Freedom of Information Request – Legal Expenditures and Case Outcomes by the eSafety Commissioner
Dear eSafety Commissioner,
I am submitting a request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) for access to documents relating to legal expenditures and litigation outcomes involving the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.
I request access to the following documents:
1. Legal Expenditures
A breakdown of total legal costs incurred by the eSafety Commissioner from 1 January 2023 to the present, including:
External legal fees (law firms, counsel)
Internal legal costs
Court filing or hearing fees
Settlement costs (if any)
Any reimbursements or cost orders (either awarded or paid)
2. Case Information
A list of all legal actions or proceedings the eSafety Commissioner has been involved in (either as applicant or respondent) during the same period, including:
Name of case and court/tribunal
General nature of the case (e.g. takedown dispute, regulatory enforcement, free speech challenge)
Outcome of the case (win/loss/settled/withdrawn)
Whether a cost order was issued (and against whom)
3. Internal Assessments or Briefings
Any internal documents, ministerial briefings, or legal memos assessing:
The anticipated cost or risk of initiating these legal proceedings.
Concerns raised about reputational, constitutional, or financial risk of these actions.
Format & Scope
I request that the information be provided in digital form (PDF, DOCX, or CSV preferred).
If documents are held in report form, I am happy to receive a summary or extract under s17 of the FOI Act (creation of documents).
If any parts of this request are too broad, I would appreciate assistance under s24AB of the FOI Act to revise the scope.
Yours faithfully,
Justin Counsell
[email address]
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant
I am writing to acknowledge your request under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) received on 1 September 2025.
Unless you request otherwise, we will redact the names and personal
information of public servants on relevance grounds pursuant to section 22
of the FOI Act. We will also proceed on the basis that you do not require
duplicates or drafts of material in scope.
The FOI Act allows 30 days for processing your request. This period may be
extended for charges and third-party consultation. We will let you know if
this occurs.
We will contact you at the email address above unless you advise
otherwise. Any documents released to you as part of this decision will be
published on our disclosure log unless one of the relevant exceptions
apply. Further information about the FOI Act, including eSafety’s
publication obligations, is available on our website at
[1]https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/corp....
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
[2]eSafety logo Email-Signautre
[3]Email-Footers icons3[4]esafety.gov.au
[5]Email-Footers iconsT[6]Email-Footers iconsF[7]Email-Footers iconsL
eSafety acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and
to Elders past, present and emerging.
-----Original Message-----
From: Justin Counsell
Sent: Monday, 1 September 2025 1:52 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Freedom of Information Request –
Legal Expenditures and Case Outcomes by the eSafety Commissioner
[You don't often get email from
[8][FOI #13562 email]. Learn why this is
important at [9]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear eSafety Commissioner,
I am submitting a request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)
for access to documents relating to legal expenditures and litigation
outcomes involving the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.
I request access to the following documents:
1. Legal Expenditures
A breakdown of total legal costs incurred by the eSafety Commissioner from
1 January 2023 to the present, including:
External legal fees (law firms, counsel)
Internal legal costs
Court filing or hearing fees
Settlement costs (if any)
Any reimbursements or cost orders (either awarded or paid)
2. Case Information
A list of all legal actions or proceedings the eSafety Commissioner has
been involved in (either as applicant or respondent) during the same
period, including:
Name of case and court/tribunal
General nature of the case (e.g. takedown dispute, regulatory enforcement,
free speech challenge)
Outcome of the case (win/loss/settled/withdrawn)
Whether a cost order was issued (and against whom)
3. Internal Assessments or Briefings
Any internal documents, ministerial briefings, or legal memos assessing:
The anticipated cost or risk of initiating these legal proceedings.
Concerns raised about reputational, constitutional, or financial risk of
these actions.
Format & Scope
I request that the information be provided in digital form (PDF, DOCX, or
CSV preferred).
If documents are held in report form, I am happy to receive a summary or
extract under s17 of the FOI Act (creation of documents).
If any parts of this request are too broad, I would appreciate assistance
under s24AB of the FOI Act to revise the scope.
Yours faithfully,
Justin Counsell
[10][email address]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[11][FOI #13562 email]
Is [12][eSafety Commissioner request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to eSafety Commissioner? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[13]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:
[14]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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recipient(s)
and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized
review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the
intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy
all
copies of the original message.
References
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OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant
I refer to your request below, to which our response is now past due.
We sincerely apologise for our delay and have been working to provide you
with a response as soon as we can.
To this end, we now ask whether you would be open to granting us an
extension pursuant to section 15AA of the FOI Act to Monday 13 October
2025 to ensure that all relevant expenditure is appropriately captured in
our response. We will, of course, provide you with a decision ahead of
that time if we are able.
Thank you again for your patience in this matter.
We look forward to receiving your response.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
[1]eSafety logo Email-Signautre
[2]Email-Footers icons3[3]esafety.gov.au
[4]Email-Footers iconsT[5]Email-Footers iconsF[6]Email-Footers iconsL
eSafety acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and
to Elders past, present and emerging.
From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, 11 September 2025 4:34 PM
To: 'Justin Counsell' <[FOI #13562 email]>
Subject: FOI 25177 - Acknowledgement of request [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant
I am writing to acknowledge your request under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) received on 1 September 2025.
Unless you request otherwise, we will redact the names and personal
information of public servants on relevance grounds pursuant to section 22
of the FOI Act. We will also proceed on the basis that you do not require
duplicates or drafts of material in scope.
The FOI Act allows 30 days for processing your request. This period may be
extended for charges and third-party consultation. We will let you know if
this occurs.
We will contact you at the email address above unless you advise
otherwise. Any documents released to you as part of this decision will be
published on our disclosure log unless one of the relevant exceptions
apply. Further information about the FOI Act, including eSafety’s
publication obligations, is available on our website at
[7]https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/corp....
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
[8]eSafety logo Email-Signautre
[9]Email-Footers icons3[10]esafety.gov.au
[11]Email-Footers iconsT[12]Email-Footers iconsF[13]Email-Footers iconsL
eSafety acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and
to Elders past, present and emerging.
-----Original Message-----
From: Justin Counsell
Sent: Monday, 1 September 2025 1:52 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Freedom of Information Request –
Legal Expenditures and Case Outcomes by the eSafety Commissioner
[You don't often get email from
[14][FOI #13562 email]. Learn why this is
important at [15]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear eSafety Commissioner,
I am submitting a request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)
for access to documents relating to legal expenditures and litigation
outcomes involving the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.
I request access to the following documents:
1. Legal Expenditures
A breakdown of total legal costs incurred by the eSafety Commissioner from
1 January 2023 to the present, including:
External legal fees (law firms, counsel)
Internal legal costs
Court filing or hearing fees
Settlement costs (if any)
Any reimbursements or cost orders (either awarded or paid)
2. Case Information
A list of all legal actions or proceedings the eSafety Commissioner has
been involved in (either as applicant or respondent) during the same
period, including:
Name of case and court/tribunal
General nature of the case (e.g. takedown dispute, regulatory enforcement,
free speech challenge)
Outcome of the case (win/loss/settled/withdrawn)
Whether a cost order was issued (and against whom)
3. Internal Assessments or Briefings
Any internal documents, ministerial briefings, or legal memos assessing:
The anticipated cost or risk of initiating these legal proceedings.
Concerns raised about reputational, constitutional, or financial risk of
these actions.
Format & Scope
I request that the information be provided in digital form (PDF, DOCX, or
CSV preferred).
If documents are held in report form, I am happy to receive a summary or
extract under s17 of the FOI Act (creation of documents).
If any parts of this request are too broad, I would appreciate assistance
under s24AB of the FOI Act to revise the scope.
Yours faithfully,
Justin Counsell
[16][email address]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[17][FOI #13562 email]
Is [18][eSafety Commissioner request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to eSafety Commissioner? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[19]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:
[20]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended
recipient(s)
and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized
review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the
intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy
all
copies of the original message.
References
Visible links
1. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
3. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
4. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
5. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
6. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
7. https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/corp...
8. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
10. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
11. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
12. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
13. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
14. mailto:[FOI #13562 email]
15. https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific...
16. mailto:[email address]
17. mailto:[FOI #13562 email]
18. mailto:[eSafety Commissioner request email]
19. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
20. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...