ABC Four Corners
Dear Australian Broadcasting Corporation,
Consistent with provisions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, I am requesting access to the following documents:
1. All documents, in any format (including but not limited to text messaging services, emails or notes, etc.) held by Nigel Henham, from 9 November to 12 November referencing ‘Downfall: The last days of President Trump’.
To assist the ABC in more promptly processing the request, I do not require duplicates of documents, duplicate email chains or publicly available documents.
In order to protect the personal information of staff, I do not require the contact information of staff referred to any of the documents.
Yours faithfully,
Kim Knight
ABC FOI 202526-074
Mr Knight
The ABC acknowledges receipt of your freedom of information requests sent
in 2 emails one minute apart on Thursday 13 November 2025, under the
Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act (1982) seeking access
to (my numbering):
…documents, in any format (including but not limited to text messaging
services, emails or notes, etc.) held by
[1] Justin Stevens, Brett Farrell, or Gavin Fang, from 9 November to 12
November referencing ‘Downfall: The last days of President Trump’.
... [2] Nigel Henham, from 9 November to 12 November referencing
‘Downfall: The last days of President Trump’.
To assist the ABC in more promptly processing the request, I do not
require duplicates of documents, duplicate email chains or publicly
available documents.
In order to protect the personal information of staff, I do not require
the contact information of staff referred to any of the documents.
Under s 24(2) of the FOI Act the ABC has combined the 2 emailed scopes to
be processed as a single request – this is because they concern the same
documents with a similar overlapping subject matter (the same episode of
Four Corners).
All correspondence will be sent to this email address from herein.
Paragraph [1] above is from 3.40pm email and paragraph [2] is from the
3.41pm email sent by you on 13 November 2025. The other wording (either
side) is common to both emails.
A decision on the request is due by Monday 15 December 2025, subject to
any extensions of time for consultation or by agreement. The ABC
will notify you if any processing charges apply.
The ABC is processing a high volume of request at present with the annual
shutdown period starting in December reducing access to colleagues who may
have documents. We would be grateful if you would consider granting an
extension of time under s 15AA for 30 days. This would mean a decision is
due on 14 January 2026.
By making a FOI request, you are providing personal information to the
ABC. The ABC manages personal information in accordance with its Privacy
Policy - available at [1]ABC Privacy Policy – ABC Help - Australian
Broadcasting Corporation Help Centre. Personal information may
be disclosed in the course of processing this request, such as for the
purposes of consultation or internal reporting.
Please feel free to call us if you would like to discuss any aspect.
Many thanks,
ABC FOI team
13 9994
This email, including any attachments, is intended only for the addressee.
It is confidential and may contain privileged information. You should not
read, copy, use or disclose it, or take any other action in reliance of
the information contained in this email, without authorisation. If you
have received the email in error, please immediately let the sender know
by separate email or telephone and delete the email from your system.
ABC FOI 202526-074
Mr Knight
The ABC would be grateful if you would kindly reply to this email to
confirm you are contactable by email. We have sent 5 separate emails to
various right to know email addresses you in November and we have not yet
received a reply from you.
We would be grateful to confirm you are still pursuing this request and
are not a ‘bot’. In our email of 28 November, we asked whether you are
happy to agree to any extension of time. The ABC has a shutdown period
over summer / the Christmas period which impacts staffing over the next 4
– 6 weeks across the wider ABC. This in terms affects the progress of FOI
files as we need to collaborate with other areas of the ABC. Under s 15AA
a maximum of 30 days can be agreed.
The ABC is required to consult with an affected third party under ss 27 /
27A of the Commonwealth FOI Act. As such, the timeframe for processing
your request is automatically extended by 30 days under s 15(6) of the FOI
Act.
This means that a decision is due to be issued by Wednesday 14 January
2025. We would be grateful if you would consider agreeing to the voluntary
extension for a period of 1 to 2 weeks on top of this as we are processing
2 files for you that are due on the same day otherwise (during a period of
limited staffing ABC wide).
Many thanks,
ABC FOI team
13 9994
This email, including any attachments, is intended only for the addressee.
It is confidential and may contain privileged information. You should not
read, copy, use or disclose it, or take any other action in reliance of
the information contained in this email, without authorisation. If you
have received the email in error, please immediately let the sender know
by separate email or telephone and delete the email from your system.
From: FOI ABC <[ABC request email]>
Sent: Friday, 28 November 2025 7:35 PM
To: [FOI #14003 email]
Subject: FOI 074 - Acknowledgment of request (Four Corners) - 2 of 2
ABC FOI 202526-074
Mr Knight
The ABC acknowledges receipt of your freedom of information requests sent
in 2 emails one minute apart on Thursday 13 November 2025, under the
Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act (1982) seeking access
to (my numbering):
…documents, in any format (including but not limited to text messaging
services, emails or notes, etc.) held by
[1] Justin Stevens, Brett Farrell, or Gavin Fang, from 9 November to 12
November referencing ‘Downfall: The last days of President Trump’.
... [2] Nigel Henham, from 9 November to 12 November referencing
‘Downfall: The last days of President Trump’.
To assist the ABC in more promptly processing the request, I do not
require duplicates of documents, duplicate email chains or publicly
available documents.
In order to protect the personal information of staff, I do not require
the contact information of staff referred to any of the documents.
Under s 24(2) of the FOI Act the ABC has combined the 2 emailed scopes to
be processed as a single request – this is because they concern the same
documents with a similar overlapping subject matter (the same episode of
Four Corners).
All correspondence will be sent to this email address from herein.
Paragraph [1] above is from 3.40pm email and paragraph [2] is from the
3.41pm email sent by you on 13 November 2025. The other wording (either
side) is common to both emails.
A decision on the request is due by Monday 15 December 2025, subject to
any extensions of time for consultation or by agreement. The ABC
will notify you if any processing charges apply.
The ABC is processing a high volume of request at present with the annual
shutdown period starting in December reducing access to colleagues who may
have documents. We would be grateful if you would consider granting an
extension of time under s 15AA for 30 days. This would mean a decision is
due on 14 January 2026.
By making a FOI request, you are providing personal information to the
ABC. The ABC manages personal information in accordance with its Privacy
Policy - available at [1]ABC Privacy Policy – ABC Help - Australian
Broadcasting Corporation Help Centre. Personal information may
be disclosed in the course of processing this request, such as for the
purposes of consultation or internal reporting.
Please feel free to call us if you would like to discuss any aspect.
Many thanks,
ABC FOI team
13 9994
This email, including any attachments, is intended only for the addressee.
It is confidential and may contain privileged information. You should not
read, copy, use or disclose it, or take any other action in reliance of
the information contained in this email, without authorisation. If you
have received the email in error, please immediately let the sender know
by separate email or telephone and delete the email from your system.