Documents relating to Australia Post's request for ongoing access to Telecommunications Data

Richard Smith made this Freedom of Information request to Australian Postal Corporation

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.

Richard Smith

Dear Australian Postal Corporation,

In 2015 the Commonwealth Attorney-General, under Freedom of Information, released a list of Government Agencies, Departments and Authorities that had applied for ongoing access to Telecommunication Data of Australians.

The Australian Postal Corporation was present in the two lists released under the FOI release, having applied for access to both historical Telecommunications Data and ongoing Telecommunications Data of Australians.

I therefore request the following Government Information:

a) Documents relating to the Australian Postal Corporation's consideration and decision to apply for ongoing access to Telecommunications Data as per the TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION AND ACCESS) ACT 1979;

b) The date of each Application made by Australian Postal Corporation for access to Telecommunications Data under the TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION AND ACCESS) ACT 1979;

c) Documents relating to how Australian Postal Corporation deals with the privacy of data obtained through access to ongoing access to Telecommunications Data as per TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION AND ACCESS) ACT 1979, including how the data received is obtained, assessed, stored and ultimately destroyed;

d) The number of documents containing data obtained by the Australian Postal Corporation through its ongoing access to Telecommunication Data; and

e) The number of documents containing data obtained by the Australian Postal Corporation through its ongoing access to Telecommunication Data that the Australian Postal Corporation has determined are not likely to be required for a permitted purpose and therefore has destroyed, for the period of time from since the commencement of ongoing access to the data was granted until 17th March 2017.

For the avoidance of doubt, each reference to Australian Postal Corporation also includes the trading name Australia Post.

To assist you with your processing of your response, I am interested primarily in the following points, which I consider to be of significant public interest:

1) why the Australian Postal Corporation thinks that it requires access to the Telecommunications Data of Australians, considering there appears to be very few legitimate reasons that the Australian Postal Corporation would require ongoing access to the phonecall and internet browsing details of Australians to further its role of supplying postal services to Australia; and

2) the scale of Telecommunications Data of Australians being obtained, handled, stored and ultimately destroyed by Australian Postal Corporation.

If this can be answered as informal request, please do so.

Otherwise, please proceed with this as a formal request under the Freedom of Information principles & framework, i.e. the Freedom of Information Act 1982 & other associated guidelines and regulations.

Yours faithfully,

Richard Smith

foi, Australian Postal Corporation

Hi there,

 

Thank you for your email to Freedom of Information (FOI) at Australia
Post. If your request meets the requirements for a valid FOI request, an
acknowledgement letter will be sent to you within 14 days.

 

Otherwise, we will contact you to discuss your request.

 

Australia Post is committed to providing our customers with excellent
service. If we can assist you in any way please telephone 13 13 18 or
visit our website.

The information contained in this email communication may be proprietary,
confidential or legally professionally privileged. It is intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. You
should only read, disclose, re-transmit, copy, distribute, act in reliance
on or commercialise the information if you are authorised to do so.
Australia Post does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity
of this email communication has been maintained nor that the communication
is free of errors, virus or interference.

If you are not the addressee or intended recipient please notify us by
replying direct to the sender and then destroy any electronic or paper
copy of this message. Any views expressed in this email communication are
taken to be those of the individual sender, except where the sender
specifically attributes those views to Australia Post and is authorised to
do so.

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

foi, Australian Postal Corporation

1 Attachment

Good afternoon Mr Smith,

Find attached Australia Post's acknowledgement of your request.

Regards,

Anna Oliver
FOI Officer
Australia Post
[Australia Post request email]

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Smith [mailto:[FOI #3264 email]]
Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2017 2:42 PM
To: foi <[Australia Post request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Documents relating to Australia Post's request for ongoing access to Telecommunications Data

Dear Australian Postal Corporation,

In 2015 the Commonwealth Attorney-General, under Freedom of Information, released a list of Government Agencies, Departments and Authorities that had applied for ongoing access to Telecommunication Data of Australians.

The Australian Postal Corporation was present in the two lists released under the FOI release, having applied for access to both historical Telecommunications Data and ongoing Telecommunications Data of Australians.

I therefore request the following Government Information:

a) Documents relating to the Australian Postal Corporation's consideration and decision to apply for ongoing access to Telecommunications Data as per the TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION AND ACCESS) ACT 1979;

b) The date of each Application made by Australian Postal Corporation for access to Telecommunications Data under the TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION AND ACCESS) ACT 1979;

c) Documents relating to how Australian Postal Corporation deals with the privacy of data obtained through access to ongoing access to Telecommunications Data as per TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION AND ACCESS) ACT 1979, including how the data received is obtained, assessed, stored and ultimately destroyed;

d) The number of documents containing data obtained by the Australian Postal Corporation through its ongoing access to Telecommunication Data; and

e) The number of documents containing data obtained by the Australian Postal Corporation through its ongoing access to Telecommunication Data that the Australian Postal Corporation has determined are not likely to be required for a permitted purpose and therefore has destroyed, for the period of time from since the commencement of ongoing access to the data was granted until 17th March 2017.

For the avoidance of doubt, each reference to Australian Postal Corporation also includes the trading name Australia Post.

To assist you with your processing of your response, I am interested primarily in the following points, which I consider to be of significant public interest:

1) why the Australian Postal Corporation thinks that it requires access to the Telecommunications Data of Australians, considering there appears to be very few legitimate reasons that the Australian Postal Corporation would require ongoing access to the phonecall and internet browsing details of Australians to further its role of supplying postal services to Australia; and

2) the scale of Telecommunications Data of Australians being obtained, handled, stored and ultimately destroyed by Australian Postal Corporation.

If this can be answered as informal request, please do so.

Otherwise, please proceed with this as a formal request under the Freedom of Information principles & framework, i.e. the Freedom of Information Act 1982 & other associated guidelines and regulations.

Yours faithfully,

Richard Smith

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #3264 email]

Is [Australia Post request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Australian Postal Corporation? If so, please contact us using this form:
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:
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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Australia Post is committed to providing our customers with excellent service. If we can assist you in any way please telephone 13 13 18 or visit our website.

The information contained in this email communication may be proprietary, confidential or legally professionally privileged. It is intended exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. You should only read, disclose, re-transmit, copy, distribute, act in reliance on or commercialise the information if you are authorised to do so. Australia Post does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this email communication has been maintained nor that the communication is free of errors, virus or interference.

If you are not the addressee or intended recipient please notify us by replying direct to the sender and then destroy any electronic or paper copy of this message. Any views expressed in this email communication are taken to be those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifically attributes those views to Australia Post and is authorised to do so.

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

hide quoted sections

Richard Smith

Dear Ms Oliver,

Thank you for your update on my request.

I shall await your response in due course.

Kinds Regards,

Richard Smith

foi, Australian Postal Corporation

1 Attachment

Good afternoon Mr Smith,

Find attached my response to your request for information which was sent to Australia Post on 19 March 2017.

Regards,

Anna Oliver
FOI Officer
Australia Post
[Australia Post request email]

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Smith [mailto:[FOI #3264 email]]
Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2017 2:42 PM
To: foi <[Australia Post request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Documents relating to Australia Post's request for ongoing access to Telecommunications Data

Dear Australian Postal Corporation,

In 2015 the Commonwealth Attorney-General, under Freedom of Information, released a list of Government Agencies, Departments and Authorities that had applied for ongoing access to Telecommunication Data of Australians.

The Australian Postal Corporation was present in the two lists released under the FOI release, having applied for access to both historical Telecommunications Data and ongoing Telecommunications Data of Australians.

I therefore request the following Government Information:

a) Documents relating to the Australian Postal Corporation's consideration and decision to apply for ongoing access to Telecommunications Data as per the TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION AND ACCESS) ACT 1979;

b) The date of each Application made by Australian Postal Corporation for access to Telecommunications Data under the TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION AND ACCESS) ACT 1979;

c) Documents relating to how Australian Postal Corporation deals with the privacy of data obtained through access to ongoing access to Telecommunications Data as per TELECOMMUNICATIONS (INTERCEPTION AND ACCESS) ACT 1979, including how the data received is obtained, assessed, stored and ultimately destroyed;

d) The number of documents containing data obtained by the Australian Postal Corporation through its ongoing access to Telecommunication Data; and

e) The number of documents containing data obtained by the Australian Postal Corporation through its ongoing access to Telecommunication Data that the Australian Postal Corporation has determined are not likely to be required for a permitted purpose and therefore has destroyed, for the period of time from since the commencement of ongoing access to the data was granted until 17th March 2017.

For the avoidance of doubt, each reference to Australian Postal Corporation also includes the trading name Australia Post.

To assist you with your processing of your response, I am interested primarily in the following points, which I consider to be of significant public interest:

1) why the Australian Postal Corporation thinks that it requires access to the Telecommunications Data of Australians, considering there appears to be very few legitimate reasons that the Australian Postal Corporation would require ongoing access to the phonecall and internet browsing details of Australians to further its role of supplying postal services to Australia; and

2) the scale of Telecommunications Data of Australians being obtained, handled, stored and ultimately destroyed by Australian Postal Corporation.

If this can be answered as informal request, please do so.

Otherwise, please proceed with this as a formal request under the Freedom of Information principles & framework, i.e. the Freedom of Information Act 1982 & other associated guidelines and regulations.

Yours faithfully,

Richard Smith

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #3264 email]

Is [Australia Post request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Australian Postal Corporation? If so, please contact us using this form:
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:
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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Australia Post is committed to providing our customers with excellent service. If we can assist you in any way please telephone 13 13 18 or visit our website.

The information contained in this email communication may be proprietary, confidential or legally professionally privileged. It is intended exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. You should only read, disclose, re-transmit, copy, distribute, act in reliance on or commercialise the information if you are authorised to do so. Australia Post does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this email communication has been maintained nor that the communication is free of errors, virus or interference.

If you are not the addressee or intended recipient please notify us by replying direct to the sender and then destroy any electronic or paper copy of this message. Any views expressed in this email communication are taken to be those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifically attributes those views to Australia Post and is authorised to do so.

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

hide quoted sections

Richard Smith

Dear Ms Oliver,

I would like to thank you for providing the Government Information that I requested on an informal administrative basis.

I have reviewed the information provided in your response of 5 April 2017 and would like to acknowledge that, despite Australia Post taking up my offer to deal with my request outside of the formal framework of the FOI Act, you have addressed my request in a very comprehensive manner.

I also note that Australia Post have also responded without requesting any payment or fees and well before the statutory timeframe as contemplated in the Act had elapsed (notwithstanding that the request had been treated as an informal administrative request).

Other Commonwealth Agencies could stand to learn a thing or two from your attention to detail and your efficiency.

Thank you again.

Kind Regards,

Richard Smith

foi, Australian Postal Corporation

Thank you Mr Smith,

Your feedback is appreciated.

Regards,

Anna Oliver
FOI Officer
Australia Post
[Australia Post request email]

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Smith [mailto:[FOI #3264 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, April 5, 2017 10:12 PM
To: foi <[Australia Post request email]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Documents relating to Australia Post's request for ongoing access to Telecommunications Data

Dear Ms Oliver,

I would like to thank you for providing the Government Information that I requested on an informal administrative basis.

I have reviewed the information provided in your response of 5 April 2017 and would like to acknowledge that, despite Australia Post taking up my offer to deal with my request outside of the formal framework of the FOI Act, you have addressed my request in a very comprehensive manner.

I also note that Australia Post have also responded without requesting any payment or fees and well before the statutory timeframe as contemplated in the Act had elapsed (notwithstanding that the request had been treated as an informal administrative request).

Other Commonwealth Agencies could stand to learn a thing or two from your attention to detail and your efficiency.

Thank you again.

Kind Regards,

Richard Smith

-----Original Message-----

Good afternoon Mr Smith,

Find attached my response to your request for information which was sent to Australia Post on 19 March 2017.

Regards,

Anna Oliver
FOI Officer
Australia Post
[Australia Post request email]

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #3264 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:
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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Australia Post is committed to providing our customers with excellent service. If we can assist you in any way please telephone 13 13 18 or visit our website.

The information contained in this email communication may be proprietary, confidential or legally professionally privileged. It is intended exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. You should only read, disclose, re-transmit, copy, distribute, act in reliance on or commercialise the information if you are authorised to do so. Australia Post does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this email communication has been maintained nor that the communication is free of errors, virus or interference.

If you are not the addressee or intended recipient please notify us by replying direct to the sender and then destroy any electronic or paper copy of this message. Any views expressed in this email communication are taken to be those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifically attributes those views to Australia Post and is authorised to do so.

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

hide quoted sections