Documents and correspondance relating to Murray Hansen or Vinder Consulting
Dear Australian National University FOI Team,
I would like to request all correspondance and documents made by ANU staff in the Office of the Vice Chancellor, Office of the Chancellor, the Corporate Governance & Risk Office, the Communications & Engagement Office, and the ANU Council relating to Murray Hansen and/or Vinder Consulting over the period 1 January 2020 – 8 March 2025. Please consider correspondance to include emails, letters, communications made via Teams and other messaging services.
Kind regards,
Bruce Phillip Jost
Good afternoon,
Your Freedom of Information(FOI) request has been received by the
University, and you will be contacted further shortly.
Your FOI reference number for this matter is 202500032.
Kind regards
FOI Team
Scholarly Information Services
The Australian National University
Email: [1][ANU request email]
Web http://universityrecords.anu.edu.au/
CRICOS Provider #00120C
Dear BP Jost,
On 8 March 2025, the Australian National University (the University)
received your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) for the following documents:
‘I would like to request all correspondance and documents made by ANU
staff in the Office of the Vice Chancellor, Office of the Chancellor, the
Corporate Governance & Risk Office, the Communications & Engagement
Office, and the ANU Council relating to Murray Hansen and/or Vinder
Consulting over the period 1 January 2020 – 8 March 2025. Please consider
correspondance to include emails, letters, communications made via Teams
and other messaging services’
The statutory time frame for processing your request is 30 days from the
date your request was received by the University. You should therefore
expect a decision from us by 6 April 2025.
The period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult third parties,
impose a charge or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
We will contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if
you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact. If you have
any questions regarding your request, please feel free to contact me.
Yours sincerely
FOI Team
Scholarly Information Services
The Australian National University
Email: [1][ANU request email]
Web [2]http://universityrecords.anu.edu.au/
CRICOS Provider #00120C
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[ANU request email]
2. http://universityrecords.anu.edu.au/
Good morning,
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the Act) received by the University on 8 March 2025
Your request is receiving attention and a decision will be provided to you
as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, we are currently experiencing delays regarding your request
and we will be unable to provide you with a response by the current
decision date of 6 April 2025.
Delays are being experienced due to the document search process causing
further delays in the processing of any documents once received .
There also likely to be further delays due to the FOI team dealing with a
number of complex FOI requests with minimal staff.
Accordingly, the University is seeking an extension of time of 30 days in
accordance with section 15AA of the FOI Act.
If you agree to the extension, the University would be required to provide
you with a decision notice by no later than COB 6 May 2025.
Your earliest response would be appreciated as we are required to notify
the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) of any
extension agreed.
Yours sincerely
FOI Team
Scholarly Information Services
The Australian National University
Email: [1][ANU request email]
Web http://universityrecords.anu.edu.au/
CRICOS Provider #00120C
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[ANU request email]
Dear Freedom of Information,
I agree to an extension until 6 May 2025.
Yours sincerely,
Bruce Phillip Jost
Good afternoon,
Much appreciated, Thank you
Regards
FOI Team
Scholarly Information Services
The Australian National University
Email: [ANU request email]
Web http://universityrecords.anu.edu.au/
CRICOS Provider #00120C
Good Morning,
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 as follows:
‘I would like to request all correspondance and documents made by ANU
staff in the Office of the Vice Chancellor, Office of the Chancellor, the
Corporate Governance & Risk Office, the Communications & Engagement
Office, and the ANU Council relating to Murray Hansen and/or Vinder
Consulting over the period 1 January 2020 – 8 March 2025. Please consider
correspondance to include emails, letters, communications made via Teams
and other messaging services’
As a result of searches conducted, documentation has been identified as
relevant to your request. On review of the documentation, it has been
determined that some of the documents refer to the personal and/or
business information of a third party. Accordingly, the University is
required to consult with that third party (under sections 27 and/or 27A of
the FOI Act) before making a decision on the release of the documents.
The consultation mechanism under sections 27 and 27A applies when we
believe the third party concerned might reasonably wish to contend that
the requested documents are exempt because their release would disclose
the business or personal information of that third party.
Accordingly, the period for processing your request has been extended by a
further 30 days in order to allow our agency time to consult with those
third parties concerned.
The processing period for your request will now end on 6 June 2025.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Team
Scholarly Information Services
The Australian National University
Email: [1][ANU request email]
Web: [2]https://www.anu.edu.au/freedom-of-inform...
TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12002 (Australian University) | CRICOS Provider
Code: 00120C | ABN: 52 234 063 906
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[ANU request email]
mailto:[ANU request email]
2. https://www.anu.edu.au/freedom-of-inform...
https://www.anu.edu.au/freedom-of-inform...
Dear Mr Jost,
Please find attached a notification of practical refusal in relation to
your FOI Request 202500032.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
Scholarly Information Services
The Australian National University
Email: [1][ANU request email]
Web: [2]https://www.anu.edu.au/freedom-of-inform...
TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12002 (Australian University) | CRICOS Provider
Code: 00120C | ABN: 52 234 063 906
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[ANU request email]
mailto:[ANU request email]
2. https://www.anu.edu.au/freedom-of-inform...
https://www.anu.edu.au/freedom-of-inform...
Dear Freedom of Information team,
Thank you for providing this information.
I understand from your response that the volume of correspondance regarding Vinder is particularly high given the questions at Estimates on 27 February 2025.
To that end, I would like to constrain the request to a more sedate time period, 1 January 2020 – 1 February 2025.
I trust that this will not create a substantial or unreasonable diversion of the resources.
Yours sincerely,
Bruce Phillip Jost
Dear Mr Jost,
Please find attached material released as part of FOI 202500024.
The Chancellor's Office has advised that this is all the documentation that they hold in relation to your FOI request.
We have submitted your revised search to the other areas named and are awaiting their responses.
We will update you when we have further information.
Kind regards,
ANU FOI Team
Dear Mr Jost,
We have been advised that all correspondence from the business areas you have listed is either publicly available via responses to questions on notice or other FOI releases that have been processed by the University.
- Documents created by the Chancellor's office have been released under FOI - this has been confirmed as the extent of documents held by that area through additional search and retrieval activities.
Available on the University's disclosure log:
https://www.anu.edu.au/freedom-of-inform...
- Office of the Vice-Chancellor hold no documents in relation to the revised date range
- The majority of ACE related documentation sits outside the date range and relates to QON responses or is publicly available via other FOI releases (such as FOI 202500024 that was previously provided to you). It is noteworthy that all QONs have been responded to and those responses and any revisions are publicly available on the APH website (https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Bus...)
The other documentation is available on the University's disclosure log:
https://www.anu.edu.au/freedom-of-inform...
The limited documentation from ACE that is not publicly available will be released to you shortly.
- CGRO holds no documentation in relation to the request.
- No documentation was provided to Council that refers to Murray Hansen/Vinder Consulting during the period you specified.
Kind regards,
ANU FOI Team
Dear Mr Jost,
Following on from the previous - the documentation referred to RE ACE sits outside of your revised scope, and therefore will not be released.
As all documentation is publicly accessible or does not exist, the University now deems this case to be finalised.
Kind regards,
ANU FOI Team
Dear Freedom of Information team,
Thank you for your confirmation that all the records matching my revised request are already in the public domain.
Yours sincerely,
Bruce Phillip Jost
Dear ANU FOI Team,
I am writing to request an internal review of Australian National University's handling of my FOI request 'Documents and correspondance relating to Murray Hansen or Vinder Consulting' (#202500032)
I am concerned that the outcome of the original decision may be based on an inadequate search for documents within the relevant business areas of the University. It appears unusual that such a limited volume of email correspondence exists, especially relative to the number of disclosed engagements undertaken by Vinder Consulting. This raises the possibility that someone in a relevant work area may have inadvertently conducted a poor or incomplete search.
Accordingly, I request that the University undertakes a further, thorough search for these documents—particularly email correspondence, and messages on platforms like Teams, WhatsApp, SMS, Signal, Slack, etc.—within the relevant areas.
Further, in accordance with the OAIC FOI Guidelines at paragraphs 3.90 and 3.94, I ask that the internal review process include proper documentation of the steps taken to search for documents. Specifically, the revised Guidelines at [3.90] require agencies to take reasonable steps to identify all documents relevant to the request, and at [3.94], agencies are encouraged to maintain written records of:
* the locations searched (including document management and email systems),
* the individuals consulted or involved in conducting the searches (or their positions if they are not senior executives),
* the search terms used, and
* the date and time of those searches.
Documenting and disclosing these search steps will allow for reassurance that reasonable steps have indeed been taken to locate all relevant material.
Thank you for your consideration of this internal review request. I look forward to your response.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/d...
Yours faithfully,
Bruce Phillip Jost