FOI Reference: LEX 10714
File Reference: 24/13274
June 2024
Alex Pentland
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Pentland
Re: Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request received by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the
department) on 26 April 2024, for access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982
(the FOI Act) to:
(a) Al correspondence between the DFAT and the Australian Government
entities in relation to Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s visit to Hungary
and appearance at CPAC Hungary in 2024
(b) notes, summaries or records of discussions between the DFAT Secretary and
Tony Abbott regarding Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s visit to Hungary
and appearance at CPAC Hungary in 2024
(c) Any submissions sent by the DFAT to the Foreign Minister or the Trade
Minister in relation to Former Prime Minister Tony Abb’tt's visit to Hungary
and appearance at CPAC Hungary in 2024
(d) Any submissions sent by the Foreign Minister or the Trade Minister to the
DFAT in relation to Former Prime Minister Tony Abb’tt's visit to Hungary and
appearance at CPAC Hungary in 2024
I am writing to provide you with a decision about your request.
In relation to part (a) of your request I have identified documents relevant to your
request. After careful consideration, I have decided to grant you access to an edited
copy of the documents, with irrelevant and exempt material removed.
In relation to parts (b), (c) and (d) of your request, thorough searches conducted by Western
Europe Branch, Cabinet, Ministerial and Parliamentary Branch, the Secretary’s Office and
the Australian Embassy in Vienna found no documents matching the description of the
documents you requested.
R G Casey Building John McEwen Cres Barton 0221
DFAT.GOV.AU
T +61 2 6261 1111
@DFAT
In accordance with section 24A(1) of the FOI Act, your request for access to documents
relating to parts (b), (c) and (d) is refused as all reasonable steps have been taken to find
the documents and I am satisfied that the documents do not exist.
Reasons
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation
to FOI requests.
In making my decision I have taken into account:
• the terms of your request;
• the documents that fall within the scope of your request;
• consultations undertaken with a third party;
• the FOI Act; and
• the guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section
93A of the FOI Act (FOI Guidelines).
The reasons for my decision and for the application of exemptions under the FOI Act to
the document are set out below. Where I refer to sections of the FOI Act, these are
available at www.legislation.gov.au. Parts of the FOI Guidelines referenced can be
found online at www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/freedom-of-information-
guidance-for-government-agencies/foi-guidelines.
Damage to international relations (section 33(a)(ii ) of the FOI Act)
Under section 33(a)(iii) of the FOI Act, a document is exempt if its disclosure would, or
could reasonably be expected to, cause damage to the international relations of the
Commonwealth.
The phrase ‘international relations’ has been interpreted to mean the ability of the
Australian Government to maintain good working relations with other governments
and international organisations and to protect the flow of confidential information
between them (FOI Guidelines, paragraph 5.39).
This applies to documents, the disclosure of which may diminish the confidence which
another country has in Australia as a reliable recipient of confidential information,
making that country or its agencies less willing to cooperate with Australian agencies in
future (FOI Guidelines, paragraph 5.42).
The expression ‘damage’ can include intangible damage, including inhibiting future
negotiations between the Australian Government and a foreign government, or the
future flow of confidential information from a foreign government or agency
(FOI Guidelines, paragraph 5.25).
I consider the expectation of damage to international relations is reasonable in all the
circumstances, having had regard to the nature of the information, the circumstances
in which it was communicated, and the nature and extent of the relationship of the
damage to international relations which could reasonably occur in the event of
disclosure (FOI Guidelines, paragraph 5.40).
Considering these provisions, I am satisfied that the disclosure of the relevant material
to which you seek access, would be reasonably likely to cause damage to Australia’s
foreign relationships and that that this material is exempt under section 33(a)(iii) of the
FOI Act.
Substantial adverse effect on an agency’s proper and efficient conduct of operations
(section 47E(d) of the FOI Act)
Under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act, a document is conditionally exempt if disclosure
would, or could reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the
proper and efficient conduct of an agency’s operations. A substantial adverse effect
may be indirect (FOI Guidelines, paragraph 6.82).
The predicted effect must bear on the department’s ‘proper and efficient’ operations,
that is, the department is undertaking its undertaking its operations in an expected
manner (FOI Guidelines, paragraph 6.115).
The documents in scope include content which provides detailed information on the
department’s facilitation of individual travel, to the level of discussion of options for a
specific trip. The department’s functions include the facilitation of travel for former
Prime Ministers, and it is important that different options can be discussed and
evaluated within the department. If the nature of those discussions and the criteria by
which the department evaluates specific request became known, it could lead to those
discussions being impeded and by extension to the department’s travel functions being
impeded.
I am satisfied that disclosure of this material within the scope of your request would, or
could reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the
department’s ability to effectively and efficiently undertake its operational activities.
I have therefore decided that this material is conditionally exempt under section 47E(d)
of the FOI Act.
Unreasonable disclosure of personal information (section 47F(1) of the FOI Act)
Under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act, a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure
would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person.
‘Personal information’ refers to information or opinion about an identified individual,
or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:
• whether the information or opinion is true or not; and
• whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.
The test of ‘unreasonableness’ implies a need to balance the public interest in
disclosure of government-held information and the private interest in the privacy of
individuals (FOI Guidelines, paragraph 6.133).
I have had regard to the following matters in considering whether disclosure of some
information would involve an unreasonable disclosure of personal information:
• the extent to which the information is well known;
• whether the individuals to whom the information relates is/ are known to be
(or to have been) associated with the matters in the document/ documents;
and
• the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources; and
• any other matters that the agency considers relevant (section 47F(2) of the
FOI Act).
Having regard to the nature of the information, and the implications for the identified
individuals if disclosed, I am satisfied that the disclosure of the personal information in
this case would be unreasonable. I am not satisfied that the information is well known
or publicly available, or that the disclosure of the relevant information would achieve a
public purpose.
For these reasons, I have decided that the relevant material is conditionally exempt
under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.
Conditional exemptions - public interest considerations (section 11A(5) of the FOI Act)
As sections 47E(d) and 47F(1) of the FOI Act are conditional exemptions, I must grant you
access to this material unless providing access would, on balance, be contrary to the
public interest (section 11A(5) of the FOI Act).
In assessing the public interest, I have considered the FOI Guidelines referred to above
and the public interest factors listed in section 11B of the FOI Act as favoring access,
including whether granting access to the documents would:
• promote the objects of the FOI Act; and/or
• promote effective oversight of public expenditure.
I have also considered public interest factors against disclosure, including that
disclosure may reasonably be expected to:
• prejudice an individual’s right to privacy; and/or
• prejudice the functions of our Cabinet, Ministerial and Parliamentary Branch
and our overseas posts in facilitating travel.
On balance, I am of the view that the public interest is weighted against the disclosure
of this material. In forming this view, I have not taken into account any of the irrelevant
factors specified in section 11B(4) of the FOI Act.
Irrelevant material (section 22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act)
Some of the material excluded from the documents released to you is outside the scope
or could reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to your request (section 22(1)(a)(ii) of the
FOI Act) as it does not relate to Mr Abbott’s travel to Hungary.
In determining what is relevant to your request, I have also taken into account the
terms of your request and the email which you received from the department on
29 April 2024, in which you were invited to respond if you required the names and
contact details of government officials not in the Senior Executive Service (SES). As you
have not stated that you require this information, I have decided to remove them from
the document being released to you.
Declassifying documents
The department will declassify a document before it is released to you. This process
involves redacting the original security classification on a document. If applicable, the
redaction will appear as a black rectangle at the top of the document. For further
information regarding sensitive and classified information please see the Protective
Security Policy Framework - https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/system/
files/2022-11/protective-security-guidance-for-executives.pdf.
Review rights
Information about your review rights is set out in the
Attachment for your reference.
Contact
Should you have any queries regarding this matter please contact the Freedom of
Information Section by email (xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx).
Yours sincerely
Cate Rogers
Assistant Secretary
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Attachment
Your review rights
Internal review
You may apply for internal review of the decision (section 54 of the FOI Act). The
internal review application must be made within 30 calendar days from the day you
receive this notice.
Where possible, please attach reasons why you believe review of the decision is
necessary. The internal review wil be carried out by another officer within 30 days.
Any request for internal review should be directed via email to xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx or
addressed to:
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
R G Casey Building
John McEwen Crescent
Barton ACT 0221
Australia
Australian Information Commissioner
You may apply to the Australian Information Commissioner to review my decision
(section 54L of the FOI Act). To do this, you must contact the Australian Information
Commissioner within 60 calendar days from the day you receive this notice.
You may also make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner about the
Department’s actions in relation to this decision (section 70 of the FOI Act). Making
such a complaint about the way the Department has handled your FOI request is a
separate process to seeking review of my decision.
Further information on applying for an Australian Information Commissioner review is
available at: www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-
rights/freedom-of-information-reviews.
Further information about how to make a complaint is available at:
www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-
rights/freedom-of-information-complaints.
