OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Peterson

I refer to your request dated 16 March 2023, seeking access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act) as follows:

Under the freedom of information Act, I am requesting access to the
following:

And documents which include the phrase

"operation angel watch"

And

Any documents which include the phrase

"Angel watch"

Timeframe

Your request was received by the AFP on 16 March 2023, and the 30 day
statutory period for processing your request commenced from that date. The
due date for your request is 17 April 2023.

Information irrelevant to the scope of your request

The AFP, in its management of FOI requests, excludes the following
information on the basis that is irrelevant to the scope of a request:

-      duplicate documents, including duplicate emails (the AFP will only
provide emails where they form a final email chain and the
authors/recipients are contained within the final email); and

-      information that is publicly available, for example, newspaper
articles, online publications including information available on the AFP
Information Publication Scheme and the AFP disclosure log.

-       

Please advise this office that you also consent to exclude the following
information:    

-      Names of AFP members, other than the Senior Executive; and

-      Direct telephone numbers, middle names of AFP members, signatures
and mobile telephone numbers of AFP members.

Disclosure of your identity

The AFP may be required to consult with third parties in accordance with
sections 26A, 27 and 27A of the Act. Please advise us if you consent to
the AFP identifying you as the FOI applicant for the purposes of the
consultation.  If we do not receive your consent, we will not disclose
your identity to third parties.

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
[1]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 17
April 2023

If you have any queries in relation to this matter, please do not hesitate
to contact our team at [2][AFP request email].

Kind regards

CALLUM (AFP 26632)

PARALEGAL
CHIEF COUNSEL PORTFOLIO
[3]www.afp.gov.au
[4]Australian Federal Police

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/informat...
2. mailto:[AFP request email]
3. http://www.afp.gov.au/
4. http://www.afp.gov.au/

OFFICIAL

OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Peterson

I refer to your request dated 16 March 2023 seeking access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act).

As your request covers documents which contains information relating to a
third party, the Australian Federal Police is required to consult with the
third party before making a decision on the release of those documents. 

Sub-section 15(8) of the Act provides for an extension of 30 days to the
statutory 30 day time limit for processing requests.  The statutory
timeframe for your application commenced on 16 March 2023 and the original
due date was 17 April 2023. As a result of the above third party
consultations, the deadline for notifying you of a decision will now
expire on 15 May 2023.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Kind regards

CALLUM (AFP 26632)

PARALEGAL
CHIEF COUNSEL PORTFOLIO
[1]www.afp.gov.au
[2]Australian Federal Police

[3]cid:image002.gif@01D96633.8CC7F460

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OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Peterson

I write regarding your FOI request below. I am in the process of
progressing your request, however unfortunately do not believe the AFP
will be in a position to provide you an outcome by the due date 15 May
2023. As per my email to you sent on 3 April 2023, the AFP was/is required
to undertake third party consultations pursuant to s15(8) of the Act.
There have been delays in this process due to the large volume of
documents located, the complexity of the information and the subject
matter involved as well as the need undertake further consultation with
line areas to ensure all documents relevant to the scope of your request
are located and these documents are assessed and processed in accordance
with the FOI Act. Unfortunately, due to these delays it will not be
possible to advise you of a decision by 15 May 2023.

Accordingly, pursuant to section 15AA of the Act, I seek your agreement to
extend the period to notify you of a decision to 14 June 2023.

I would be grateful if you would advise this office in writing of your
agreement to the proposed extension of time by 11 May 2023. 

If you have any queries in relation to this matter, please do not hesitate
to contact this office.

Kind regards

CALLUM (AFP 26632)

PARALEGAL
CHIEF COUNSEL PORTFOLIO
[1]www.afp.gov.au
[2]Australian Federal Police

[3]cid:image002.gif@01D9819C.00C91640

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OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Peterson,

I apologise for the delay in providing you a status update regarding your
request.

In terms of an update, on 13 June 2023 I wrote to the OAIC requesting an
extension pursuant to s15AB. Unfortunately at the time I had not yet
received a response from the relevant third party regarding our request
for consultation. I can confirm now that a response has been provided and
accordingly I can continue towards finalising your request. Unfortunately
I was unable to do this prior to receiving this consultation response, as
some of the documents originated elsewhere and it would not be appropriate
for me to make a decision regarding their release without comment from the
original source.

The extension I had requested under s15AB was for a period of 30 days and
I believe that would be well sufficient to finalise review of the
documents, obtain clearance and finally notify you of an outcome.

Unfortunately at this stage, until the s15AB extension is fulfilled, the
decision has been ‘deemed refused’. This unfortunately means that an
internal review is unavailable at this stage. However, should you wish to
seek a review, you may apply to the OAIC for an Information Commissioner
review. Applications for IC review may be lodged by email
([email address]), using the OAIC’s online application form (available
at www.oaic.gov.au) or addressed to:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

GPO Box 5128

Sydney NSW 2001

Kind regards

CALLUM (AFP 26632)
PARALEGAL
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.

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OAIC reference number: RQ23/03469

Agency reference number: LEX1474

Mr Iain Peterson

By email: [FOI #10071 email]

Decision to grant an extension of time under s 15AB of the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act)

Dear Mr Peterson

Please find attached an extension of time decision relating to your FOI
request. A copy of this decision has been provided to the AFP today.

Yours sincerely

[1][IMG]   Noah Harris

Assistant Review Adviser

Freedom of Information Regulatory Group

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

P 1300 363 992  E [2][email address]
 
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people,
cultures and Elders past and present.  

[3]Subscribe to Information Matters

Notice:

The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/n...

Dear Mr Peterson

Thank you for your email, which was sent to the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner (OAIC) but appeared to be addressed to the
Australian Federal Police (AFP).

If you did not receive a decision from the AFP by the extended decision
due date, which resulted in a deemed access refusal decision by the AFP on
your FOI request, it is open to you to seek Information Commissioner
review (IC review) using our online Information Commissioner Review
Application form, available at
[1]https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms...
. Please note that an application for IC review must generally be made
within 60 days of being notified of an agency or a Minister’s decision to
refuse access to some or all documents (including a deemed access refusal
where an FOI applicant has not received a decision from an agency or a
Minister). Further information on applying for IC review is available on
our website at
[2]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
.

I trust this information is of assistance.

Regards,

[3][IMG]   Bernie Lai <he/him>

Assistant Director | Freedom of Information Branch

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001

P 1300 363 992 E [4][email address]
 
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people,
cultures and Elders past and present.  

[5]Subscribe to Information Matters

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OFFICIAL
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Peterson

Please find attached correspondence in regards to your FOI request, LEX 1474.

Kind regards

AFP 24826
A/G FOI TEAM LEADER
CHIEF LEGAL COUNSEL

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 Australian Federal Police,

Under the freedom of information Act, I am requesting access to the following:

And documents which include the phrase

"operation angel watch"

And

Any documents which include the phrase
"Angel watch"

Yours faithfully,

Iain Peterson

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

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #10071 email]

Is [AFP request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Australian Federal Police? 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...

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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OFFICIAL

Hi Iain

I attach a letter.

ADAM ANASTASI
DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL (COMMERCIAL, GOVERNANCE AND INFORMATION)
CHIEF COUNSEL
[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.

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.afp.gov.au/