Documents regarding Mahmood Fazal and Friendlyjordies
Hi ABC FOI team,
I hereby request, under the Freedom of Information Act (1982) (FOI Act), the following documents:
1. All documents, in any format (including but not limited to text messages, WhatsApp, Signal, emails, PDF files, etc.) created between 1 November 2022 to 28 October 2025 which match the following keywords:
i) "Mahmood Fazal" and "Friendlyjordies"
ii) "Mahmood Fazal" and "Jordan Shanks"
iii) "Mahmood Fazal" and "Jordies"
iv) "Mahmood Fazal" and "Alameddine"
To assist the ABC in more promptly processing the request, I preemptively agree to the exclusion of:
a) duplicates of documents;
b) duplicate email chains;
c) draft versions of a document where a later version exists;
d) publicly available documents;
e) personal information (including names and contact details) of ABC staff (although job titles are to remain), EXCEPT FOR where the name "Mahmood Fazal" is mentioned, which is to still be included.
Given the details I am requesting, the ABC will likely require a 30 day extension to consult a third party. As a show of good faith, I also proactively agree to a further extension of up to 30 days under s. 15AA of the FOI Act.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel M
ABC FOI 202526-057
Daniel M
The ABC acknowledges receipt of your freedom of information request below, sent on Tuesday 28 October 2025, seeking access to:
... under the Freedom of Information Act (1982) (FOI Act), the following documents:
1. All documents, in any format (including but not limited to text messages, WhatsApp, Signal, emails, PDF files, etc.) created between 1 November 2022 to 28 October 2025 which match the following keywords:
i) "Mahmood Fazal" and "Friendlyjordies"
ii) "Mahmood Fazal" and "Jordan Shanks"
iii) "Mahmood Fazal" and "Jordies"
iv) "Mahmood Fazal" and "Alameddine"
[excluding]
...
e) personal information (including names and contact details) of ABC staff (although job titles are to remain), EXCEPT FOR where the name "Mahmood Fazal" is mentioned, which is to still be included.
We note you have agreed below to the exclusion of draft documents or duplicates.
Thank you for noting below you have agreed to an extension of 30 days under s 15AA of the FOI Act, this means your request is currently due on Monday 29 December 2025 subject to any extensions of time for consultation. The ABC will notify you if any processing charges apply.
By making a FOI request, you are providing personal information to the ABC. The ABC manages personal information in accordance with its https://help.abc.net.au/hc/en-us/article.... Personal information may be disclosed in the course of processing this request, such as for the purposes of consultation or internal reporting.
Many thanks,
ABC FOI team
13 9994
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Hi ABC FOI team,
Thank you for your reply.
As you may be aware, there have been recent discussions and videos posted online with respect to Mahmood Fazal and Friendlyjordies. The allegations are squarely in the public interest, as they relate to an employee of the ABC's Four Corners programme making threats to and about a fellow journalist.
As such, I wish to revise my FOI request as follows:
- In point 1, replace the specified date period with "between 1 November 2022 to 4 November 2025"
- In point 1, add the following keywords to be searched:
v) "RZBQe4RLdZ8" (this being the video ID for the Friendlyjordies video covering the subject - note that this would be included as part of a URL, e.g. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZBQe4RLdZ8)
If this requires a new FOI request, please let me know. I proactively agree to any changes to the due date which arise out of this revision to my request.
I sincerely appreciate your assistance with this matter.
Best regards,
Daniel M
ABC FOI 202526-057
Hi Daniel M
Your current FOI request was sent on 28 October 2025. This means documents must be existing on or before this date.
We suggest you send an email stating you now wish to withdraw this request (FOI 057) and we will close it.
Please then make a new request, in a separate and new email chain, and we will assign a new file number. That request can include later dated documents if that is your preference (ending on the day it is made).
Regarding the time period, it is unclear why documents would predate 2024. If you can be clear about why you request 3 calendar years of searches. When you make the new request, please also specify the names of ABC staff or teams to conduct searches allow to reasonable targeted searches to be made.
Many thanks
ABC FOI team
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians
and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.
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.
Hi ABC FOI team,
No problem, I will submit a new request. Please consider FOI 202526-057 withdrawn. I hope you know that I am not seeking to be difficult; my goal simply was to revise the request, however I absolutely understand and accept that this cannot be done without submitting a new one. Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel
ABC FOI 202526-057
Confirming the ABC has closed this request as withdrawn by agreement on 4 November 2025.
This file is now closed.
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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.
Daniel left an annotation ()
Revised FOI request: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/d...