Rationale for oaic.gov.au Cookie Banner
Dear Office of the Australian Information Commissioner,
I am seeking documents that contain the rationale, reasoning, or decision-making process for the implementation of the cookie notification banner (the banner that appears on https://www.oaic.gov.au/ that says "We use cookies to analyse traffic and to improve your browsing experience on our website.").
I wish to work with you to narrow down the scope as narrow as reasonably possible and reduce any processing needed by you.
I don't know the exact start date of this banner, however lets start by scoping the timeframe from 01-01-2020 to 24-10-2025.
If there is a better timeframe to narrow this to, I'm happy to narrow it.
I'm looking in particular for:
Documents outlining the legal or policy basis for the banner.
Please exclude:
Duplicates
Drafts
Names of any non-SES employees.
Communications (and the part of documents that contain communications) between OAIC as a client and a lawyer where obtaining legal advice was the dominant purpose of the communication and the communication has not been very widely distributed.
Source Code
I only need the information regarding the cookie banner so if, for example, a document contains 400 pages and 1 page is about the cookie banner, please exclude everything else unrelated it. It can be redacted/excluded in full.
If a document is publicly available, I am happy to be linked to it and exclude it from this process.
If there are a large number of documents I can work with you to narrow this further.
Yours faithfully,
Steven Roddis
Thank you for your email which has been received by the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
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.
OAIC reference: FOIREQ25/00487
To Steven Roddis,
I refer to your request (below), for access to documents made to the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).
Scope of your request
Your FOI request was made in the following terms:
I am seeking documents that contain the rationale, reasoning, or
decision-making process for the implementation of the cookie notification
banner (the banner that appears on [1]https://www.oaic.gov.au/ that says
"We use cookies to analyse traffic and to improve your browsing experience
on our website."). I wish to work with you to narrow down the scope as
narrow as reasonably possible and reduce any processing needed by you. I
don't know the exact start date of this banner, however lets start by
scoping the timeframe from 01-01-2020 to 24-10-2025.
If there is a better timeframe to narrow this to, I'm happy to narrow it.
I'm looking in particular for:
o Documents outlining the legal or policy basis for the banner.
Please exclude:
o Duplicates
o Drafts
o Names of any non-SES employees.
o Communications (and the part of documents that contain communications)
between OAIC as a client and a lawyer where obtaining legal advice was
the dominant purpose of the communication and the communication has
not been very widely distributed.
o Source Code
I only need the information regarding the cookie banner so if, for
example, a document contains 400 pages and 1 page is about the cookie
banner, please exclude everything else unrelated it. It can be
redacted/excluded in full.
If a document is publicly available, I am happy to be linked to it and
exclude it from this process.
Timeframes for dealing with your request
Section 15 of the FOI Act requires the OAIC to process your request no
later than 30 days after the day we receive it. Your FOI request was
received by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
on 24 October 2025. The decision on your FOI request therefore falls due
on Sunday 23 November 2025.
Paragraph 3.141 of the Australian Information Commissioner Guidelines
states ‘If the last day for notifying a decision falls on a Saturday,
Sunday or a public holiday, the timeframe will expire on the first
business day following that day.’
Accordingly, the decision will be notified to you on the next working day
following the legislated due date, that being 24 November 2024.
Section 15(6) of the FOI Act allows us a further 30 days in situations
where we need to consult with third parties about certain information,
such as business documents or documents affecting their personal privacy.
We will let you know if the timeframe for issuing you a decision is
extended for any reason, including where we need to consult a third party
during the processing of your matter.
If you do not receive a decision within 30 days, or advice that the
statutory timeframe has been extended, you can apply to the Information
Commissioner for review of what is called a ‘deemed decision’. For further
information, see [2]Apply for an Information Commissioner review | OAIC
(or visit [3]www.oaic.gov.au).
Disclosure Log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published online on our
disclosure log, unless they contain personal or business information that
would be unreasonable to publish.
In order to process your request more quickly, we will remove from any
document bundle we provide, duplicate material.
If you have any queries, please contact us by email or provide a phone
number and advise a convenient time for us to call you.
Regards
[4][IMG] FOI administration
Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner
E: [5][OAIC request email]
[6][IMG] | [7][IMG] | [8][IMG] | [9]Subscribe to Information
Matters
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.
-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Roddis <[10][FOI #13922 email]>
Sent: Friday, 24 October 2025 10:23 AM
To: OAIC - FOI <[11][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Rationale for oaic.gov.au Cookie
Banner
**************************************************************************
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not
click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know
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Dear Office of the Australian Information Commissioner,
I am seeking documents that contain the rationale, reasoning, or
decision-making process for the implementation of the cookie notification
banner (the banner that appears on [12]https://www.oaic.gov.au/ that says
"We use cookies to analyse traffic and to improve your browsing experience
on our website.").
I wish to work with you to narrow down the scope as narrow as reasonably
possible and reduce any processing needed by you.
I don't know the exact start date of this banner, however lets start by
scoping the timeframe from 01-01-2020 to 24-10-2025.
If there is a better timeframe to narrow this to, I'm happy to narrow it.
I'm looking in particular for:
Documents outlining the legal or policy basis for the banner.
Please exclude:
Duplicates
Drafts
Names of any non-SES employees.
Communications (and the part of documents that contain communications)
between OAIC as a client and a lawyer where obtaining legal advice was the
dominant purpose of the communication and the communication has not been
very widely distributed.
Source Code
I only need the information regarding the cookie banner so if, for
example, a document contains 400 pages and 1 page is about the cookie
banner, please exclude everything else unrelated it. It can be
redacted/excluded in full.
If a document is publicly available, I am happy to be linked to it and
exclude it from this process.
If there are a large number of documents I can work with you to narrow
this further.
Yours faithfully,
Steven Roddis
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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
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