.au Domain Administration Ltd board minutes, agenda and reports

Josh Rowe made this Freedom of Information request to Department of Communications and the Arts

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was successful.

Dear Department of Communications and the Arts,

My name is Josh Rowe, I am a member and previous non executive director of .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA).

auDA is a membership based organisation limited by guarantee.

On 28 February 2017 the auDA Member Newsletter made the following statement:

" ...

Ongoing Governance Reform

As part of auDA’s ongoing commitment to reforming and improving its governance, the auDA Board unanimously resolved to improve its accountability processes by adhering to best practice principles. As a result, the previous recommendations as articulated in the Westlake Report in 2012, will no longer apply. The recommendations and ongoing improvements as identified in the report conducted by Cameron Ralph in 2016 are to be considered as the standard. This will mean that Board minutes will no longer be published publicly and the primary method of communicating with members and stakeholders around strategy and important decisions will be through the Members' Newsletter and in future, the members' online portal.

... "

The Cameron Ralph Report (October 2016) makes no specific mention of removing auDA board minutes and reports from the auDA web site.

https://www.auda.org.au/assets/Uploads/C...

Furthermore, there was no consultation with auDA members about this significant change in governance.

There has been a long standing practice of publishing a public version of the auDA board minutes for scrutiny by auDA members and the public. Confidential matters were withheld from public disclosure.

This governance approach struck the right balance between accountability, transparency and confidentiality.

As the Australian Government has observer status on the auDA board, this Freedom of Information request is to obtain:

1. a copy of all public auDA board agendas, minutes and reports which have been published previously

2. a copy of all future auDA board agendas, minutes and reports which would have been suitable to be published publicly previously

If auDA decides to re-instate the policy of publishing auDA board agendas, minutes and reports publicly on their web site then this FOI can be withdrawn.

Yours faithfully,

Josh Rowe

2 Attachments

UNCLASSIFIED

FOI 28-1617

 

Dear Mr Rowe,

 

I refer to your email dated 2 May 2017, seeking access under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to:

 

“…

1. a copy of all public auDA board agendas, minutes and reports which have
been published previously

 

2.  a copy of all future auDA board agendas, minutes and reports which
would have been suitable to be published publicly previously...”

 

Please note that the FOI Act gives an applicant a right of access only to
documents in existence at the time a request is lodged with an agency.  An
applicant cannot request access to documents created after the request is
received. 

 

Item 2 of your request seeks access to “future auDA board agendas, minutes
and reports” , which are not documents held by the Department at 2 May
2017.  Accordingly, your request will be processed on the basis that the
scope is limited to:

 

“…a copy of all public auDA board agendas, minutes and reports which have
been published previously…”

 

Timeframe for receiving your decision:

Please note that we will process your request in accordance with the
Department’s FOI Policy and that the 30 day statutory period for
processing the request commenced the day after the date that your request
was received by the Department, i.e. 3 May 2017.  You should therefore
expect a decision from us by 1 June 2017.  The period of 30 days may be
extended in certain circumstances.  We will advise you if there is any
extension of time.

 

Scope of request:

If it emerges that the scope of the request is unclear or is too large for
processing, the Department will contact you to discuss re-scoping the
request.

 

Charges:

Please note that it is the Department’s policy to issue charges for
processing FOI requests and that we will advise you of the estimated
charges when we are in a position to estimate the resources required to
process the request. 

 

Timing of release:

As the subject matter of the request will require the Department to upload
any documents released to you to the Department’s FOI Disclosure Log, I
take this opportunity to advise you that the Department’s policy is to
upload documents to the disclosure log on the same day as or as soon as
practicable after the documents are released.  More information on the
Department’s disclosure log is available in the FOI Policy.

 

Personal Information:

Your personal information has been collected by the Department as a result
of your correspondence, and will be used in order to process the FOI
request. Personal information is protected by law, including the Privacy
Act 1988. The Department’s [1]Privacy Policy is available on the website
and contains information about access to or correction of your personal
information, and how you may complain about a breach of your privacy.

 

Please note that if we need to consult with other people regarding release
of the requested documents, we may need to disclose your personal
information. When we consult with other people about the request, it may
be apparent to those people that you have made a request, even if we do
not disclose your identity. If you have concerns about the Department
consulting with other people about the request, please let us know about
these concerns.

 

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact me by return email.

 

[2]cid:C4234CC5-D32A-44FF-A754-F96227B373F7

 

FOI Coordinator  /  Office of the General Counsel  

Department of Communications and the Arts

E [Department of Communications and the Arts request email]

 

38 Sydney Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603

GPO Box 2154 Canberra ACT 2601

  

[3]communications.gov.au

[4]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [5]@CommsAu

 

[6]arts.gov.au

[7]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [8]@artsculturegov

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed.  Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in the handling of the
advice, you avoid waiving privilege.  Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

show quoted sections

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[10][FOI #3459 email]

 

Is [11][Department of Communications and the Arts request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to Department of Communications and the Arts? If so,
please contact us using this form:

[12]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

 

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:

[13]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

 

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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References

Visible links
1. https://www.communications.gov.au/docume...
3. https://www.communications.gov.au/
5. https://twitter.com/CommsAu?lang=en
6. http://arts.gov.au/
8. https://twitter.com/artsculturegov?lang=en
9. https://www.auda.org.au/assets/Uploads/C...
10. mailto:[FOI #3459 email]
11. mailto:[Department of Communications and the Arts request email]
12. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
13. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

Dear FOI co-ordinator,

Agree with the revised scope to just include previously published auDA board agendas, minutes and reports.

Yours sincerely,

Josh Rowe

4 Attachments

UNCLASSIFIED

FOI 28-1617

 

Dear Mr Rowe,

 

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your request for access
to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

 

Yours sincerely

 

[1]cid:C4234CC5-D32A-44FF-A754-F96227B373F7

 

FOI Coordinator  /  Office of the General Counsel  

Department of Communications and the Arts

E [Department of Communications and the Arts request email]

 

38 Sydney Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603

GPO Box 2154 Canberra ACT 2601

  

[2]communications.gov.au

[3]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [4]@CommsAu

 

[5]arts.gov.au

[6]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [7]@artsculturegov

 

 

 

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
2. https://www.communications.gov.au/
4. https://twitter.com/CommsAu?lang=en
5. http://arts.gov.au/
7. https://twitter.com/artsculturegov?lang=en

Dear FOI Officer,

The $657 has been raised from concerned .au domain stakeholders about the reduction in transparency of .au Domain Administration Ltd.

https://www.gofundme.com/foi-auda-board-...

The deposit of $164.34 has been transferred by EFT to your nominated bank account with the description of "FOI 28 1617".

We look forward to the department and .au Domain Administration Ltd's timely and fulsome response.

Yours sincerely,

Josh Rowe

4 Attachments

UNCLASSIFIED

FOI 28-1617

 

Dear Mr Rowe,

 

Re: Freedom of Information (FOI) Request

 

I refer to your request under the FOI Act seeking access to:

 

“… a copy of all public auDA board agendas, minutes and reports which have
been published previously “ …

 

The Department’s examination of the documents relevant to your request has
identified that consultation is required under section 27 of the FOI Act. 
As such, the statutory timeframe for the processing of your request has
been extended by 30 days. 

 

Accordingly, the statutory timeframe will now expire on Tuesday, 4 July
2017.  I will endeavour to ensure that the consultation is concluded as
quickly as possible.

 

I have attached Invoice No. 8019745 and Receipt No. 8811249 relating to
the payment of the $164.34 deposit of the FOI processing charges.

 

Should you have any enquiries regarding this matter please don’t hesitate
to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely

 

[1]cid:C4234CC5-D32A-44FF-A754-F96227B373F7

 

FOI Coordinator  /  Office of the General Counsel  

Department of Communications and the Arts

E [Department of Communications and the Arts request email]

 

38 Sydney Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603

GPO Box 2154 Canberra ACT 2601

  

[2]communications.gov.au

[3]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [4]@CommsAu

 

[5]arts.gov.au

[6]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [7]@artsculturegov

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed.  Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in the handling of the
advice, you avoid waiving privilege.  Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
2. https://www.communications.gov.au/
4. https://twitter.com/CommsAu?lang=en
5. http://arts.gov.au/
7. https://twitter.com/artsculturegov?lang=en

Dear FOI Officer,

Please provide an update to the FOI request for auDA's board minutes, agenda and reports.

Yours sincerely,

Josh Rowe

2 Attachments

UNCLASSIFIED

FOI 28-1617

 

Dear Mr Rowe,

 

As previously advised, the statutory timeframe for processing of your
request expires on Tuesday, 4 July  2017.  You should therefore expect to
be notified of the Department’s access decision by that date.

 

Best regards,

 

[1]cid:C4234CC5-D32A-44FF-A754-F96227B373F7

 

FOI Coordinator  /  Office of the General Counsel  

Department of Communications and the Arts

E [Department of Communications and the Arts request email]

 

38 Sydney Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603

GPO Box 2154 Canberra ACT 2601

  

[2]communications.gov.au

[3]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [4]@CommsAu

 

[5]arts.gov.au

[6]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [7]@artsculturegov

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed.  Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in the handling of the
advice, you avoid waiving privilege.  Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear FOI,

Looking forward to receiving a full response within the documents requested today as promised.

Yours sincerely,

Josh Rowe

6 Attachments

UNCLASSIFIED

FOI 28-1617

 

Dear Mr Rowe,

 

Please see attached Notice of Access Decision.

 

Regards,

 

[1]cid:C4234CC5-D32A-44FF-A754-F96227B373F7

 

FOI Coordinator  /  Office of the General Counsel  

Department of Communications and the Arts

E [Department of Communications and the Arts request email]

 

38 Sydney Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603

GPO Box 2154 Canberra ACT 2601

  

[2]communications.gov.au

[3]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [4]@CommsAu

 

[5]arts.gov.au

[6]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [7]@artsculturegov

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed.  Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in the handling of the
advice, you avoid waiving privilege.  Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
2. https://www.communications.gov.au/
4. https://twitter.com/CommsAu?lang=en
5. http://arts.gov.au/
7. https://twitter.com/artsculturegov?lang=en

Dear FOI Officer,

Thank you for the considered and thorough work on this FOI request.

I have submitted the balance owing of $493.02 directly by EFT.

Once you have received this amount please provide the documents as per the schedule.

Yours sincerely,

Josh Rowe

2 Attachments

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Mr Rowe,

 

Many thanks for your email below.

 

Please note, as advised at paragraph 84 of the Notice of Access Decision,
the third parties consulted by the Department during the processing of
your request have 30 days in which to apply either for internal review of
the Department's access decision or to seek review of the decision by the
Information Commissioner, after which time (subject to the outcome of any
such review and confirmation of payment) the Department will provide you
with the documents.

 

Yours sincerely,

[1]cid:C4234CC5-D32A-44FF-A754-F96227B373F7

 

FOI Coordinator  /  Office of the General Counsel  

Department of Communications and the Arts

E [Department of Communications and the Arts request email]

 

38 Sydney Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603

GPO Box 2154 Canberra ACT 2601

  

[2]communications.gov.au

[3]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [4]@CommsAu

 

[5]arts.gov.au

[6]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [7]@artsculturegov

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed.  Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in the handling of the
advice, you avoid waiving privilege.  Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

show quoted sections

Dear FOI Coordinator,

I don't expect auDA to dispute this FOI request given their decision to reinstate the auDA board documents as per:

https://auda.org.au/mailouts/Members+New...

Yours sincerely,

Josh Rowe

2 Attachments

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Mr Rowe,

 

Thank you for your further email below.  As previously advised, the
documents cannot be released before the expiry of the 30 day period
provided under the FOI Act for third party review.

 

[1]cid:C4234CC5-D32A-44FF-A754-F96227B373F7

 

FOI Coordinator  /  Office of the General Counsel  

Department of Communications and the Arts

E [Department of Communications and the Arts request email]

 

38 Sydney Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603

GPO Box 2154 Canberra ACT 2601

  

[2]communications.gov.au

[3]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [4]@CommsAu

 

[5]arts.gov.au

[6]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [7]@artsculturegov

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed.  Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in the handling of the
advice, you avoid waiving privilege.  Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear FOI Officer,

Please advise when the requested documents will be provided.

Yours sincerely,

Josh Rowe

4 Attachments

UNCLASSIFIED

FOI 28-1617

 

Dear Mr Rowe,

 

Please see attached the documents to which you have been given access
under the FOI Act.  For ease of reference I have also attached a copy of
the Schedule of Documents previously provided to you.

 

Yours sincerely

 

[1]cid:C4234CC5-D32A-44FF-A754-F96227B373F7

 

FOI Coordinator  / Information Law Section  /  Office of the General
Counsel

Department of Communications and the Arts

E [Department of Communications and the Arts request email]

 

GPO Box 2154 Canberra ACT 2601

  

[2]communications.gov.au

[3]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [4]@CommsAu

 

[5]arts.gov.au

[6]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [7]@artsculturegov

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed.  Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in the handling of the
advice, you avoid waiving privilege.  Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
2. https://www.communications.gov.au/
4. https://twitter.com/CommsAu?lang=en
5. http://arts.gov.au/
7. https://twitter.com/artsculturegov?lang=en

3 Attachments

UNCLASSIFIED

FOI 28-1617

 

Dear Mr Rowe

 

Please see attached Receipt No. 8811311 for the payment of the balance of
the FOI processing charges totalling $493.02.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

[1]cid:C4234CC5-D32A-44FF-A754-F96227B373F7

 

FOI Coordinator  / Information Law Section  /  Office of the General
Counsel

Department of Communications and the Arts

E [Department of Communications and the Arts request email]

 

GPO Box 2154 Canberra ACT 2601

  

[2]communications.gov.au

[3]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [4]@CommsAu

 

[5]arts.gov.au

[6]cid:17F0759F-5B67-41BB-B991-66700A2CA00A [7]@artsculturegov

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed.  Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in the handling of the
advice, you avoid waiving privilege.  Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
2. https://www.communications.gov.au/
4. https://twitter.com/CommsAu?lang=en
5. http://arts.gov.au/
7. https://twitter.com/artsculturegov?lang=en

Dear FOI Officer,

Thank you for providing the documents and the thoroughness of FOI team's work

There have been changes made at auDA to return to publishing of the board minutes, which is a good outcome for auDA members and the broader community.

Dissident members force rethink at auDA
http://www.afr.com/brand/rear-window/dis...

Yours sincerely,

Josh Rowe