FOI 55801
Decision and Statement of reasons issued under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982
Decision and reasons for decision of Frankie (Position Number 62210799),
Information Access Officer, Information Access Unit, Client Access and Rehabilitation Branch,
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Applicant:
Mr Alan Ashmore
Decision date:
13 July 2023
FOI reference number:
LEX 55801
Sent by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Ashmore,
Freedom of Information Request: LEX 55801
Purpose of this notice
1. The purpose of this notice is to advise you as required under section 24AB of the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (
FOI Act) that I intend to refuse your request on the basis that a
practical refusal reason exists, as defined by section 24AA of the FOI Act.
2. Based on the terms of your request, and from initial searches undertaken to respond to your
request, I am of the view that a practical refusal reason exists because:
a. Processing your request, as best the Department can understand the terms, is likely to
result in a substantial and unreasonable diversion of the Department’s resources from
its other operations (section 24AA(1)(b) of the FOI Act).
Authority to make decision
3. I, Frankie (Position Number 62210799), Information Access Officer, Information Access Unit,
Client Rehabilitation Access Branch, am an officer authorised by the Secretary of the
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Department to make decisions about access to documents in the possession of the
Department in accordance with section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
Scope of your request
4. On 26 January 2023, you made a request for access to documents in the possession of the
Department. Your request sought access to:
‘. .I am seeking all briefing papers, updates, etc. from Liz Cosson and her staff to the
new Secretary Alison Frame. .'
5. On 3 February 2023, the Department acknowledged your request via email.
6. On 24 March 2023, the Department advised you that there are certain number of
documents which require third party consultations under section 27 and section 27A of the
FOI Act. In accordance with section 15(6) of the FOI Act, the consultation requirement
extended the statutory time period to provide a decision on the request by 30 days.
7. On 28 March 2023, your response email stated the fol owing:
‘…I lodged an FOI request on 26 January 2023, "‘… I am seeking all briefing papers,
updates, etc. from Liz Cosson and her staff to the new Secretary Alison Frame...’
A 30 day extension was requested due to the high volume of FOI's being received. I
reluctantly agreed to this extension on 1 March 2023 pushing the date for
finalisation out to 27 March 2023, i.e. 60 days from date requested.
I note your request received 24 March 2023 advising, "We are required to consult
with these third parties under section 27 and section 27A of the FOI Act." then
In accordance with section 15(6) of the FOI Act, the consultation requirement
extends the statutory time period to provide a decision on the request by 30 days.
This means a decision on your request is now due on 26
April 2023."
I am disappointed at your latest advice and wonder why the "consultation with third
parties," etc hasn't been completed within the 60 day period as required by law. I
now ask that you advise of where the specific delays have occurred that now results
in a further extension to 26 April, some 90 days after the original request that one
would expect wil be contained in files/documents already produced and given to
the new Secretary when she commenced on 23 January 2023.
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I also ask that you also respond to the fol owing question.
Why you have advised me of the further extension to 26 April, WITHOUT MY
CONSENT?...’
8. On 3 April 2023, an email was sent to you advising that under section 27 and section 27A of
the FOI Act, an agency may be required to consult third parties on documents located and
extend the due date by another 30 days.
9. On 27 April 2023, advised the fol owing:
‘…I note your 28 March 2023 email noted in part:
In accordance with section 15(6) of the FOI Act, the consultation requirement
extends the statutory time period to provide a decision on the request by 30 days.
This means a decision on your request is now due on 26 April 2023."
This FOI request was lodged OVER 3 MONTHS AGO and you have failed to meet the
latest date to finalise my request, 26 April 2023.
Unless this FOI request is finalised by no later then Wednesday 3 May 2023 you wil
leave me with no alternative than to take up an offer from Senator Lambie to
prepare a series of questions for her to ask at Senate Estimates due in the next 2
weeks.
I insist that the released information be published on righttoknow and not sent to
my personal email address…’
10. On 18 May 2023, the Department sent you an email advising that the processing timeframes
have been severely impacted due to the significant number of consultations required to be
undertaken with 17 internal business areas, 5 external government departments, and 5 third
parties. As per the paragraphs 3.205 and 3.206 of the Guidelines issued by the Australian
Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act (
FOI Guidelines), when a
request involves a large number of documents, it is open to an agency and applicant to
consult and agree on a staged approach to the release of the documents. The Department
sought your agreement to releasing documents in scope of your request via a staged release
over time.
11. On 22 May 2023, you advised:
‘…Thank you for your response of 18 May 2023. I note you requested the fol owing:
"We are therefore seeking your consent and agreement for the Department to
provide you with the documents via this staged release process. If you
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agree to this arrangement, you wil receive the released bundles and
decision letter for each staged release.
If you agree with our proposed staged release, please respond by COB
Tuesday 23 June 2023."
Firstly I assume my response is required by Tuesday 23 May 2023.
Secondy I agree to your request for a staged release of the requested documents on
condition that:
: Al documents are released to me by no later than 30 June 2023, and
: The release of documents be released on the righttoknow wwebsite so other
interested veterans
can also view the requested documents…’
12. On 26 May 2023, the Department acknowledged your agreement to a staged release of
documents and endeavoured to finalise it by the 30 June 2023, provided that all
consultations with the identified areas were completed.
13. On 27 June 2023, you advised:
‘…As of today this Information Request is now MORE THAN 5 MONTHS OLD.
In one of my many responses, the latest on 22 May 2023, I agreed to a staged release
by no later than 30 June 2023. This was after DVA promised to release the requested
information by 23 June 2023.
On 26 May 2023 DVA advised they agreed to release all documentation by 30 June
2023, "provided all consultations are completed." I note this was a qualified response
and not in accordance with my agreement, nor DVA's previous agreement to release
the requested information by 23 June 2023.
That my initial request is now over 5 months old and should I not have all the requested
information IN FULL by 30 June 2023, you wil leave me with no alternative but to go
public. I wil also be writing to the Minister and sending it via my Federal MP. In this
way the Minister will have to sign off on my letter.
It's now over to you. As this request is OVER 5 MONTHS OLD, the time for playing
games are over.
I urge you to finalise this matter…’
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14. On 30 June 2023, the Department formal y consulted with you under section 24AB of the FOI
Act on the basis that a practical refusal reason exists, as defined by section 24AA of the FOI
Act.
15. On 12 July 2023, you advised:
‘…I am responding to your correspondence of 30 June 2023 and note the
following but first I feel compelled to make a few comments.
By your actions, or lack of actions, where you agreed to progressively release the
requested brief from the previous Secretary to the new Secretary in stages by no later
than 30 June 2023, you then breached that promise. This is clear evidence of a lack of
integrity and a gaming of the FOI system remembering this was after 2 requests to
the OAIC for an extension, that I agreed to, with the last one expiring on 26 May
2023.
You then advise the brief has all of a sudden increased from 1610 to 2300 documents
and have asked me to either:
: withdraw my request,
: make a revised request, or
: indicate that I don't wish to revise my request.
This raises the obvious question. How can I modify my request when I don’t know
what the contents of the handover brief are?
In my 27 June 2023 commnication I noted that if you failed to release the requested
documents by 30 June 2023 I would lodge a formal complaint in writing to Minister
Keogh and send it via my Federal MP. This was so Minister Keogh would have to
personally sign the response.
I can confirm I have done this and gone even further by lodging a formal complaint to
the Commonwealth Ombudsman and cc'd in the Royal Commission. I have already
contacted Senator Jacqui Lambie asking her to raise this in the Senate and request the
same handover brief you have deliberatly stonewalled. As you would be aware DVA
have a tight timeline to fullfill Senator Lambie's request.
I ask that you immediately STOP playing your games. My final and not negotiable
deadline for the release IN FULL of the handover brief is 31 July 2023. I wil shortly
make an FOI request for all internal correspondence pertaining to LEX 55801. I will
also ensure this starts getting a good run on multiple social media platforms.
Finally, please cease playing your stupid sand pit games…’
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16. As extensions of time were applied to process your request in accordance with section 15AB
of the FOI Act, a decision on your request is due by 13 July 2023.
Material taken into account
17. In accordance with section 26(1)(a) of the FOI Act, my findings on any material question of
fact, the material on which those findings were based and the reasons for my decision to
refuse access to your request follow.
18. I have taken the fol owing material into account in making my decision:
the terms of your request on 26 January 2023;
correspondences between you and the Department on 24 March 2023, 28 March
2023, 3 April 2023, 27 April 2023, 18 May 2023, 22 May 2023, 26 May 2023 and 27
June 2023;
the types of information and documents that are in the Department’s possession;
Sections 3, 11 and 11A of the FOI Act which give the Australian community a legally
enforceable right to obtain access to information held by the Government of the
Commonwealth. I also considered the following provisions of the FOI Act relevant to
my decision:
- Section 11B Public interest exemption – factors
- Section 15 Request for Access
- Section 24AB Request Consultation Process
- Section 24AA Practical Refusal Reasons
the FOI Guidelines.
19. A full extract of all FOI Act provisions used to make my decision are provided in
Schedule 2.
Reasons for my decision
20. Section 24 of the FOI Act provides that if the Department is satisfied that a practical refusal
reason exists in relation to a request, the Department must undertake a consultation
process with you, and if, after that consultation process, the Department remains satisfied
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that the practical refusal reason stil exists, the Department may refuse to give you access to
the documents subject to the request.
When does a practical refusal reason exist (section 24AA of the FOI Act)
21. The practical refusal reason applicable to your request is that by processing your request, as
best the Department can understand the terms, is likely to result in a substantial and
unreasonable diversion of the Department’s resources from its other operations (section
24AA(1)(b) of the FOI Act).
Request is substantial
22. Under section 24AA(2) of the FOI Act, the Department must have regard to the resources
that would have to be used for:
• identifying, locating or col ating the documents within the filing system of the
agency;
• 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 examining the document or consulting
with any person or body in relation to the request);
• making a copy or an edited copy, of the document; and
• notifying any interim or final decision on the request.
23. Further, the FOI Guidelines identify matters that may be relevant when deciding whether
processing the request will unreasonably divert an agency’s resources from its other
functions. These include:
• the staffing resources available to the agency for FOI processing;
• the impact that processing a request may have on other work in the agency,
including FOI processing;
• whether an applicant has cooperated in framing a request to reduce the processing
workload;
• whether there is a significant public interest in the documents requested; and
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• other steps taken by an agency or minister to publish information of the kind
requested by an applicant.
Searches Conducted
24. There are approximately 2300 pages of material in over 12 document bundles identified as
being relevant to your request. These documents include Executive Briefs and Minutes,
Divisional Records and Reports, Departmental Audits and Reports, and Royal Commission
into Defence and Veteran Suicide records and accounts.
25. As the Incoming Secretary’s briefing package was compiled with the intention of briefing the
incoming Secretary on the entirety of DVA’s functions and activities, extensive consultation
across seventeen (17) internal subject matter experts is necessary to process the request.
26. Since your request was received, the Department spent roughly 55 hours undertaking
thorough searches for documents relevant to your request, with the input of 17 separate
internal business areas. In addition, it has taken roughly 15 hours in total to consult with 17
internal business areas, 5 third parties and 5 external Government Agencies in relation to
the documents so far. Additional time would be required to complete consultations on all
the documents in scope of your request.
Sensitivities Identified
27. As previously advised, from the Department’s initial review of the documents, a significant
proportion of the material is highly sensitive and will require multiple redactions to withhold
material considered to be exempt from release under the FOI Act. The likely redactions
include sections 47C (documents subject to deliberative processes), 47F (documents
affecting personal privacy), 47E (documents affecting certain operations of agencies), 47G
(documents disclosing business information), 47D (documents affecting financial or property
interests of the Commonwealth) and 47 (documents disclosing trade secrets or commercially
valuable information) of the FOI Act.
Processing the Documents
28. In order to assess whether the request is voluminous for the purposes of section
24AA(1)(a)(i), the Department processed a small sample of the requested documents (166
pages in total) in order to project the time and resources that would be required to process
the request in its current form. It took an officer of the department six (6) hours and fifty-
five (55) minutes to review and process around 166 pages of material within the sample.
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29. Applying this conservative estimate of 2.33 minutes per page (although technical and
protected documents wil likely need 3-4 minutes per page), it would take a suitably senior
FOI Delegate approximately 5,359 minutes or 89 hours (11.7 full business days) to review
and mark up redactions for the documents and 15-18 hours to retrieve, review, collate,
process and mark up sensitive protected documents.
Total Estimated Timeframe
30. In addition to the estimated time noted above, it would take approximately 12 hours (1.6
business days) to prepare a schedule of documents and draft a decision letter under section
26 of the FOI Act which includes a statement of reasoning any exemption claims made.
Further, the 17 business areas who assisted with searches for the material will require
additional time to review the processed documents and express their views in relation to the
internal consultation. We estimate a further 1-2 hours per business area (25.5 hours total) to
al ow for this consultation to occur.
As previously noted, it would take the Department approximately 196.5 hours (or 26.5
business days) to process your request in its current form.
31. Taking these factors into account, I have concluded the request is substantial.
Request is Unreasonable
32. I have considered whether the substantial resource burden would be unreasonable having
regard to the following:
• 196.5 hours
of processing time is, at face value, an unreasonable burden for a single
FOI request, taking into account the need to process multiple requests at any given
time, and the impact such a burden would have on responding to other FOI
applicants and for the relevant business area to undertake their designated duties.
• Despite the Department’s best efforts to progress your request since it was
received on 26 January 2023, it is still going to take the Department an additional
126.5 hours to finalise the request on top of the 76.5 hours the Department has so
far spent processing the request.
Due to the nature of your request at least 17 separate business areas consultants
would be required to spend a significant amount of time and resources in
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document retrieval, scoping and consultation activities. This would divert the
resources of these teams away from their core functions.
• While we appreciate that there is public interest in the documents requested, the
Department actively takes steps to proactively publish information relating to its
functions and activities on its public facing website and annual reports.
Summary of Decision
33. In summary, I am satisfied that processing your request, as best the Department can
understand the terms, is likely to result in a substantial and unreasonable diversion of the
Department’s resources from its other operations (section 24AA(1)(b) of the FOI Act).
34. Accordingly, I have decided to refuse your request under section 24(1) of the FOI Act.
Your rights of review
35. If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for internal review or request the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (
OAIC) review my decision. We
encourage you to seek internal review as a first step to resolve any concerns you may have.
Internal review
36. 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 of the
date of this letter. Where possible please attach reasons why you believe review of the
decision is necessary. The internal review will be carried out by another officer within 30
days.
37. You can make your application for Internal Review in one of the fol owing ways:
Post:
Information Access Unit,
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
OAIC review
38. Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the OAIC to review my decision. An
application for review by OAIC must be made in writing within 60 days of the date of this
letter, and be lodged in one of the fol owing ways:
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Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
Director of FOI Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Facsimile:
(02) 9284 9666
Phone:
1300 363 992
Email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
39. More information about your review rights under the FOI Act is available in Fact Sheet 12
published by the OAIC:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-
complaints/information-commissioner-review/
Contact us
40. If you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the Information Access
Unit using the following details:
Online:
https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview/reporting/freedom-
information/access-information
Post:
Information Access Unit
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001
Phone:
1800 838 372
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Frankie (Position Number 62210799)
Information Access Officer
Information Access Unit
Client Rehabilitation and Access Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
13 July 2023
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FOI 55801
Schedule 1
Schedule of relevant provisions in the FOI Act
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Objects—general
(1)
The objects of this Act are to give the Australian community access to information held by
the Government of the Commonwealth or the Government of Norfolk Island, by:
(a)
requiring agencies to publish the information; and
(b)
providing for a right of access to documents.
(2)
The Parliament intends, by these objects, to promote Australia’s representative democracy
by contributing towards the fol owing:
(a)
increasing public participation in Government processes, with a view to promoting
better informed decision-making;
(b)
increasing scrutiny, discussion, comment and review of the Government’s
activities.
(3)
The Parliament also intends, by these objects, to increase recognition that information held
by the Government is to be managed for public purposes, and is a national resource.
(4)
The Parliament also intends that functions and powers given by this Act are to be
performed and exercised, as far as possible, to facilitate and promote public access to
information, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost.
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Right of access
(1)
Subject to this Act, every person has a legally enforceable right to obtain access in
accordance with this Act to:
(a)
a document of an agency, other than an exempt document; or
(b)
an official document of a Minister, other than an exempt document.
(2)
Subject to this Act, a person’s right of access is not affected by:
(a)
any reasons the person gives for seeking access; or
(b)
the agency’s or Minister’s belief as to what are his or her reasons for seeking
access.
11A Access to documents on request
Scope
(1)
This section applies if:
(a)
a request is made by a person, in accordance with subsection 15(2), to an agency or
Minister for access to:
(i)
a document of the agency; or
(ii)
an official document of the Minister; and
(b)
any charge that, under the regulations, is required to be paid before access is given
has been paid.
(2)
This section applies subject to this Act.
Note:
Other provisions of this Act are relevant to decisions about access to documents, for example the fol owing:
(a)
section 12 (documents otherwise available);
(b)
section 13 (documents in national institutions);
(c)
section 15A (personnel records);
(d)
section 22 (access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted).
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Mandatory access—general rule
(3)
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document in accordance with
this Act, subject to this section.
Exemptions and conditional exemptions
(4)
The agency or Minister is not required by this Act to give the person access to the
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is an exempt document.
Note:
Access may be given to an exempt document apart from under this Act, whether or not in response to a request
(see section 3A (objects—information or documents otherwise accessible)).
(5)
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document if it is conditionally
exempt at a particular time unless (in the circumstances) access to the document at that
time would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.
Note 1: Division 3 of Part IV provides for when a document is conditional y exempt.
Note 2: A conditional y exempt document is an exempt document if access to the document would, on balance, be
contrary to the public interest (see section 31B (exempt documents for the purposes of Part IV)).
Note 3: Section 11B deals with when it is contrary to the public interest to give a person access to the document.
(6)
Despite subsection (5), the agency or Minister is not required to give access to the
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is both:
(a)
a conditional y exempt document; and
(b)
an exempt document:
(i)
under Division 2 of Part IV (exemptions); or
(ii)
within the meaning of paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of exempt
document in subsection 4(1).
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Requests for access (as related to the requirements for requests)
Persons may request access
(1) Subject to section 15A, a person who wishes to obtain access to a document of an agency
or an official document of a Minister may request access to the document.
Requirements for request
(2)
The request must:
(a)
be in writing; and
(aa) state that the request is an application for the purposes of this Act; and
(b)
provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably necessary to
enable a responsible officer of the agency, or the Minister, to identify it; and
(c)
give details of how notices under this Act may be sent to the applicant (for
example, by providing an electronic address to which notices may be sent by
electronic communication).
(2A) The request must be sent to the agency or Minister. The request may be sent in any of the
following ways:
(a)
delivery to an officer of the agency, or a member of the staff of the Minister, at the
address of any central or regional office of the agency or Minister specified in a
current telephone directory;
(b)
postage by pre-paid post to an address mentioned in paragraph (a);
(c)
sending by electronic communication to an electronic address specified by the
agency or Minister.
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Decisions to be made by authorised persons
(1)
Subject to subsection (2), a decision in respect of a request made to an agency may be
made, on behalf of the agency, by the responsible Minister or the principal officer of the
13
agency or, subject to the regulations, by an officer of the agency acting within the scope of
authority exercisable by him or her in accordance with arrangements approved by the
responsible Minister or the principal officer of the agency.
(2)
A decision in respect of a request made to a court, or made to a tribunal, authority or body
that is specified in Schedule 1, may be made on behalf of that court, tribunal, authority or
body by the principal officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body or, subject to the
regulations, by an officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body acting within the scope
of authority exercisable by him or her in accordance with arrangements approved by the
principal officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body.
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Reasons and other particulars of decisions to be given
(1)
Where, in relation to a request, a decision is made relating to a refusal to grant access to a
document in accordance with the request or deferring provision of access to a document,
the decision-maker shall cause the applicant to be given notice in writing of the decision,
and the notice shal :
(a)
state the findings on any material questions of fact, referring to the material on
which those findings were based, and state the reasons for the decision; and
(aa)
in the case of a decision to refuse to give access to a conditional y exempt
document—include in those reasons the public interest factors taken into account
in making the decision; and
Note:
Access must general y be given to a conditional y exempt document unless it would be contrary to the public
interest (see section 11A).
(b)
where the decision relates to a document of an agency, state the name and
designation of the person giving the decision; and
(c)
give to the applicant appropriate information concerning:
(i)
his or her rights with respect to review of the decision;
(ii)
his or her rights to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner in
relation to the decision; and
(iii)
the procedure for the exercise of the rights referred to in subparagraphs (i)
and (ii); including (where applicable) particulars of the manner in which an
application for internal review (Part VI) and IC review (Part VII) may be
made.
(1A)
Section 13 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 does not apply to a
decision referred to in subsection (1).
(2)
A notice under this section is not required to contain any matter that is of such a nature
that its inclusion in a document of an agency would cause that document to be an exempt
document.
(see section 11A).
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Power to refuse request--diversion of resources etc.
(1)
If an agency or Minister is satisfied, when dealing with a request for a document, that a
practical refusal reason exists in relation to the request (see section 24AA), the agency or
Minister:
(a)
must undertake a request consultation process (see section 24AB); and
(b)
if, after the request consultation process, the agency or Minister is satisfied that
the practical refusal reason still exists--the agency or Minister may refuse to give
access to the document in accordance with the request.
(2)
For the purposes of this section, the agency or Minister may treat 2 or more requests as a
single request if the agency or Minister is satisfied that:
(a)
the requests relate to the same document or documents; or
(b)
the requests relate to documents, the subject matter of which is substantial y the
same.
24AA 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 following applies:
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(a)
the work involved in processing the request:
(i)
in the case of 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 substantially 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 following:
(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.
24AB 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)
The agency or Minister must give the 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 the applicant may consult during a period;
(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 the applicant is given the notice.
Assistance to revise request
(3)
If the 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 the 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;
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(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 the applicant.
Outcome of request consultation process
(6)
The 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)
The 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 an 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 al 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 the agency or Minister to undertake a request
consultation process once for any particular request.
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Document Outline
