CM: 20/272955 Redaction Codeset
Ben Fairless made this Freedom of Information request to Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
Dear Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission,
Can you please supply the file known as “redaction codeset for the Australian FOI Act (held at CM: 20/272955)”. For reference it’s mentioned at page 14 of this recent disclosure: https://www.acic.gov.au/sites/default/fi...
I don’t believe any exemptions are likely to apply to this document, so if you can provide it informally I’ll happily withdraw my FOI request.
Yours faithfully,
Ben Fairless
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Fairless,
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).
I have taken your request to be for access to:
the file known as “redaction codeset” for the Australian FOI Act (held at
CM: 20/272955)
We received your request on 14 January 2026 and the 30 day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date.
You should therefore expect a decision from us by 13 February 2026. The
period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult third parties or
for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
The ACIC, in processing FOI requests, excludes the following information
on the basis that it is irrelevant to the requests:
• Names (other than Senior Executive Staff), signatures, and contact
details of ACIC members of staff.
• Duplicate documents, including duplicate emails. The ACIC will only
provide emails where they form a final email chain and the
authors/recipients are contained within the final email.
• Information that is publicly available, for example, newspaper
articles and online publications, including information available on
the ACIC website.
• Correspondence or other internal documents related to the processing
of previous FOI requests, where relevant.
If you object to the ACIC excluding any of the above information, please
advise the FOI Coordinator within seven days of receipt of this
correspondence.
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log
[1]https://www.acic.gov.au/publications/fre...,
subject to certain exceptions.
We will contact you using the email address from which you sent your
request (detailed in your correspondence below). Please advise if you
would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.
If you have any questions, you may contact me at this email address.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Delegate
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
[2]Australian Criminal
Intelligence Commission [3][ACIC request email]
[4][IMG] [5][IMG] [6][IMG] [7][IMG] [8][IMG]
[9]First Nation artwork
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters where we
live and work, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and future
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Fairless <[FOI #14187 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 14 January 2026 10:55 PM
To: foi <[ACIC request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - CM: 20/272955 Redaction Codeset
Dear Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission,
Can you please supply the file known as “redaction codeset for the
Australian FOI Act (held at CM: 20/272955)”. For reference it’s mentioned
at page 14 of this recent disclosure:
https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
I don’t believe any exemptions are likely to apply to this document, so if
you can provide it informally I’ll happily withdraw my FOI request.
Yours faithfully,
Ben Fairless
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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ACIC Web Site: [10]www.acic.gov.au
Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this
email.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.acic.gov.au/publications/fre...
3. mailto:[ACIC request email]
4. https://www.acic.gov.au/
5. https://www.facebook.com/ACIC/
6. https://www.instagram.com/acic_govau
7. https://www.linkedin.com/company/acic-go...
8. https://twitter.com/ACICgovau
10. file:///tmp/www.acic.gov.au
Hello FOI Delegate,
Thanks for the acknowledgement. Just reminding you that, given the nature of the document and the fact it’s unlikely to contain anything controversial, I’m happy to receive the file administratively - this will hopefully make the process easier for you and save us all time.
Yours sincerely,
Ben Fairless
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Fairless,
I refer to your below request made pursuant to the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth). Please see the attached decision in relation to that
request.
Sincerely,
FOI Delegate
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
[1]Australian Criminal
Intelligence Commission [2][ACIC request email]
[3][IMG] [4][IMG] [5][IMG] [6][IMG] [7][IMG]
[8]First Nation artwork
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters where we
live and work, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and future
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Fairless <[FOI #14187 email]>
Sent: Friday, 23 January 2026 9:38 PM
To: foi <[ACIC request email]>
Subject: CM: Re: FOI 26-4: Acknowledgement - Freedom of Information
request - CM: 20/272955 Redaction Codeset [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Hello FOI Delegate,
Thanks for the acknowledgement. Just reminding you that, given the nature
of the document and the fact it’s unlikely to contain anything
controversial, I’m happy to receive the file administratively - this will
hopefully make the process easier for you and save us all time.
Yours sincerely,
Ben Fairless
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Fairless,
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).
I have taken your request to be for access to:
the file known as “redaction codeset” for the Australian FOI Act (held at
CM: 20/272955)
We received your request on 14 January 2026 and the 30 day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date.
You should therefore expect a decision from us by 13 February 2026. The
period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult third parties or
for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
The ACIC, in processing FOI requests, excludes the following information
on the basis that it is irrelevant to the requests:
• Names (other than Senior Executive Staff), signatures, and contact
details of ACIC members of staff.
• Duplicate documents, including duplicate emails. The ACIC will only
provide emails where they form a final email chain and the
authors/recipients are contained within the final email.
• Information that is publicly available, for example, newspaper
articles and online publications, including information available on
the ACIC website.
• Correspondence or other internal documents related to the processing
of previous FOI requests, where relevant.
If you object to the ACIC excluding any of the above information, please
advise the FOI Coordinator within seven days of receipt of this
correspondence.
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log
[1][9]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...,
subject to certain exceptions.
We will contact you using the email address from which you sent your
request (detailed in your correspondence below). Please advise if you
would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.
If you have any questions, you may contact me at this email address.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Delegate
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
[2]Australian Criminal
Intelligence Commission [3][ACIC request email]
[4][IMG] [5][IMG] [6][IMG] [7][IMG] [8][IMG]
[9]First Nation artwork
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters where we
live and work, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and future
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[10][FOI #14187 email]
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:
[11]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This email message and any attached files may contain information that is
confidential and/or privileged. They are intended only for use by the
individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the
intended recipient or the person responsible for delivering the message to
the intended recipient, you have received this message in error and any
use, copying, circulation, forwarding, printing or publication of this
message or attached files is strictly forbidden, as is the disclosure of
the information contained therein. If you have received this message in
error, please notify the sender immediately and delete it from your Inbox.
ACIC Web Site: [12]www.acic.gov.au
Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this
email.
References
Visible links
2. mailto:[ACIC request email]
3. https://www.acic.gov.au/
4. https://www.facebook.com/ACIC/
5. https://www.instagram.com/acic_govau
6. https://www.linkedin.com/company/acic-go...
7. https://twitter.com/ACICgovau
9. https://www.acic.gov.au/publications/fre...
10. mailto:[FOI #14187 email]
11. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
12. file:///tmp/www.acic.gov.au
Dear Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission's handling of my FOI request 'CM: 20/272955 Redaction Codeset'.
I believe the decision maker has incorrectly relied on section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act to create a new document in response to my request. For the reasons below, I believe the correct outcome is to release the requested document in its original form, subject only to any lawful exemptions.
My request was for the redaction codeset for the Australian FOI Act held at CM: 20/272955. It is my understanding that these documents would be stored as XML file(s).
An XML file is simply an electronic document that stores information in an organised text format. It is a single saved file that can be opened, copied and transferred, in the same way as a Word document, PDF or spreadsheet. It contains a fixed record of information.
The PDF created under section 17 is not the same document as the XML file(s) I requested, and the information provided cannot be converted back into the original XML format. This indicates that the document created under section 17 is distinct from the stored electronic document that was requested.
As the XML file(s) are stored electronic records, they are discrete “documents” for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act.
If any information in those documents is considered exempt, it should be withheld using the relevant exemption provisions of the Act, rather than by creating a different document under section 17.
For the above reasons I request that the original document(s) held at CM: 20/272955 be released in their native electronic format, subject only to any lawful redactions.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/c...
Yours faithfully,
Ben Fairless