Our ref: FOI-2023-10023
22 March 2023
Stephen
Emailed to: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Stephen
Freedom of Information request – Full access decision
I refer to your email dated 5 February 2023, in which you requested access to a document/documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). Your request was framed in the fol owing way:
‘I request access to the records of the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s legal services
expenditures for the 2021-2022 financial year’
This letter constitutes notice of my decision on your request for access. I am authorised to make
decisions on behalf of our Office under s 23 of the FOI Act.
Decision
Our Office identified one (1) document relevant to your request. I have decided to grant you access to
this document.
A schedule setting out the relevant documents is at Attachment A. Our Office identified the
documents by searching our electronic records management system.
I attach the relevant document you requested with this notice.
Review rights
Internal review
If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you are entitled to seek review of this decision.
Under s 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply for an internal review of the decision within 30 days of you
receiving this notice. An internal review wil be conducted by a different officer from the original
decision-maker.
No particular form is required to apply for review although it wil assist your case to set out in the
application the grounds on which you believe that the original decision should be changed. An
application for a review of the decision should be made:
via email to xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
by mail to Commonwealth Ombudsman GPO Box 442 Canberra ACT 2601
GPO Box 442 Canberra ACT 2601 ▪ Phone 1300 362 072 ▪ www.ombudsman.gov.au
1
If you choose to seek an internal review, you wil afterward have a right to apply to the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for a review of the internal review decision.
Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Under s 54M of the FOI Act, you may apply to the OAIC to review my decision. An application for
review by the OAIC must be made in writing within 60 days of the decision date, either from the date
of this letter or the date of our internal review decision letter. Your request can be lodged in one of the
fol owing ways:
online at www.oaic.gov.au/about-us/contact-us
via email to xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
by overland mail to GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
in person to Level 3, 175 Pitt Street Sydney NSW 2000
More information about the OAIC review process is available at its website:
www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-review-process
Complaints to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
You may complain to the OAIC about action taken by the Ombudsman in relation to your FOI request.
While there is no particular form required to make a complaint to the OAIC, the complaint should be in
writing and set out the reasons for why you are dissatisfied with the way your request was processed.
It should also identify the Ombudsman’s Office as the agency about which you are complaining.
You may lodge your complaint either:
online at www.oaic.gov.au
by mail to GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
by email to xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Contacts
You may contact me via email at xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx or via telephone on 1300
362 072.
Yours sincerely
David Yalpi
Legal Team
Influencing systemic improvement in public administration
2
Attachment A – Schedule of documents
Schedule of Documents – Freedom of Information Request FOI-2023-10023
Doc
Date
Pages
Description of Document
Decision on
Exemption
No.
access
1. 1
10
Legal Services Expenditure
Released in
N/A
September
Report 21-22
ful
2022
3
