23 Marcus Clarke Street
Canberra ACT 2601
GPO Box 3131
Our ref:
FOI100190
Canberra ACT 2601
Contact officer:
FOI team
Contact phone:
02 6243 1244
tel: (02) 6243 1111
fax: (02) 6243 1199
22 July 2024
www.accc.gov.au
Compliance Associate (Right to Know)
Sent via email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Compliance Associate
I refer to your email of 22 June 2024 in which you request access to documents
relating, under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the Act), to:
[Part 1]
‘I am requesting documents related CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty Ltd, GFT
Global Markets UK Limited, IG Markets Limited, Australian CFD Forum Limited
and parties otherwise listed in Schedule 1 made December 2013.
In the submission a compliance plan was being developed by Ms.
Jan Redfern PSM, former senior executive of ASIC and currently part time Senior
Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Guardianship Tribunal
and independent governance and regulatory compliance consultant, to assist
them in relation to a proposal to establish a CFD industry body and best practice
standards for the Australian CFD industry.
Please provide documents about industry best practices and compliance plans
created by Jan Redfern.’
[Part 2]
‘Additionally documents about Trio Capital and fraud and the need John Hempton
to Treasury to use only arrangements like Citco as custodian of client assets and
strongly critical of the typical brokerage and clearing arrangements used by
typical Hedge Funds.’
Withdrawal of freedom of information request
Our letter of 4 July 2024 gave notice under s.24AB(2) of the Act and advised you of
our intention to refuse your request, insofar as it related to ‘Part 2’ of your request,
because a practical refusal reason exists. You had 14 days (i.e. by 18 July 2024) to
consult us in relation to your request and either:
(a) withdraw your request;
(b) make a revised request; or
(c) indicate that you did not wish to revise the request.
As you did not respond as required, in accordance with s.24AB(7) of the Act, your
request, insofar as it relates to ‘Part 2’ of your request, is now withdrawn.
Access refusal decision – documents do not exist
I have decided to refuse your request, insofar as it relates to ‘Part 1’ of your request,
under s.24A(1) of the Act on the basis that the document does not exist.
I am authorised under s.23 of the Act to make this decision.
Reasons for decision
Section 24A(1) of the Act relevantly provides as fol ows:
An agency or Minister may refuse a request for access to a document if:
(a) all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and
(b) the agency or Minister is satisfied that the document:
(i) is in the agency’s or Minister’s possession but cannot be found.
(i ) does not exist.
Therefore, we may refuse a request for access to a document if we take all
reasonable steps to find that document and we are satisfied that the document does
not exist.
The ACCC took the following steps to locate the document:
• A thorough search of our databases to locate any information or documents
that relate to your request
• Confirmation with relevant ACCC staff that worked on the matter at the time
that no such document exists.
• A thorough search in the relevant matter workspace of our records
management system by staff in the Mergers, Exemptions and Digital Division
for documents matching, or similar to, the scope of the request provided by
you.
Based on the nil results of these steps, I conclude that the requested document does
not exist within the records of the ACCC.
Rights of review
Your rights of review are set out in Attachment A.
Further information
We have liaised with the relevant staff and they have provided some additional
information in relation to the authorisation application –
Australian CFD Forum
Limited & Ors – Authorisations – 91403 & A91404.
• The application mentions that Ms Redfern was hired to advise them and that
this evolved into the application.
• The application includes content that proposed compliance requirements for
members and set out a number of standards.
• The application and the determination did not propose any formal compliance
plan.
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• These standards and the proposed compliance requirements are set out in
the published application and published determination
(https://www.accc.gov.au/public-registers/authorisations-and-notifications-
registers/authorisations-register/australian-cfd-forum-limited-ors-
authorisations-a91403-a91404) .
Yours sincerely
Rebecca Fenech
FOI Manager
Specialist Advice and Services Division
Sent by email 22/07/2024
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Attachment A
Information on rights of review
ACCC Internal Review
Under s.54 of the FOI Act, you can ask for an internal review of this decision. If you
request an internal review request, another officer of the ACCC will review your
request and make a new decision.
Timeframe for requesting internal review
You have 30 days from the receipt of this decision to request an internal review.
You may seek an extension to this timeframe with our agreement.
Is there a charge?
There is no charge payable for requesting an internal review.
Requesting an internal review
Your request for internal review must be in writing and indicate that you are seeking
an internal review. You wil need explain why this decision should be changed.
Please send your internal review request to the FOI Team by:
Email: xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
When wil the decision be made?
We have 30 days from the receipt of your internal review request to make a decision.
If we do not make a decision within 30 days or such further period as the IC allows,
the original decision is considered affirmed. In such circumstances, you can seek
review of our deemed decision by the Information Commissioner.
Review by the Information Commissioner
You can ask for a review of this decision by the Australian Information Commissioner
(IC). The Of ice of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) encourages
applicants to seek internal review first, however you are not required to go through
our internal review process before seeking review by the IC. If you do choose to seek
an internal review, you can stil seek IC review of the internal review decision if we
refuse access to your request.
Timeframe for requesting IC review
You have 60 days from the receipt of an access refusal decision to request IC
review.
You may seek an extension to this timeframe from the OAIC.
Is there a charge?
There is no charge payable for requesting an IC review.
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Requesting IC review
Your request for IC review must be in writing and include:
• your name and contact details
• a copy of the ACCC’s decision that you disagree with (if you’ve received one)
• the reason(s) why you disagree with the decision
You can lodge your request for IC review online:
Online: https:/ www.oaic.gov.au/contact-us#reviews
Complaint to the Information Commissioner
You can request the Information Commissioner to investigate action taken by the
ACCC in relation to this FOI request. The Information Commissioner wil consider
your complaint and, if appropriate, conduct an investigation. Any investigation wil be
completely independent.
Is there a charge?
There is no charge payable for making a complaint to the IC.
Lodging an IC complaint
You must lodge your complaint in writing and give a clear and brief description of
each issue you’re complaining about and what outcome you’d like.
You can lodge a complaint online:
Online: https:/ www.oaic.gov.au/contact-us#complaints
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Document Outline