Honey Pots - 2015 / 2024
Dear Australian Federal Police,
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, I request access to any documents, internal reports, operational guidelines, or training materials created between 2015 and 2024 relating to the use of romantic, sexual, or otherwise intimate relationships as tools or vectors in surveillance, informant development, or covert behavioural influence operations.
This includes any references to entrapment, manipulation via relationships, or psychological targeting conducted under state or federal law enforcement authority.
I am not seeking personal or identifying information and accept redacted versions. Please provide in electronic format.
Yours faithfully,
M.M
OFFICIAL
Dear M.M,
Please note, we have recently updated our Freedom of Information webform
which is our preferred method for FOI request submissions. It would be
greatly appreciated when submitting requests in the future if you could
please lodge them through the FOI [1]webform.
I refer to your request dated 27 May 2025, seeking access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act) as follows:
Request:
I request access to any documents, internal reports, operational
guidelines, or training materials created between 2015 and 2024 relating
to the use of romantic, sexual, or otherwise intimate relationships as
tools or vectors in surveillance, informant development, or covert
behavioural influence operations.
This includes any references to entrapment, manipulation via
relationships, or psychological targeting conducted under state or federal
law enforcement authority.
Timeframe – Seeking your agreement to an extension of time:
Upon consideration of your request, the AFP is of the view that your
request will take longer than 30 days to process. The delay is
regrettable, however, due to an excessive number of requests that have
come through our office it will not be possible to advise you of a
decision by 26 June 2025.
Accordingly, pursuant to section 15AA of the Act, I seek your agreement to
extend the period by 30 days to notify you of a decision by 28 July 2025.
I would be grateful if you would advise this office in writing of your
agreement to the proposed extension of time by close of business Tuesday,
3 June 2025.
Consents – Please provide your response:
Please advise this office whether you consent to exclude the following
information:
o Identifying information of AFP members and Commonwealth employees
below SES level (names, ID numbers, signatures, images) (AFP members
and Commonwealth employees);
o AFP and Commonwealth agency contact details other than the official
public channels (direct telephone numbers and email addresses);
o Job titles of AFP members and Commonwealth employees below SES;
o Draft documents;
o Personal information of any individual other than you from the
documents you are seeking;
o Information provided by third parties to the AFP from the documents
you are seeking;
o All information about any third parties from the documents you are
seeking;
o Duplicate documents; and
o Documents you have already provided to us, or that we have already
sent to you.
Information Publication Scheme:
Please be advised that effective 1 May 2011 and in accordance with section
8(2) of the Act, an agency is required to publish information on the AFP
website following the notification of a decision in respect of a freedom
of information request. Details of the decision will be published in a
Disclosure Log which can be found at
[2]https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/informat....
The requirement to publish information released under FOI reinforces the
objectives of the FOI Act to promote a pro-disclosure culture across
government, and to increase recognition that information held by
government is a national resource. Exceptions to the requirement to
publish information would apply to personal information and information
concerning the business affairs of a person if it was considered
‘unreasonable’ to do so.
If however, after noting the above, you wish to raise any concerns about
the publication of information concerning your request prior to the
notification of a decision, please advise the AFP in writing before 26
June 2025
If you have any queries in relation to this matter, please do not hesitate
to contact our team at [3][AFP request email].
Yours sincerely,
AFP 28349
AFP 28349
FOI SUPPORT OFFICER | GENERAL COUNSEL - CORPORATE
CHIEF LEGAL COUNSEL
[4]Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police acknowledges the Traditional Owners and
Custodians of Country
throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and
community. We pay
our respects to First Nations people, culture and Elders past, present and
emerging.
Dear FOI Support Officer,
Thank you for your correspondence regarding my FOI request dated 27 May 2025.
⸻
Extension of Time
I consent to the proposed 30-day extension under section 15AA of the Act. Please consider this written agreement to notify me of your decision by 28 July 2025.
⸻
Consents – Exclusion of Information
In relation to your request to exclude certain categories of information, please note the following:
• I do not consent to the blanket exclusion of:
• Draft documents,
• Information provided by third parties,
• Information about third parties, or
• Duplicate documents.
These categories may be central to identifying covert policy mechanisms or systemic practices relevant to the scope of this request. Their exclusion could compromise the integrity of the information being sought.
• I do consent to the exclusion of:
• Names, ID numbers, signatures, and contact details of AFP members and Commonwealth employees below SES level,
• Personal information of any individuals other than myself,
• Internal contact details, provided official public channels remain available,
• Previously supplied or received documents.
⸻
Information Publication Scheme
While I understand your obligations under the Information Publication Scheme (IPS), I formally request that publication of any documents associated with this FOI request be deferred until I have received and reviewed them in full.
Should I determine that any information contained in the response presents personal sensitivities, operational risk, or strategic considerations related to my ongoing legal matters, I will notify your office prior to 26 June 2025 of any objections to publication in the Disclosure Log.
⸻
Final Notes
Please ensure that your search includes documents classified as “informal guidance,” “operational notes,” “internal communications,” and “multi-agency collaborations” where applicable. My interest lies specifically in systemic practices involving psychological manipulation, entrapment through relationships, and behavioural influence operations carried out with the approval, oversight, or awareness of federal authorities.
If any part of this request is unclear or requires refinement to assist in the proper identification and retrieval of documents, I am happy to clarify.
⸻
Kind regards,
M.M
OFFICIAL
Dear M.M,
I refer to your request under the Freedom of Information Act (1982) on 27
May 2025 made in the following terms:
Request:
I request access to any documents, internal reports, operational
guidelines, or training materials created between 2015 and 2024 relating
to the use of romantic, sexual, or otherwise intimate relationships as
tools or vectors in surveillance, informant development, or covert
behavioural influence operations.
This includes any references to entrapment, manipulation via
relationships, or psychological targeting conducted under state or federal
law enforcement authority.
On consideration of your scope in its current form I believe that your
request for “any documents” in relation to the subject matter would be
too broad to process and would constitute a practical refusal reason under
section 24AA of the Act.
It would not be feasible to conduct searches across the entire
organisation to determine whether any documents relating to the subject
matters specified existed.
Before proceeding to a formal intention to refuse your request, I am
contacting you informally to see if you would be agreeable to revise your
request to the following:
Operational guidelines or training materials created between 2015 and 2024
relating to the use of romantic, sexual, or otherwise intimate
relationships as tools or vectors in surveillance, informant development,
or covert behavioural influence operations.
This includes any references to entrapment, manipulation via
relationships, or psychological targeting conducted under state or federal
law enforcement authority.
This would allow for searches to be conducted with relevant command areas
tasked with developing resources to determine if they exist.
Please provide a response to this revision request by 13 June 2025 in
order to continue processing your request.
DANIEL (AFP 27683)
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OFFICER | COMMERCIAL, GOVERNANCE & INFORMATION
AFP LEGAL – CORPORATE | CHIEF COUNSEL PORTFOLIO
[1]Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police acknowledges the Traditional Owners and
Custodians of Country
throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and
community. We pay
our respects to First Nations people, culture and Elders past, present and
emerging.
References
Visible links
1. http://www.afp.gov.au/
OFFICIAL
Dear M.M,
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your request for access
to documents held by the Australian Federal Police under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth), LEX 4118.
Kind Regards,
JORDYN
PARALEGAL, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION | COMMERCIAL, GOVERNANCE & INFORMATION
AFP LEGAL – CORPORATE | CHIEF COUNSEL PORTFOLIO
[1]Australian Federal Police
References
Visible links
1. http://www.afp.gov.au/