Report on the cyber security risk assessment for the 2025 Senate counting process
Dear Australian Electoral Commission,
I request, under the Freedom of Information Act, the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section 273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act.
I also request all documents specifying the methodology for that assessment.
Yours faithfully,
Vanessa Teague
Dear Vanessa Teague
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your two requests for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) made in the following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
Please be aware due to the time these requests were received and the
subject matter, the two requests will be processed as one.
I understand your request for documents to exclude:
o duplicate and draft versions of documents
o personal information of Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) staff.
Timeframe to process your request
Your request was received by the AEC on 16 June 2025, and the 30-day
statutory timeframe for processing your request commenced from the day
after that date. You should expect to receive a decision from us by 16
July 2025. The period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult
third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this timeframe
is extended.
Charges
We will advise you if any charge is payable to process your request and
the amount of any charge as soon as practicable. No charge is payable for
providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address to which we can
send notices. You have advised that your electronic address is
[1][FOI #13296 email] and
[2][email address]. We will send all notices
and correspondence to these addresses. Please advise us as soon as
possible if you wish for notices and correspondence to be sent to a
different, or just one address. If you do not advise us of changes to
your address, notices and correspondence will continue to be sent to the
address specified above.
Administrative release of documents
The AEC has administrative access arrangements for the release of certain
documents without the need for a formal freedom of information request.
Where appropriate we may offer you documents via the administrative access
scheme in lieu of processing under the FOI Act. Information relating to
third parties cannot be released via administrative access. You will be
notified when documents are released to you on an administrative access
basis.
Disclosure log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log
on the AEC's website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this
publication, however it is subject to certain exceptions, including where
publication of personal, business, professional or commercial information
would be unreasonable.
Further assistance
If you have any questions, please email [3][email address], or advise us if
you would like us to call you at a time that is convenient to you.
Yours sincerely
Amy
FOI Team
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Vanessa Teague
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your two requests for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) made in the following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
Please be aware due to the time these requests were received and the
subject matter, the two requests will be processed as one.
I understand your request for documents to exclude:
o duplicate and draft versions of documents
o personal information of Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) staff.
Timeframe to process your request
Your request was received by the AEC on 16 June 2025, and the 30-day
statutory timeframe for processing your request commenced from the day
after that date. You should expect to receive a decision from us by 16
July 2025. The period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult
third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this timeframe
is extended.
Charges
We will advise you if any charge is payable to process your request and
the amount of any charge as soon as practicable. No charge is payable for
providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address to which we can
send notices. You have advised that your electronic address is
[1][FOI #13296 email] and
[2][email address]. We will send all notices
and correspondence to these addresses. Please advise us as soon as
possible if you wish for notices and correspondence to be sent to a
different, or just one address. If you do not advise us of changes to
your address, notices and correspondence will continue to be sent to the
address specified above.
Administrative release of documents
The AEC has administrative access arrangements for the release of certain
documents without the need for a formal freedom of information request.
Where appropriate we may offer you documents via the administrative access
scheme in lieu of processing under the FOI Act. Information relating to
third parties cannot be released via administrative access. You will be
notified when documents are released to you on an administrative access
basis.
Disclosure log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log
on the AEC's website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this
publication, however it is subject to certain exceptions, including where
publication of personal, business, professional or commercial information
would be unreasonable.
Further assistance
If you have any questions, please email [3][email address], or advise us if
you would like us to call you at a time that is convenient to you.
Yours sincerely
Amy
FOI Team
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Vanessa Teague
Notification of consultation – Freedom of Information Request LEX9261
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), made in the following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
The scope of your request includes documents that may contain:
o information concerning a person’s business or professional affairs
o information concerning the business, commercial or financial affairs
of an organisation
o personal information about a person.
Before making a decision on the release of the requested documents, the
Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is required to consult with the
person/s or organisation/s concerned under ss 27 and/or 27A of the FOI
Act.
For this reason, the period for processing your request has been extended
by 30 days to allow the AEC time to consult (section 15(6) of the FOI
Act). The AEC is now required to notify you of the decision on your
request by 15 August 2025.
The consultation mechanism under section 27 applies when a third party may
wish to contend that the requested documents are exempt because their
release may disclose trade secrets or commercially valuable information or
may adversely affect their business or financial affairs. The consultation
mechanism under section 27A applies when the requested documents may
contain personal information about a person, and it appears that the
person or their legal personal representative might reasonably wish to
make a contention that the document is conditionally exempt under section
47F, and that access to the document would be contrary to the public
interest.
We will consider any comments we receive from third parties. However, the
final decision on the request will be made by the AEC’s authorised
officer.
Further information about exemptions under the FOI Act is available on the
[1]Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website.
If you have any questions, please email [2][email address], or advise us if
you would like us to call you at a time that is convenient to you.
Yours sincerely
Justine
Australian Electoral Commission
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 17 June 2025 3:21 PM
To: [FOI #13296 email];
[email address]
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: LEX9261 FOI Request - Acknowledgement [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear Vanessa Teague
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your two requests for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) made in the following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
Please be aware due to the time these requests were received and the
subject matter, the two requests will be processed as one.
I understand your request for documents to exclude:
o duplicate and draft versions of documents
o personal information of Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) staff.
Timeframe to process your request
Your request was received by the AEC on 16 June 2025, and the 30-day
statutory timeframe for processing your request commenced from the day
after that date. You should expect to receive a decision from us by 16
July 2025. The period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult
third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this timeframe
is extended.
Charges
We will advise you if any charge is payable to process your request and
the amount of any charge as soon as practicable. No charge is payable for
providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address to which we can
send notices. You have advised that your electronic address is
[3][FOI #13296 email] and
[4][email address]. We will send all notices
and correspondence to these addresses. Please advise us as soon as
possible if you wish for notices and correspondence to be sent to a
different, or just one address. If you do not advise us of changes to
your address, notices and correspondence will continue to be sent to the
address specified above.
Administrative release of documents
The AEC has administrative access arrangements for the release of certain
documents without the need for a formal freedom of information request.
Where appropriate we may offer you documents via the administrative access
scheme in lieu of processing under the FOI Act. Information relating to
third parties cannot be released via administrative access. You will be
notified when documents are released to you on an administrative access
basis.
Disclosure log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log
on the AEC's website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this
publication, however it is subject to certain exceptions, including where
publication of personal, business, professional or commercial information
would be unreasonable.
Further assistance
If you have any questions, please email [5][email address], or advise us if
you would like us to call you at a time that is convenient to you.
Yours sincerely
Amy
FOI Team
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Vanessa Teague
Notification of consultation – Freedom of Information Request LEX9261
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), made in the following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
The scope of your request includes documents that may contain:
o information concerning a person’s business or professional affairs
o information concerning the business, commercial or financial affairs
of an organisation
o personal information about a person.
Before making a decision on the release of the requested documents, the
Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is required to consult with the
person/s or organisation/s concerned under ss 27 and/or 27A of the FOI
Act.
For this reason, the period for processing your request has been extended
by 30 days to allow the AEC time to consult (section 15(6) of the FOI
Act). The AEC is now required to notify you of the decision on your
request by 15 August 2025.
The consultation mechanism under section 27 applies when a third party may
wish to contend that the requested documents are exempt because their
release may disclose trade secrets or commercially valuable information or
may adversely affect their business or financial affairs. The consultation
mechanism under section 27A applies when the requested documents may
contain personal information about a person, and it appears that the
person or their legal personal representative might reasonably wish to
make a contention that the document is conditionally exempt under section
47F, and that access to the document would be contrary to the public
interest.
We will consider any comments we receive from third parties. However, the
final decision on the request will be made by the AEC’s authorised
officer.
Further information about exemptions under the FOI Act is available on the
[1]Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website.
If you have any questions, please email [2][email address], or advise us if
you would like us to call you at a time that is convenient to you.
Yours sincerely
Justine
Australian Electoral Commission
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 17 June 2025 3:21 PM
To: [FOI #13296 email];
[email address]
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: LEX9261 FOI Request - Acknowledgement [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear Vanessa Teague
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your two requests for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) made in the following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
Please be aware due to the time these requests were received and the
subject matter, the two requests will be processed as one.
I understand your request for documents to exclude:
o duplicate and draft versions of documents
o personal information of Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) staff.
Timeframe to process your request
Your request was received by the AEC on 16 June 2025, and the 30-day
statutory timeframe for processing your request commenced from the day
after that date. You should expect to receive a decision from us by 16
July 2025. The period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult
third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this timeframe
is extended.
Charges
We will advise you if any charge is payable to process your request and
the amount of any charge as soon as practicable. No charge is payable for
providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address to which we can
send notices. You have advised that your electronic address is
[3][FOI #13296 email] and
[4][email address]. We will send all notices
and correspondence to these addresses. Please advise us as soon as
possible if you wish for notices and correspondence to be sent to a
different, or just one address. If you do not advise us of changes to
your address, notices and correspondence will continue to be sent to the
address specified above.
Administrative release of documents
The AEC has administrative access arrangements for the release of certain
documents without the need for a formal freedom of information request.
Where appropriate we may offer you documents via the administrative access
scheme in lieu of processing under the FOI Act. Information relating to
third parties cannot be released via administrative access. You will be
notified when documents are released to you on an administrative access
basis.
Disclosure log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log
on the AEC's website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this
publication, however it is subject to certain exceptions, including where
publication of personal, business, professional or commercial information
would be unreasonable.
Further assistance
If you have any questions, please email [5][email address], or advise us if
you would like us to call you at a time that is convenient to you.
Yours sincerely
Amy
FOI Team
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Vanessa Teague
Your Freedom of Information Request – section 24AB consultation
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), received on 16 June 2025 made in the
following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make
decisions in relation to FOI requests.
The Australian Electoral Commission (the AEC) believes that work involved
in processing your FOI request in its current form would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of the AEC from its other operations due
to its size and broad scope.
This is called a ‘practical refusal reason' under section 24AA of the FOI
Act. On the basis of the practical refusal reason, I intend to refuse
access to the documents you requested.
Before I make a final decision, you have the opportunity to revise your
FOI requests. This is called a 'request consultation process' and is set
out in section 24AB of the FOI Act.
Why your request may be refused
You have sought documents relating to:
o independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems
o all documents specifying the methodology for the security risk
assessment
o report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC
o all documents associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September
2024, of their advice on sampling methodology
o and any other documents, written by either the AEC or the provider,
that describe the sampling methodology for Senate ballot paper
sampling assurance
Please be aware that, under the current scope of your request, a large
number of documents, including internal AEC emails, executive briefs,
report drafts, stakeholder correspondence, training materials, text
messages etc. have been captured.
I have decided that a practical refusal reason may exist because a
preliminary search for your requested documents uncovered a voluminous
number of documents totalling approximately 680 pages.
Unreasonable and substantial diversion of resources
Under section 24AA(2) the AEC must have regard to the resources that would
have to be used for:
o identifying, locating or collating the documents within the filing
system of the AEC
o deciding whether to grant, refuse or defer access to a document to
which the request relates, or to grant access to an edited copy of
such a document (including resources that would have to be used for
examining the document or consulting with any person or body in
relation to the request)
o making a copy or an edited copy, of the document, and
o notifying any interim or final decision on the request.
As the scope of your request is currently framed to capture a number of
documents with a total of approximately 680 pages, all 680 pages must be
reviewed for sensitivities and redacted if exemptions apply. Some of these
documents will also require third-party consultation.
I have estimated that it would take at least 74 hours to process your
request. I have estimated the time required based on the following tasks:
· It would take approximately 34 hours to review the documents to
determine if access should be granted, refused or deferred; to determine
if any FOI exemptions apply. We conservatively estimate 3 minutes per page
would be required for this.
· As it has been identified third-party consultations are required.
We conservatively estimate this would take an additional 3 hours to
collate the relevant documents for third party consultation, remove any
exempt material that the third party is not privy to and review and action
third-party comments.
· It would take approximately 22 hours to mark-up the document with
exemptions and make redactions. We conservatively estimate 2 minutes per
page for this.
· It is also estimated that the process to retrieve and save
documents would require an additional 5 hours.
We also note the AEC is a small agency with limited resources and minimal
capacity to undertake FOI work. It would also require substantial time by
me as the decision-maker, and attention from senior officers, to review
proposed redactions, the material itself, drafts of the decision and to
consider sensitive issues.
As a result, the AEC would be required to divert significant and valuable
resources away from its core activities under the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 (Cth) (the Electoral Act) to process your request.
I also consider this diversion of resources to be unreasonable as:
· the request is expressed broadly.
· the request would require very careful processing to guard
against the risk of inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information.
· the impact on the AEC of diverting resources to process such a
substantial request would materially impact the AEC FOI team, and other
AEC employees, from responding to other FOI requests and undertaking their
core activities under the Electoral Act.
Request consultation process
You now have the opportunity to revise your request so that it may
proceed.
You may wish to revise your request to narrow the scope of documents or
explain in detail the specific documents that you wish to access. For
example, if you narrow the scope of the request to external communications
only or a certain type of communication (such as policy documents only),
this may assist in narrowing the scope to a manageable level.
Before the end of the 14 day consultation period, you must write to the
AEC and either:
o withdraw your request;
o make a revised request; or
o tell us that you do not wish to revise your request.
The 14-day consultation period will start on the day after you receive
this notice.
During this period, you are welcome to seek assistance from AEC to revise
your request. If you revise your request to adequately address the
practical refusal reasons outlined above, the AEC will recommence
processing it.
The time taken to consult you regarding the scope of your request is not
taken into account for the purposes of the 30-day time limit for
processing your request.
If you do not do one of the three things listed above during the
consultation period or you do not contact the AEC to discuss your request
during this period, your request will be taken to have been withdrawn.
Further information
Please be aware that since your request was made on 16 June 2025, the AEC
has released additional information regarding the Senate count which you
may find relevant: [1]Senate ballot paper sampling outcomes statement –
2025 federal election
Further assistance
If you would like to revise your request or have any questions, please
email [2][email address].
Yours sincerely
Justine (888-51108)| Senior Government Lawyer
Australian Electoral Commission
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: FOI
Sent: Tuesday, 8 July 2025 1:34 PM
To: [FOI #13296 email];
[email address]
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: LEX9261 FOI Request - Notification of Consultation
Dear Vanessa Teague
Notification of consultation – Freedom of Information Request LEX9261
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), made in the following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
The scope of your request includes documents that may contain:
o information concerning a person’s business or professional affairs
o information concerning the business, commercial or financial affairs
of an organisation
o personal information about a person.
Before making a decision on the release of the requested documents, the
Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is required to consult with the
person/s or organisation/s concerned under ss 27 and/or 27A of the FOI
Act.
For this reason, the period for processing your request has been extended
by 30 days to allow the AEC time to consult (section 15(6) of the FOI
Act). The AEC is now required to notify you of the decision on your
request by 15 August 2025.
The consultation mechanism under section 27 applies when a third party may
wish to contend that the requested documents are exempt because their
release may disclose trade secrets or commercially valuable information or
may adversely affect their business or financial affairs. The consultation
mechanism under section 27A applies when the requested documents may
contain personal information about a person, and it appears that the
person or their legal personal representative might reasonably wish to
make a contention that the document is conditionally exempt under section
47F, and that access to the document would be contrary to the public
interest.
We will consider any comments we receive from third parties. However, the
final decision on the request will be made by the AEC’s authorised
officer.
Further information about exemptions under the FOI Act is available on the
[3]Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website.
If you have any questions, please email [4][email address], or advise us if
you would like us to call you at a time that is convenient to you.
Yours sincerely
Justine
Australian Electoral Commission
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: FOI <[5][email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 17 June 2025 3:21 PM
To: [6][FOI #13296 email];
[7][email address]
Cc: FOI <[8][email address]>
Subject: LEX9261 FOI Request - Acknowledgement [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear Vanessa Teague
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your two requests for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) made in the following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
Please be aware due to the time these requests were received and the
subject matter, the two requests will be processed as one.
I understand your request for documents to exclude:
o duplicate and draft versions of documents
o personal information of Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) staff.
Timeframe to process your request
Your request was received by the AEC on 16 June 2025, and the 30-day
statutory timeframe for processing your request commenced from the day
after that date. You should expect to receive a decision from us by 16
July 2025. The period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult
third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this timeframe
is extended.
Charges
We will advise you if any charge is payable to process your request and
the amount of any charge as soon as practicable. No charge is payable for
providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address to which we can
send notices. You have advised that your electronic address is
[9][FOI #13296 email] and
[10][email address]. We will send all
notices and correspondence to these addresses. Please advise us as soon
as possible if you wish for notices and correspondence to be sent to a
different, or just one address. If you do not advise us of changes to
your address, notices and correspondence will continue to be sent to the
address specified above.
Administrative release of documents
The AEC has administrative access arrangements for the release of certain
documents without the need for a formal freedom of information request.
Where appropriate we may offer you documents via the administrative access
scheme in lieu of processing under the FOI Act. Information relating to
third parties cannot be released via administrative access. You will be
notified when documents are released to you on an administrative access
basis.
Disclosure log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log
on the AEC's website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this
publication, however it is subject to certain exceptions, including where
publication of personal, business, professional or commercial information
would be unreasonable.
Further assistance
If you have any questions, please email [11][email address], or advise us
if you would like us to call you at a time that is convenient to you.
Yours sincerely
Amy
FOI Team
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Vanessa Teague
Your Freedom of Information Request – section 24AB consultation
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), received on 16 June 2025 made in the
following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make
decisions in relation to FOI requests.
The Australian Electoral Commission (the AEC) believes that work involved
in processing your FOI request in its current form would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of the AEC from its other operations due
to its size and broad scope.
This is called a ‘practical refusal reason' under section 24AA of the FOI
Act. On the basis of the practical refusal reason, I intend to refuse
access to the documents you requested.
Before I make a final decision, you have the opportunity to revise your
FOI requests. This is called a 'request consultation process' and is set
out in section 24AB of the FOI Act.
Why your request may be refused
You have sought documents relating to:
o independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems
o all documents specifying the methodology for the security risk
assessment
o report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC
o all documents associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September
2024, of their advice on sampling methodology
o and any other documents, written by either the AEC or the provider,
that describe the sampling methodology for Senate ballot paper
sampling assurance
Please be aware that, under the current scope of your request, a large
number of documents, including internal AEC emails, executive briefs,
report drafts, stakeholder correspondence, training materials, text
messages etc. have been captured.
I have decided that a practical refusal reason may exist because a
preliminary search for your requested documents uncovered a voluminous
number of documents totalling approximately 680 pages.
Unreasonable and substantial diversion of resources
Under section 24AA(2) the AEC must have regard to the resources that would
have to be used for:
o identifying, locating or collating the documents within the filing
system of the AEC
o deciding whether to grant, refuse or defer access to a document to
which the request relates, or to grant access to an edited copy of
such a document (including resources that would have to be used for
examining the document or consulting with any person or body in
relation to the request)
o making a copy or an edited copy, of the document, and
o notifying any interim or final decision on the request.
As the scope of your request is currently framed to capture a number of
documents with a total of approximately 680 pages, all 680 pages must be
reviewed for sensitivities and redacted if exemptions apply. Some of these
documents will also require third-party consultation.
I have estimated that it would take at least 74 hours to process your
request. I have estimated the time required based on the following tasks:
· It would take approximately 34 hours to review the documents to
determine if access should be granted, refused or deferred; to determine
if any FOI exemptions apply. We conservatively estimate 3 minutes per page
would be required for this.
· As it has been identified third-party consultations are required.
We conservatively estimate this would take an additional 3 hours to
collate the relevant documents for third party consultation, remove any
exempt material that the third party is not privy to and review and action
third-party comments.
· It would take approximately 22 hours to mark-up the document with
exemptions and make redactions. We conservatively estimate 2 minutes per
page for this.
· It is also estimated that the process to retrieve and save
documents would require an additional 5 hours.
We also note the AEC is a small agency with limited resources and minimal
capacity to undertake FOI work. It would also require substantial time by
me as the decision-maker, and attention from senior officers, to review
proposed redactions, the material itself, drafts of the decision and to
consider sensitive issues.
As a result, the AEC would be required to divert significant and valuable
resources away from its core activities under the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 (Cth) (the Electoral Act) to process your request.
I also consider this diversion of resources to be unreasonable as:
· the request is expressed broadly.
· the request would require very careful processing to guard
against the risk of inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information.
· the impact on the AEC of diverting resources to process such a
substantial request would materially impact the AEC FOI team, and other
AEC employees, from responding to other FOI requests and undertaking their
core activities under the Electoral Act.
Request consultation process
You now have the opportunity to revise your request so that it may
proceed.
You may wish to revise your request to narrow the scope of documents or
explain in detail the specific documents that you wish to access. For
example, if you narrow the scope of the request to external communications
only or a certain type of communication (such as policy documents only),
this may assist in narrowing the scope to a manageable level.
Before the end of the 14 day consultation period, you must write to the
AEC and either:
o withdraw your request;
o make a revised request; or
o tell us that you do not wish to revise your request.
The 14-day consultation period will start on the day after you receive
this notice.
During this period, you are welcome to seek assistance from AEC to revise
your request. If you revise your request to adequately address the
practical refusal reasons outlined above, the AEC will recommence
processing it.
The time taken to consult you regarding the scope of your request is not
taken into account for the purposes of the 30-day time limit for
processing your request.
If you do not do one of the three things listed above during the
consultation period or you do not contact the AEC to discuss your request
during this period, your request will be taken to have been withdrawn.
Further information
Please be aware that since your request was made on 16 June 2025, the AEC
has released additional information regarding the Senate count which you
may find relevant: [1]Senate ballot paper sampling outcomes statement –
2025 federal election
Further assistance
If you would like to revise your request or have any questions, please
email [2][email address].
Yours sincerely
Justine (888-51108)| Senior Government Lawyer
Australian Electoral Commission
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From: FOI
Sent: Tuesday, 8 July 2025 1:34 PM
To: [FOI #13296 email];
[email address]
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: LEX9261 FOI Request - Notification of Consultation
Dear Vanessa Teague
Notification of consultation – Freedom of Information Request LEX9261
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), made in the following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
The scope of your request includes documents that may contain:
o information concerning a person’s business or professional affairs
o information concerning the business, commercial or financial affairs
of an organisation
o personal information about a person.
Before making a decision on the release of the requested documents, the
Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is required to consult with the
person/s or organisation/s concerned under ss 27 and/or 27A of the FOI
Act.
For this reason, the period for processing your request has been extended
by 30 days to allow the AEC time to consult (section 15(6) of the FOI
Act). The AEC is now required to notify you of the decision on your
request by 15 August 2025.
The consultation mechanism under section 27 applies when a third party may
wish to contend that the requested documents are exempt because their
release may disclose trade secrets or commercially valuable information or
may adversely affect their business or financial affairs. The consultation
mechanism under section 27A applies when the requested documents may
contain personal information about a person, and it appears that the
person or their legal personal representative might reasonably wish to
make a contention that the document is conditionally exempt under section
47F, and that access to the document would be contrary to the public
interest.
We will consider any comments we receive from third parties. However, the
final decision on the request will be made by the AEC’s authorised
officer.
Further information about exemptions under the FOI Act is available on the
[3]Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website.
If you have any questions, please email [4][email address], or advise us if
you would like us to call you at a time that is convenient to you.
Yours sincerely
Justine
Australian Electoral Commission
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From: FOI <[5][email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 17 June 2025 3:21 PM
To: [6][FOI #13296 email];
[7][email address]
Cc: FOI <[8][email address]>
Subject: LEX9261 FOI Request - Acknowledgement [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear Vanessa Teague
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your two requests for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) made in the following terms:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk
assessment of Senate counting software systems conducted under Section
273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and all documents specifying the
methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, all documents
associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a
footnote on p.1 of your document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper
Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal Election."), and any other
documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
Please be aware due to the time these requests were received and the
subject matter, the two requests will be processed as one.
I understand your request for documents to exclude:
o duplicate and draft versions of documents
o personal information of Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) staff.
Timeframe to process your request
Your request was received by the AEC on 16 June 2025, and the 30-day
statutory timeframe for processing your request commenced from the day
after that date. You should expect to receive a decision from us by 16
July 2025. The period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult
third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this timeframe
is extended.
Charges
We will advise you if any charge is payable to process your request and
the amount of any charge as soon as practicable. No charge is payable for
providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address to which we can
send notices. You have advised that your electronic address is
[9][FOI #13296 email] and
[10][email address]. We will send all
notices and correspondence to these addresses. Please advise us as soon
as possible if you wish for notices and correspondence to be sent to a
different, or just one address. If you do not advise us of changes to
your address, notices and correspondence will continue to be sent to the
address specified above.
Administrative release of documents
The AEC has administrative access arrangements for the release of certain
documents without the need for a formal freedom of information request.
Where appropriate we may offer you documents via the administrative access
scheme in lieu of processing under the FOI Act. Information relating to
third parties cannot be released via administrative access. You will be
notified when documents are released to you on an administrative access
basis.
Disclosure log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log
on the AEC's website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this
publication, however it is subject to certain exceptions, including where
publication of personal, business, professional or commercial information
would be unreasonable.
Further assistance
If you have any questions, please email [11][email address], or advise us
if you would like us to call you at a time that is convenient to you.
Yours sincerely
Amy
FOI Team
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Vanessa Teague
Thank you for your quick response, we appreciate your involvement in the
consultation process. To confirm, we now understand your FOI request to
be:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, and the primary
document confirming the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology, whether this is an email or a more formal
separate document
We understand that this rescoped request is to replace both original
requests, 1 and 2 below. Please let us know asap, by responding to this
email, if this is incorrect.
I can confirm that, as the scope of the request has been significantly
reduced, we now have the resources to process the request. You should
expect to receive a decision from us by 19 August 2025.
If you have any questions, please email [1][email address].
Kind regards,
Amy
FOI Team
Australian Electoral Commission
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[2]Australian Electoral Commission logo [3]Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Vanessa Teague
Thank you for your quick response, we appreciate your involvement in the
consultation process. To confirm, we now understand your FOI request to
be:
the report on the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance conducted
under the Commonwealth Electoral Act section 273AC, and the primary
document confirming the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024, of their
advice on sampling methodology, whether this is an email or a more formal
separate document
We understand that this rescoped request is to replace both original
requests, 1 and 2 below. Please let us know asap, by responding to this
email, if this is incorrect.
I can confirm that, as the scope of the request has been significantly
reduced, we now have the resources to process the request. You should
expect to receive a decision from us by 19 August 2025.
If you have any questions, please email [1][email address].
Kind regards,
Amy
FOI Team
Australian Electoral Commission
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2]Australian Electoral Commission logo [3]Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Vanessa Teague
Please see the attached documents regarding your recent Freedom of
Information (FOI) request.
Kind regards,
Amy
FOI Team
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Vanessa Teague
Please see the attached documents regarding your recent Freedom of
Information (FOI) request.
Kind regards,
Amy
FOI Team
Australian Electoral Commission
I am posting a summary here for others who are reading the requests afterwards.
The FoI request for the cybersecurity risk assessment was refused.
The documents posted here were posted - I believe - in error, and are relevant to a different request I submitted at the same time: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/r...