This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Proof of section 45 applicability used to refuse my FoI requets'.









ATTACHMENT A
From:
C Drake
To:
FOI Requests
Subject:
Freedom of Information request - Proof of section 45 applicability used to refuse my FoI requets
Date:
Saturday, 28 January 2023 1:23:58 AM
Dear Department of Finance,
Please disclose document(s) proving that on or before I made the first of my earlier FoI requests to your
department, that all six (each item in (numbered) parentheses below) the following applied:
[5.159] To found an action for breach of confidence (which means section 45 would apply), the following five
criteria must be satisfied in relation to the information:
• it must be specifically identified
(1) documents "specifically identifying" that the name of domains are confidential
• it must have the necessary quality of confidentiality
(2) documents proving the necessity that names of domains are confidential (keeping in mind that these are
published on the public internet's DNS, whois, and other systems)
• it must have been communicated and received on the basis of a mutual understanding of confidence
(3) proof that there was an understanding of confidence in place at the time I made my FoI request, AND that it
was mutual.
• it must have been disclosed or threatened to be disclosed, without authority
(4) proof that the above confidentiality criteria has been met.
• unauthorised disclosure of the information has or will cause detriment.
(5) documents proving that disclosure will cause detriment, even though (in this instance) it will be authorised
(under the FoI act itself).

(6) Keeping in mind that I am requesting this information from your department, please provide documents
identifying (by name or alternatively by role/position and organisation) the "person (other than an agency or the
Commonwealth)" who would be found in "breach of confidence.", as per the wording of the act - which is:-
"A document is an exempt document if its disclosure under this Act would found an action, by a person (other
than an agency or the Commonwealth), for breach of confidence."
If any of the above do not exist or cannot be found, I will in the alternative accept the list of domains instead, as
I originally requested in my prior FoI applications.
I am requesting the above information for the purposes of proposing FoI law amendments to prevent future
public access to outsourced documents from being refused.
Yours faithfully,
C Drake
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ATTACHMENT B
From:
C Drake
To:
FOI Requests
Subject:
Re: FOI 22-23/09 - Acknowledgement and preliminary charges notice [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Date:
Thursday, 2 February 2023 5:21:39 PM
Dear FOI Requests,
It is my understanding that requests for the purposes of legislation amendments are exempt from charges.  It is
also my understanding that is is not lawful to impose charges for the purpose of discouraging FoI request -
which is clearly the purpose in this instance.
That said - your charge notice fails to comply with the act.  Please withdraw it, or correct it.
1(b). You have not provided "the basis on which the assessment is made" in respect of the extraordinary amount
of "decision making time" you allege is required for documents which you state you have already retrieved.
1(d). Why you believe that revelation of these documents are not sufficiently in the public interest to warrant
exemption from charges (taking into account 11B(4)).
and 1(e).
Yours sincerely,
C Drake
-----Original Message-----
SEC=OFFICIAL
 Dear Mr Drake
 Freedom of Information Request – FOI 22-23/09

 Thank you for your email to the Department of Finance (Finance) requesting
 access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). A
 copy of your request is attached.
 Preliminary charges notice
 Please also see attached a preliminary charges notice for your attention.
 General FOI matters
 Your request was received by Finance on 28 January 2023. The statutory
 period for processing your request commences from the day after Finance
 received your request and a decision was originally due on 27 February
 2023. We note that the preliminary charges notice affects the processing
 timeframe.
 The processing period may be extended if we need to consult third parties
 or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
 Publication
 As required by the FOI Act, any documents provided to you under the FOI

 Act will be published on our [1]disclosure log, unless an exemption
 applies or the documents are characterised as containing personal
 information. Documents will be published the next working day after they
 are released to you.
 Policy to exclude junior officer contact details, signatures and mobile
 phone numbers
 Finance has adopted a policy to generally exclude from any documents
 released under FOI, the names and contact details of junior staff (non-SES
 officers) and staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act
 1984 (adviser level and below). Finance has also adopted a policy to
 exclude signatures and mobile phone numbers from any documents released
 under FOI (unless publicly available). Finance’s preference is to reach
 agreement with FOI applicants to exclude these details from the scope of
 the request. Where there is no objection, the names and contact details of
 junior officers, as well as any signatures and mobile phone numbers
 appearing in identified documents, will be redacted under section 22 of
 the FOI Act on the basis that these details are irrelevant to the request.
 Please contact the FOI Team on the below contact details if you wish to
 discuss your request.
 Kind regards

 [2]cid:image001.jpg@01D20F6A.F1CA1B30
 FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
 Business Enabling Services
 Department of Finance
 A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
 SEC=OFFICIAL
References
 Visible links
 1. https://www.finance.gov.au/about-us/freedom-information/disclosure-log/foi-foi-22/99
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make
will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/officers

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your
organisation's FOI page.
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External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is
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ATTACHMENT C
FOI CHARGES ESTIMATE TOOL - SIMPLE
(insert data in shaded boxes only)
GENERAL DATA ESTIMATE
(terms in red are explained on the notes sheet)
Pages (approx) of material in scope
66 in A4 pages
Number of discrete relevant documents
3
Percentage (approx) of pages to disclose in whole
95%
Percentage (approx) of pages requiring redaction
5%
Percentage (approx) of content that is applicant's own personal 
information
0%
Number of third parties to consult
2
COST @ $15 per
PROCESS - search and retrieval
TIME per task   charge time:
hr
Time required to execute searches - enter hours (including part hours eg 0.5)
0
0.00
$0.00 
Preparing schedules detailing all relevant documents (basic data entry eg doc 
no, date, description) - enter minutes per 10 documents
0
0.00
$0.00 
Search & Retrieval Subtotal
0.00
$0.00 
COST @ $20 per
PROCESS - decision-making
TIME per task   charge time:
hr
Examine relevant pages for decision making - enter minutes per page
3
3.30
$66.00 
Redacting pages that are partially disclosed - enter minutes per page
5
0.28
$5.50 
Consult third parties - enter average per third party in hours
2
4.00
$80.00 
Preparation and notification of decision 
Writing statement of reasons - enter hours
5
5.00
$100.00 
Complete schedule by recording decision @ 4 documents per minute
0
$0.00 
Decision-making Subtotal (before deduction of 5 hours)
12.58
$251.50 
Decision-making Subtotal (after deduction of first 5 hours free for all)
7.58
$151.50
COST @ $6.25 per
ACCESS - view / inspect
TIME per task   charge time:
1/2 hr
Supervised inspection of documents - minutes per page
0.00
0.00
Supervised inspection of audio/visual material - insert total duration of material 
in minutes then add 30 mins set-up and pack-up time
0.00
0.00
Inspection/Viewing Subtotal
0.00
0.00
$0.00 
COST @ 10c a 
ACCESS - copy and post
PAGES
page
Photocopies of estimated released pages (including those with deletions) - set
to 0 if providing electronical y
66
$0.00 
Electronic media (eg USB drive, CD-ROM) and/or postage - insert estimated 
cost of materials
Access Subtotal
$0.00 
ESTIMATED TOTALS
NUMBER OF RELEASED PAGES
66
TIME (in hours)
7.58
TOTAL COST
$151.50 
Financial hardship/public interest discount (as %)
0%
$0.00 
TOTAL COST (after discount)
$151.50 


ATTACHMENT D 
 
Freedom of Information – Your Review Rights 
 
If you disagree with a decision made by the Department of Finance (Finance) or the 
Minister for Finance (Minister) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) 
you can have the decision reviewed. You may want to seek review if you sought certain 
documents and were not given full access, if you have been informed that there will be a 
charge for processing your request, if you have made a contention against the release of 
the documents that has not been agreed to by Finance or the Minister, or if your 
application to have your personal information amended was not accepted. There are two 
ways you can seek a review of our decision: an internal review (IR) by Finance or the 
Minister, or an external review (ER) by the Australian Information Commissioner (IC). 
 
Internal Review (IR) 
Third parties 
If, Finance or the Minister (we/our), makes a 
If you are a third party objecting to a decision 
Freedom of Information (FOI) decision that 
to grant someone else access to your 
you disagree with, you can seek a review of 
information, you must apply to the IC within 
the original decision. The review will carried 
30 calendar days of being notified of our 
out by a different decision maker, usually 
decision to release your information.  
someone at a more senior level. 
Further assistance is located here. 
 
 
You must apply for an IR within 30 calendar 
Do I have to go through the internal 
days of being notified of the decision or 
review process? 
charge, unless we agree to extend your time. 
No. You may apply directly to the OAIC for 
You should contact us if you wish to seek an 
an ER by the IC.  
extension. 
 
 
We are required to make an IR decision 
If I apply for an internal review, do I 
within 30 calendar days of receiving your 
lose the opportunity to apply for an 
application. If we do not make an IR decision 
external review? 
within this timeframe, then the original 
No. You have the same ER rights of our IR 
decision stands. 
decision as you do with our original decision. 
 
This means you can apply for an ER of the 
Review by the Australian 
original decision or of the IR decision. 
Information Commissioner (IC) 
 
Do I have to pay for an internal review 
The Office of the Australian Information 
or external review? 
Commissioner (OAIC) is an independent 
office who can undertake an ER of our 
No. Both the IR and ER are free.  
decision under the FOI Act. The IC can 
 
review access refusal decisions, access grant 
decisions, refusals to extend the period for 
applying for an IR, and IR decisions. 
 
If you are objecting to a decision to refuse 
access to a document, impose a charge, or a 
refusal to amend personal information, you 
must apply in writing to the IC within 60 
calendar days of receiving our decision. 
 

How do I apply? 
Can I appeal the Information 
 
Commissioner’s external review 
Internal review 
decision? 
To apply for an IR of the decision of either 
Yes. You can appeal the Information 
Finance or the Minister, you must send your 
Commissioner’s ER decision to the 
review in writing. We both use the same 
Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).  
contact details, and you must send your 
 
review request in writing. 
There is a fee for lodging an AAT application 
 
(as at 12 October 2022 it is $1,011).  
In your written correspondence, please 
 
include the following: 
Further information is accessible here. 
 
 
•  a statement that you are seeking a review 
The AAT’s number is 1800 228 333. 
of our decision; 
 
•  attach a copy of the decision you are 
Complaints 
seeking a review of; and 
 
•  state the reasons why you consider the 
Making a complaint to the Office of the 
original decision maker made the wrong 
Australian Information Commissioner 
decision. 
 
You may make a written complaint to the 
Email: xxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
OAIC about actions taken by us in relation to 
 
your application.  
Post:    The FOI Coordinator 
 
Legal and Assurance Branch 
Further information on lodging a complaint is 
Department of Finance 
accessible here. 
One Canberra Avenue 
 
FORREST  ACT  2603 
Investigation by the Commonwealth 
 
Ombudsman 
External review (Information 
The Ombudsman can also investigate 
Commissioner Review) 
complaints about action taken by agencies 
For an ER, you must apply to the OAIC in 
under the FOI Act. However, if the issue 
writing. The OAIC ask that you commence a 
complained about either could be, or has been, 
review by completing their online form here.  
investigated by the IC, the Ombudsman will 
 
consult with the IC to avoid the same matter 
Your application must include a copy of the 
being investigated twice. If the Ombudsman 
notice of our decision that you are objecting 
decides not to investigate the complaint, then 
to, and your contact details. You should also 
they are to transfer all relevant documents and 
set out why you are objecting to the decision. 
information to the IC. 
 
 
Email: xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx 
The IC can also transfer a complaint to the 
 
Ombudsman where appropriate. This could 
Post:    Office of the Australian Information 
occur where the FOI complaint is only one 
Commissioner 
part of a wider grievance about an agency’s 
GPO Box 5218 
actions. You will be notified in writing if your 
Sydney  NSW  2001 
complaint is transferred. 
 
 
The IC’s enquiries phone line is 
Complaints to the Ombudsman should be 
1300 363 992. 
made online here. 
 
 
The Ombudsman’s number is 1300 362 072. 
 
 
One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603 • Internet www.finance.gov.au 

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