FOI 141 2024 Request consultation notice s 24AB.pdf

Australian Securities
and Investments Commission
Office address (inc courier deliveries):
Level 5, 100 Market Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Mail address for Sydney office:
GPO Box 9827,
Melbourne VIC 3001
Me
Tel: +61 1300 935 075
By email: foi+request-11634-
www.asic.gov.au/
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Our Reference:  FOI 141-2024
12 July 2024
Dear Me
Freedom of Information Request No. FOI 141-2024
Notice of a practical refusal ground under s24AB of the FOI Act
I refer to your request dated 5 July 2024 under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act) in which you seek access to documents in the possession of the
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Your request seeks access to documents as fol ows:
- Al  emails sent by ASIC between 0000 1 July and 2359 5 July 2024, where:
- The author is an ASIC SES (or equivalent), including acting SES, and
- The email relates in any way to the SERC report on ASIC investigation and
enforcement (whether before or after the report’s formal tabling), and
- The email was not sent outside the Commonwealth (that is, internal emails, or
to other Commonwealth entities, or a minister/their office, are al  included;
emails to journalists, or companies (that are not CCEs), or private citizens are
excluded)
Personal information of any SES or equivalent, including a/SES and SES at other
departments, is included unless (1) it is sensitive personal information, or (2) it is
a non-work contact detail (such as a mobile phone number where the
employer didn’t provide the phone)
Duplicates are excluded - one email trail is sufficient if it has all the emails in
scope
Attachments to emails, and other documents referred to in emails, are
included
Third party personal information, apart from SES as above, is excluded except
for first names
Al  emails domains (‘@asic.gov.au’) are included
Al  email addresses are included subject to the above. So positional emails
and SES names included, other names excluded except first name
I am writing to advise you that I believe that the work involved in processing
your request in its current form would substantially and unreasonably divert the

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resources  of  ASIC  from  its  other  operations  due  to  the  broad  scope  of  the
request. This is called a ‘practical refusal reason’ (s 24AA).
On this basis, I intend to refuse access to the documents you requested. The
purpose of this letter is to provide you with an opportunity to revise your request
so that the practical refusal reason no longer exists before a final decision is
made. This is called a ‘request consultation process’ as set out under s 24AB of
the FOI Act. Should you wish to submit a revised request please consider the
issues raised in this notice to ensure that they are addressed.
Substantial and unreasonable diversion of resources: s 24AA(1)(a) FOI Act
For  the  reasons  below,  I  consider  that  a  practical  refusal  reason  within  the
meaning of section 24AA(1)(a) of the FOI Act exists in relation to your request
on the basis that processing your request in its current terms would substantially
and unreasonably divert the resources of ASIC from its other operations.
Following  preliminary  inquiries,  it  appears  that  the  searches  that  would  be
required for documents within the scope of your request would amount to a
substantial  and  unreasonable  diversion  of  ASIC’s  resources  from  its  other
operations. Specifically:
• Preliminary  inquiries  were  coordinated  by  liaising  with  People  &
Development to identify the individuals that are the subject of your
FOI request.
• On 9 July 2024, People & Development returned a list of 58 individuals
in roles at the SES level at ASIC as of 5 July 2024.
Based on the following considerations  I am of the view that it would take in
excess of 58 hours to process the request in the present terms:
1. it would take at least one hour for each SES to conduct keyword searches
for relevant documents across their mailboxes as well as relevant folders on
ASIC’s  document  management  system,  and  prepare  the  documents  for
the FOI team
2. assessing the documents would require additional processing time, noting
the  nature  of  the  requested  documents  are  such  that  an  FOI  decision-
maker would have to obtain advice from subject matter experts; and
3. additional  time  would  be  required  to  prepare  the  decision  letter  and
schedule of documents.
An  estimate  of  processing  time  is  only  one  consideration  to  be  taken  into
account when deciding whether a practical refusal reason exists. I have also
considered that:
• processing  the  request  in  its  present  terms  will  require  a significant
amount  of  time to be dedicated by all SES-level staff at ASIC. This
would  significantly impact  the  progress  of  significant regulatory
and operational tasks that require careful consideration and timely
action by ASIC’s senior management
• processing  the  request  in  its  present  terms  will  require  a significant
amount of time to be dedicated by FOI staff which will impact upon
the time available to process other FOI requests; and
• at present the terms of the request are framed broadly.

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For  the  reasons  above,  processing  your  request  in  its  current  terms  would
substantially  and  unreasonably  divert  the  resources  of  ASIC  from  its  other
operations.
Intention to refuse request and invitation to revise scope
Accordingly, I intend to refuse your request given that a practical refusal reason
exists within the meaning of s 24AA(1)(a) of the FOI Act. However, before a final
decision is made you are invited to revise the terms of your request.
Given  that  preliminary  inquiries  relevant  to  searches  for  the  requested
documents  indicate  that  the  searches  for  the  requested  documents  would
involve a diversion of resources, you may wish to consider narrowing the scope
of  your  request.  Specifically,  you  may  wish  to  make  a  request  targeted  to
Executive Directors.  Executive Directors are  the  most  senior  tier  of the  SES at
ASIC. There are six individuals identified as holding Executive Director roles in
the list of SES provided by People & Development.
If you narrow the scope of the request to these documents, the practical refusal
reason would not exist on the basis of the required searches.
I would also be assisted with your clarification in relation to the specified date
range “between 0000 1 July and 2359 5 July 2024”. Specifically, whether this is
a reference to the period between 12 midnight on 30 June and 12 midnight on
5 July 2024.
Timeframe
The statutory timeframe for notifying an applicant of a decision on a request
for access under the FOI Act is 30 days from the day the agency receives the
request. Please note that in accordance with section 24AB(8) of the FOI Act,
the time for processing your request is suspended from the day that you receive
this  letter,  and  resumes  on  the  day  after  you  provide  ASIC  with  one  of  the
following:
•  written notification that you wish to withdraw the request;
•  a revised written request addressing the matters raised above; or
•  written notification that you do not wish to revise your request.
If you choose to do one of the three things listed above, you must do so within
14 days of the date of this letter (the consultation period). If you do not do one
of the three things listed above during the consultation period, your request wil
be taken to be withdrawn in accordance with section 24AB(7) of the FOI Act.
During  the consultation period  you  may  wish  to  seek assistance  in  reframing
your request. If you have any questions or wish to discuss, please contact me
on 02 9911 5841 or by email at xxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Rachel Ranjan
Senior Lawyer, FOI
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Phone: 02 9911 5841
Email: xxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx

(Authorised decision-maker pursuant to subsection 23(1) of the FOI Act)