Records relating the judicial appointment of the Honourable Justice Michael Wigney
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
Please provide records relating to the appointment of the Honourable Justice Michael Wigney as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia. I am specifically seeking records of his Honour's application (if any), evaluation, and eventual selection as a successful candidate for judicial office, including any declaration of personal financial interests, and any vetting or clearance process that was undertaken prior to confirming the judicial appointment.
Yours faithfully,
(Not the real) Bob Neil
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team at the
Attorney-General’s Department (the department). We get a high volume of
emails and FOI applications and work to respond as promptly as possible.
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[AGD request email] mailbox. If you have written to the department to submit an
FOI request, please consider this email to be an acknowledgement of its
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Please note that we will only respond to emails about the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). For information on how to make a
request under the FOI Act please refer to:
https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protect....
For enquiries about other matters, please refer to:
https://www.ag.gov.au/about-us/connect-u....
The statutory processing time for FOI requests is 30 days, however this
may be extended if the department needs to consult third parties or for
other reasons. If you have submitted an FOI request, the department will
write to you again within 30 days of receiving your request. This
correspondence may:
* provide assistance to you to help you make a valid FOI request,
* seek further information from you to help us process your request,
* provide you with a decision on your FOI request, or
* discuss whether an extension of time is needed to process your request.
Please do not send duplicate emails as this may cause delays to processing
times.
This FOI inbox is monitored during business hours Monday to Friday,
excluding public holidays.
You can expect our team to provide a helpful, respectful service and we
expect respectful engagement in return.
Under s 89L of the FOI Act, disrespectful, threatening or abusive language
may be an abuse of the access action process. If this happens, we may not
be able to help you or we might take steps to manage how we communicate
with you.
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
immediately by return e-mail and delete all copies. If this e-mail or any
attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the e-mail or attachments.
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
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attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the e-mail or attachments.
OFFICIAL
Good morning,
Thank you for your request, which was received by the Commonwealth
Attorney-General’s Department (the department) Freedom of Information
(FOI) section (reference number FOI25/412). We write to acknowledge your
request, seek an extension of time for processing, and your agreement to
exclude certain information from your request.
Request for extension of time
We received your FOI request on 3 September 2025 and the 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commences on the following day. The
statutory due date for decision is currently Friday, 3 October 2025. Due
to an increase in the number of information access applications currently
being received by the department, a case officer is yet to be allocated
and we therefore seek your agreement to a 30-day extension of time to
process this request under s 15AA of the FOI Act. This would mean that a
decision about your request would be due on Sunday, 2 November 2025 and we
would return your decision the next business day on Monday, 3 November
2025.
If we are in a position to make a decision earlier than this date, we will
endeavour to do so. The statutory period may also be extended if we need
to consult third parties or for other reasons permitted under the FOI Act.
We will advise you if this happens.
Request to exclude certain information from the scope of your request
The department is seeking your agreement to exclude the following
categories of information from the documents in your request:
- duplicates of documents that are in scope;
- personal information of members of the public;
- contact details for teams, internal to the department and other
agencies
- personal information belonging to officers of the department
and other government agencies.
Excluding the information listed above enables us to process your request
more efficiently. If you agree to the above exclusions, the names of
senior executive officers will be released where they are present in the
documents and do not attract an FOI exemption. In addition, publicly
available telephone numbers and email addresses will generally be
released.
Please note that, with some exceptions (such as personal information),
documents released under the FOI Act may later be published online on the
department's disclosure log
[1]http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtection....
Next steps
Please respond to this email by Monday, 8 September 2025 to confirm if you
agree to this extension of time and to the exclusion of the above
information. If you agree to the extension, we will notify the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) of your agreement under s
15AA of the FOI Act, including your name and contact details.
If you would like to discuss this further please contact the FOI Team by
phoning (02) 6141 6666 or emailing [2][AGD request email].
Kind Regards,
Steph
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Attorney General’s Department
( Phone: (02) 6141 6666 | * Email: [3][AGD request email]
OFFICIAL
-----Original Message-----
From: (Not the real) Bob Neil
<[FOI #13581 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 3 September 2025 11:22 PM
To: AGD FOI Requests <[AGD request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Records relating the judicial
appointment of the Honourable Justice Michael Wigney
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not
follow guidance, click links, or open attachments unless you recognise the
sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
Please provide records relating to the appointment of the Honourable
Justice Michael Wigney as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia. I am
specifically seeking records of his Honour's application (if any),
evaluation, and eventual selection as a successful candidate for judicial
office, including any declaration of personal financial interests, and any
vetting or clearance process that was undertaken prior to confirming the
judicial appointment.
Yours faithfully,
(Not the real) Bob Neil
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[4][FOI #13581 email]
Is [5][AGD request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests
to Attorney-General's Department? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[6]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:
[7]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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Attorney-General’s Department may collect your personal information
where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our
functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email address and
telephone number so that we can contact you about your request or privacy
complaint. If your request concerns accessing or correcting your personal
information, we will collect the minimum amount of evidence necessary to
verify your identity. We hold personal information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint
about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6141 6666 or
via e-mail [email address].
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by
return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have
been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any
confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information in the
email or attachments.
References
Visible links
1. http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtection...
2. mailto:[AGD request email]
3. mailto:[AGD request email]
4. mailto:[FOI #13581 email]
5. mailto:[AGD request email]
6. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
7. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Dear AGD FOI Requests,
I consent to the exclusions and redactions proposed.
Yours sincerely,
(Not the real) Bob Neil
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team at the
Attorney-General’s Department (the department). We get a high volume of
emails and FOI applications and work to respond as promptly as possible.
This auto-reply email confirms your email has been delivered to the
[AGD request email] mailbox. If you have written to the department to submit an
FOI request, please consider this email to be an acknowledgement of its
receipt.
Please note that we will only respond to emails about the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). For information on how to make a
request under the FOI Act please refer to:
https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protect....
For enquiries about other matters, please refer to:
https://www.ag.gov.au/about-us/connect-u....
The statutory processing time for FOI requests is 30 days, however this
may be extended if the department needs to consult third parties or for
other reasons. If you have submitted an FOI request, the department will
write to you again within 30 days of receiving your request. This
correspondence may:
* provide assistance to you to help you make a valid FOI request,
* seek further information from you to help us process your request,
* provide you with a decision on your FOI request, or
* discuss whether an extension of time is needed to process your request.
Please do not send duplicate emails as this may cause delays to processing
times.
This FOI inbox is monitored during business hours Monday to Friday,
excluding public holidays.
You can expect our team to provide a helpful, respectful service and we
expect respectful engagement in return.
Under s 89L of the FOI Act, disrespectful, threatening or abusive language
may be an abuse of the access action process. If this happens, we may not
be able to help you or we might take steps to manage how we communicate
with you.
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
immediately by return e-mail and delete all copies. If this e-mail or any
attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the e-mail or attachments.
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
immediately by return e-mail and delete all copies. If this e-mail or any
attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the e-mail or attachments.
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your email and confirming your agreement to exclude the
information noted in the email below from your request.
May I also please confirm if you agree to the 30-day extension of time for
processing your request?
Kind Regards,
Steph
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Attorney General’s Department
( Phone: (02) 6141 6666 | * Email: [1][AGD request email]
-----Original Message-----
From: (Not the real) Bob Neil
<[FOI #13581 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 4 September 2025 10:36 AM
To: AGD FOI Requests <[AGD request email]>
Subject: Re: FOI25/412 - Freedom of information request to the
Attorney-General's Department - seeking extension and agreement to exclude
material [SEC=OFFICIAL]
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not
follow guidance, click links, or open attachments unless you recognise the
sender and know the content is safe.
Dear AGD FOI Requests,
I consent to the exclusions and redactions proposed.
Yours sincerely,
(Not the real) Bob Neil
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL
Good morning,
Thank you for your request, which was received by the Commonwealth
Attorney-General’s Department (the department) Freedom of Information
(FOI) section (reference number FOI25/412). We write to acknowledge your
request, seek an extension of time for processing, and your agreement to
exclude certain information from your request.
Request for extension of time
We received your FOI request on 3 September 2025 and the 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commences on the following day. The
statutory due date for decision is currently Friday, 3 October 2025. Due
to an increase in the number of information access applications currently
being received by the department, a case officer is yet to be allocated
and we therefore seek your agreement to a 30-day extension of time to
process this request under s 15AA of the FOI Act. This would mean that a
decision about your request would be due on Sunday, 2 November 2025 and
we would return your decision the next business day on Monday, 3
November 2025.
If we are in a position to make a decision earlier than this date, we
will endeavour to do so. The statutory period may also be extended if we
need to consult third parties or for other reasons permitted under the
FOI Act.
We will advise you if this happens.
Request to exclude certain information from the scope of your request
The department is seeking your agreement to exclude the following
categories of information from the documents in your request:
- duplicates of documents that are in scope;
- personal information of members of the public;
- contact details for teams, internal to the department and
other agencies
- personal information belonging to officers of the department
and other government agencies.
Excluding the information listed above enables us to process your request
more efficiently. If you agree to the above exclusions, the names of
senior executive officers will be released where they are present in the
documents and do not attract an FOI exemption. In addition, publicly
available telephone numbers and email addresses will generally be
released.
Please note that, with some exceptions (such as personal information),
documents released under the FOI Act may later be published online on the
department's disclosure log
[1][2]http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtection....
Next steps
Please respond to this email by Monday, 8 September 2025 to confirm if
you agree to this extension of time and to the exclusion of the above
information. If you agree to the extension, we will notify the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) of your agreement under s
15AA of the FOI Act, including your name and contact details.
If you would like to discuss this further please contact the FOI Team by
phoning (02) 6141 6666 or emailing [2][AGD request email].
Kind Regards,
Steph
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Attorney General’s Department
( Phone: (02) 6141 6666 | * Email: [3][AGD request email]
OFFICIAL
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #13581 email]
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:
[4]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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICIAL
The Attorney-General’s Department may collect your personal information
where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our
functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email address and
telephone number so that we can contact you about your request or privacy
complaint. If your request concerns accessing or correcting your personal
information, we will collect the minimum amount of evidence necessary to
verify your identity. We hold personal information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint
about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6141 6666 or
via e-mail [email address].
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by
return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have
been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any
confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information in the
email or attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[AGD request email]
2. http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtection...
3. mailto:[FOI #13581 email]
4. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Dear AGD FOI Requests,
I consent to the extension.
Yours sincerely,
(Not the real) Bob Neil
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team at the
Attorney-General’s Department (the department). We get a high volume of
emails and FOI applications and work to respond as promptly as possible.
This auto-reply email confirms your email has been delivered to the
[AGD request email] mailbox. If you have written to the department to submit an
FOI request, please consider this email to be an acknowledgement of its
receipt.
Please note that we will only respond to emails about the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). For information on how to make a
request under the FOI Act please refer to:
https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protect....
For enquiries about other matters, please refer to:
https://www.ag.gov.au/about-us/connect-u....
The statutory processing time for FOI requests is 30 days, however this
may be extended if the department needs to consult third parties or for
other reasons. If you have submitted an FOI request, the department will
write to you again within 30 days of receiving your request. This
correspondence may:
* provide assistance to you to help you make a valid FOI request,
* seek further information from you to help us process your request,
* provide you with a decision on your FOI request, or
* discuss whether an extension of time is needed to process your request.
Please do not send duplicate emails as this may cause delays to processing
times.
This FOI inbox is monitored during business hours Monday to Friday,
excluding public holidays.
You can expect our team to provide a helpful, respectful service and we
expect respectful engagement in return.
Under s 89L of the FOI Act, disrespectful, threatening or abusive language
may be an abuse of the access action process. If this happens, we may not
be able to help you or we might take steps to manage how we communicate
with you.
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
immediately by return e-mail and delete all copies. If this e-mail or any
attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the e-mail or attachments.
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
immediately by return e-mail and delete all copies. If this e-mail or any
attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the e-mail or attachments.