (s 42).
These exemptions are not subject to an overriding public interest test. Where a document meets the
criteria to establish a particular exemption, it is exempt and the decision-maker is not required to
weigh competing public interests to determine if the document should be released.
Additional information about each of these exemptions can be obtained from the OAIC FOI
Guidelines: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-guidelines/part-5-exemptions.
Section 33: Documents affecting national security, defence or international relations
Section 33 of the FOI Act provides that a document is an exempt document if its disclosure:
(a)  would, or could reasonably be expected to, cause damage to:
i.
the security of the Commonwealth;
ii.
the defence of the Commonwealth; or
iii.
the international relations of the Commonwealth;
I note that paragraph 5.28 of the Guidelines provide that:
‘Damage’ for the purposes of this exemption is not confined to loss or damage in monetary
terms. The relevant damage may be intangible, such as inhibiting future negotiations
between the Australian Government and a foreign government, or the future flow of
confidential information from a foreign government or agency.
I have decided that documents for your request contain material which is exempt from disclosure
pursuant to ss 33(a)(i) and 33(a)(ii ) of the FOI Act. I am satisfied that there are real and substantial
grounds for expecting damage to occur to the Commonwealth’s security and international relations
if the material exempted under this subsection was disclosed. Accordingly, I have exempted this
information from disclosure pursuant to ss 33(a)(i) and 33(a)(ii ) of the FOI Act.
Section 42: Documents subject to Legal Professional Privilege
Section 42(1) of the FOI Act provides that document is an exempt document if it is of such a nature
that it would be privileged from production in legal proceedings on the ground of legal professional
privilege.
I am satisfied that, with respect to the relevant material:
•  a legal adviser-client relationship exists,
•  the advice was provided independently,
•  the communication was for the purpose of giving or receiving legal advice or for use in
connection with actual or anticipated litigation, and
•  the advice was provided on a confidential basis.
Freedom of Information request FOI23/331 – Statement of reasons
      Page 2 of 5

link to page 6 I am also satisfied that the legal professional privilege in relation to the material has not been, and
should not be waived. Accordingly, I am satisfied that the relevant material is exempt from
disclosure under s 42(1) 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. Division 3 of includes the
conditional exemption for:
•  the certain operations of agencies (s 47E(d); and
•  personal privacy (s 47F).
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 are set out below.
Additional information about each of these conditional exemptions can be obtained from the OAIC
FOI Guidelines available at: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-guidelines/part-6-
conditional-exemptions.
Section 47E: Public interest conditional exemption—certain operations of agencies

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:
(d)  have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of an
agency.
Section 47E(d)
I have decided to apply s 47E(d) to document 1.
Material within document 1 includes the contact details, including phone numbers and email
address used by the department and another entity for internal and operational reasons. I consider
that disclosure of this information would be likely to result in various (including unreasonable and
vexatious) communications and inquiries being received into the relevant areas of the other entity,
which may cause confused and not reflect the entity’s preferred business operations. I confirm the
phone numbers and email addresses are not publicly available on the Australian Government
Directory1, nor do they appear to be otherwise publicly available. I further note that the other entity
concerned has established channels of communication through which members of the community
and the media may submit enquiries and feedback.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that the relevant material is conditional y exempt under s 47E(d) of the
FOI Act. I have turned my mind to whether disclosure of the information would be contrary to the

1 https://www.directory.gov.au
Freedom of Information request FOI23/331 – Statement of reasons
      Page 3 of 5

public interest and have included my reasoning in this regard below under the header ‘Section
11A(5): Public interest test’.
Section 47F: Public interest conditional exemption—personal privacy
Section 47F(1) of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure would
involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person. Document 1 contains
the names of private individuals which is their personal information.
In deciding whether to conditional y exempt the personal information described above, I have had
regard to the following factors set out in s 47F(2) of the FOI Act:
(a)  the extent to which the information is wel  known;
(b)  whether the people to whom the information relates are 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)  any other matters that the agency considers relevant.
In my view the relevant personal information is not wel  known, nor are the persons concerned
general y known to be (or to have been) associated with the particular matters dealt with in the
documents. The information is known only to the persons whose information appears in the
documents and departmental officers with responsibility for the matters concerned.
For the reasons set out above, I have decided to exempt the personal information of individuals
pursuant to s 47F(1) of the FOI Act. I have turned my mind to whether disclosure of the information
would be contrary to the public interest, and have included my reasoning in this regard under the
header ‘Section 11A(5): Public interest test’.
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 s 11B(3) of the FOI Act. I have not taken into account the irrelevant
factors listed under s 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 promoting the
objects of the FOI Act, including by:

•  informing the community of the Government’s operations; and
•  promoting the objects of the FOI Act.
Freedom of Information request FOI23/331 – Statement of reasons
      Page 4 of 5

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 protection of an individual’s right to privacy
•  prejudice an entities ability to efficiently manage its incoming communication with the
public and agencies in relation to functions of the department.
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 FOI23/331 – Statement of reasons
      Page 5 of 5

Document Outline