Request for public and private complaints against australian human rights commission staff
Dear Australian Human Rights Commission,
I am writing to you today to make a request Freedom of Information Act 1982.
I wish to request a list of all public and private complaints against the Australian Human Rights Commission and its staff members and commissioners and president and a copy of of each complaint and a copy of the response to each complaint from 1 January 2020 to 1 July 2025.
I look forward to hearing your decision in due course to this application.
Yours faithfully,
Ben
Dear Mr Fairchild,
The Australian Human Rights Commission has begun processing your request
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).
You have requested access to:
A list of all public and private complaints against the Australian Human
Rights Commission and its staff members and commissioners and president
and a copy of each complaint and a copy of the response to each complaint
from 1 January 2020 to 1 July 2025.
Under the FOI Act, the Commission has until Monday, 6 October 2025 to make
a decision in relation to your request.
If your request covers documents which are business documents or documents
affecting another person’s privacy, and the Commission is required under
the FOI Act to consult with a third party before making a decision on the
release of those documents, the processing period will be extended a
further 30 days. An FOI officer from the Commission will advise you if
third party consultation is required.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions relating to
your request for documents.
Best regards,
Grace Tynan she/her
Paralegal - FOI
Australian Human Rights Commission
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
T +61 2 9284 9792
E [1][email address] W [2]humanrights.gov.au
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia,
and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We
pay our respects to their Elders - past, present and future.
[3]Email signature graphic. Australian Human Rights Commission Logo.
Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday.
The Commission supports flexible working arrangements, and I am sending
this message at a time that is convenient to me and my work schedule. It
is not my expectation that you read, respond, or follow up on this email
outside your hours of work.
***********************************************************************
WARNING: The information contained in this email may be confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient, any use or copying of any part
of this information is unauthorised. If you have received this email in
error, we apologise for any inconvenience and request that you notify
the sender immediately and delete all copies of this email, together
with any attachments.
***********************************************************************
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://humanrights.gov.au/
3. http://www.humanrights.gov.au/
Dear Mr Fairchild
I refer to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) to
the Australian Human Rights Commission (Commission) below.
I have been allocated your FOI request.
The scope of your FOI request is very broad in terms of its subject matter
and the timeframe for the documents that you are seeking (covering 5.5
years).
I am writing to ask that you consider narrowing the scope of your FOI
request by:
* narrowing who made the complaint to either a person outside of the
Commission or a person inside of the Commission;
* narrowing the subject matter of the complaint; and
* reducing the timeframe for the documents you are seeking to a 1 year
period.
I would be grateful if you could please respond by 12 noon, Thursday 11
September 2025. If you would like to discuss this matter, please call me
on 9284 9658.
Thank you.
Kind regards
Catherine
Catherine Chang she/her
Senior Lawyer
Australian Human Rights Commission
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
T +61 2 9284 9658
E [1][email address] W [2]humanrights.gov.au
I work on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia,
and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We
pay our respects to their Elders - past, present and future.
[3][IMG][4][IMG]
The Commission supports flexible working arrangements, and I am sending
this message at a time that is convenient to me and my work schedule. It
is not my expectation that you read, respond, or follow up on this email
outside your hours of work.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Fairchild <[5][FOI #13611 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 6 September 2025 3:00 PM
To: Freedom of Information <[6][Australian Human Rights Commission request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Request for public and private
complaints against australian human rights commission staff
[You don't often get email from
[7][FOI #13611 email]. Learn why this is
important at [8]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Verify
the sender before you click links or open attachments. Email purporting to
be from staff may be an impersonation attempt.
Dear Australian Human Rights Commission,
I am writing to you today to make a request Freedom of Information Act
1982.
I wish to request a list of all public and private complaints against the
Australian Human Rights Commission and its staff members and commissioners
and president and a copy of of each complaint and a copy of the response
to each complaint from 1 January 2020 to 1 July 2025.
I look forward to hearing your decision in due course to this application.
Yours faithfully,
Ben
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[9][FOI #13611 email]
Is [10][Australian Human Rights Commission request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Australian Human Rights Commission? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[11]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
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:
[12]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
***********************************************************************
WARNING: The information contained in this email may be confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient, any use or copying of any part
of this information is unauthorised. If you have received this email in
error, we apologise for any inconvenience and request that you notify
the sender immediately and delete all copies of this email, together
with any attachments.
***********************************************************************
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://humanrights.gov.au/
3. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
4. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
5. mailto:[FOI #13611 email]
6. mailto:[Australian Human Rights Commission request email]
7. mailto:[FOI #13611 email]
8. https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific...
9. mailto:[FOI #13611 email]
10. mailto:[Australian Human Rights Commission request email]
11. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
12. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Hi Mr Fairchild,
Just following up on my previous email, the due date was not calculated
correctly. As there is a public holiday on Monday 6 October, the actual
due date is Tuesday 7 October 2025.
I apologise for this oversight.
Warm regards,
Grace Tynan she/her
Paralegal - FOI
Australian Human Rights Commission
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
T +61 2 9284 9792
E [1][email address] W [2]humanrights.gov.au
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia,
and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We
pay our respects to their Elders - past, present and future.
[3]Email signature graphic. Australian Human Rights Commission Logo.
Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday.
The Commission supports flexible working arrangements, and I am sending
this message at a time that is convenient to me and my work schedule. It
is not my expectation that you read, respond, or follow up on this email
outside your hours of work.
From: Grace Tynan
Sent: Monday, 8 September 2025 1:04 PM
To: [4][FOI #13611 email]
Subject: Acknowledgement email [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear Mr Fairchild,
The Australian Human Rights Commission has begun processing your request
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).
You have requested access to:
A list of all public and private complaints against the Australian Human
Rights Commission and its staff members and commissioners and president
and a copy of each complaint and a copy of the response to each complaint
from 1 January 2020 to 1 July 2025.
Under the FOI Act, the Commission has until Monday, 6 October 2025 to make
a decision in relation to your request.
If your request covers documents which are business documents or documents
affecting another person’s privacy, and the Commission is required under
the FOI Act to consult with a third party before making a decision on the
release of those documents, the processing period will be extended a
further 30 days. An FOI officer from the Commission will advise you if
third party consultation is required.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions relating to
your request for documents.
Best regards,
Grace Tynan she/her
Paralegal - FOI
Australian Human Rights Commission
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
T +61 2 9284 9792
E [5][email address] W [6]humanrights.gov.au
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia,
and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We
pay our respects to their Elders - past, present and future.
[7]Email signature graphic. Australian Human Rights Commission Logo.
Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday.
The Commission supports flexible working arrangements, and I am sending
this message at a time that is convenient to me and my work schedule. It
is not my expectation that you read, respond, or follow up on this email
outside your hours of work.
***********************************************************************
WARNING: The information contained in this email may be confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient, any use or copying of any part
of this information is unauthorised. If you have received this email in
error, we apologise for any inconvenience and request that you notify
the sender immediately and delete all copies of this email, together
with any attachments.
***********************************************************************
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://humanrights.gov.au/
3. http://www.humanrights.gov.au/
4. mailto:[FOI #13611 email]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. https://humanrights.gov.au/
7. http://www.humanrights.gov.au/