OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Tregear,

 

I acknowledge receipt of your email dated 26 November 2025, in which you
requested access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act). Your request was made in the following terms:

 

Any records of comments or suggestions sent by the Commonwealth
Ombudsman's Office to the Australian National University (ANU) either
during, or subsequent to, the Commonwealth Ombudsman's Office handling of
complaints I made to the Commonwealth Ombudsman's Office regarding the
ANU's handling of my Public Interest Disclosures, including those made
under subsection 12(4) of the Ombudsman Act.

 

I note that you have made a request for access to public interest
disclosure (PID) material through a public website, Right to Know. Given
the highly sensitive nature of PID material, our Office will not release
PID material via the FOI Act through a public website. 

 

Generally, information containing PID material is likely to be exempt
under s 47E(d) of the FOI Act (substantial adverse effect on an agency’s
proper and efficient conduct of operations)  insofar as it applies to
complaints made to investigative bodies. Central to the PID scheme is the
protection of those who make disclosures. Where information about a PID is
released, there is an increased risk of reprisal for disclosers and other
officials. Further, disclosure may likely act as a deterrent to those
thinking of making PIDs to this Office in the future. Public detriment
will arise if the Office’s ability to obtain confidential information in
future PID or Ombudsman Act investigations is limited.

 

Accordingly, we request that you provide us with your personal email
address so that any decision on access can be sent to that address.

 

If you would like to continue with this request, can you please provide us
with your personal email address and a copy of identification (such as a
drivers' license) by COB 28 November 2025.

 

Duplicates/irrelevant information

There may be duplicate copies of documents related to our request. Unless
you advise us, you wish to receive multiple copies, we will only consider
and decide on one copy of each document.

 

Disclosure Log

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log subject to certain exceptions. (For
example, personal information will not be published where this would be
unreasonable). The link to our disclosure log can be found here: 
[1]https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/about/audit...

 

Timeframes

The FOI Act requires us to provide notice of a decision on your FOI
request within 30 days from the date we received a valid FOI request. I
note that section 36(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) outlines
that when a decision is due on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the
timeframe will expire on the first business day following that day. As the
decision date falls on a public holiday (Friday 26 December 2025), the
decision is due on the next business day, which is Monday 29 December
2025. This 30-day period may be extended if we need to consult third
parties, or for other reasons. We will let you know if this happens.

 

If you have any questions, please reply to this email, or contact us by
phone on 1300 362 072.

 

Kind regards

 

Richard

Legal Officer

Defence, Investigations, ACT & Legal Branch
[2]A black and white logo [3][email address]
Description automatically
generated [4]ombudsman.gov.au
The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman acknowledges the Traditional
Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to
land, culture and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and
present.

Artwork by Kevin Bynder, Whadjuk Nyungar Badimia Yamatji Artist.

 

The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman acknowledges the traditional
owners of country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to
land, culture and community. We pay our respects to elders past and
present.

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References

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1. https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/about/audit...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/