FOI 2024 316 Notice of decision.pdf

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Freedom of Information (FOI) request
Notice of Decision
Reference: FOI/2024/316
Trav S
Via email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear Trav S
I refer to your request to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department), under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act), received on 23 September 2024.
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your request for access under the
FOI Act.
Scope of request
You set out your request in the fol owing terms:
1. A copy of each ‘HOSM Application Form’ the Department collected from each prospective
awardee serving with the ‘Australian contingent to the humanitarian relief operation of GE
Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies’.

2. A copy of the Department’s correspondence to the Governor-General recommending any
award of the HOSM or clasp to members of the ‘Australian contingent to the humanitarian relief
operation of GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies’

3. A document recording the number of ‘HOSM Application Forms’ the Department collected
from prospective awardees claiming to have served with the ‘Australian contingent to the
humanitarian relief operation of GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies’.

4. A document recording the number of persons the Department recommended the Governor-
Postal Address: PO Box 6500, CANBERRA ACT 2600
Telephone: +61 2 6271 5849   Fax: +61 2 6271 5776   www.pmc.gov.au ABN:  18 108 001 191

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General award the HOSM in recognition of their service with the ‘Australian contingent to the
humanitarian relief operation of GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies’.

The date/time of the Department’s correspondence is relevant to our request.
Authorised decision-maker
I am authorised to make this decision in accordance with arrangements approved by the
Department’s Secretary under section 23 of the FOI Act.
Material taken into account
In reaching my decision I referred to the fol owing:
•  the terms of your request
•  the FOI Act
•  the Guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner1 (the Guidelines)
•  the views of a third party consulted by the Department under section 27A.
Documents in scope of request
The Department has identified 5 documents that fal  within the scope of your request.
These documents are set out in the Schedule of Documents at Attachment A.
Decision
I have decided to grant access in part, with exempt and irrelevant material deleted, on grounds the
documents contain information exempt under:
•  section 22(1)(a)(i ) – irrelevant material
•  section 47F – personal information
Reason for decision
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that certain information is exempt or irrelevant is set out
below.
1.  Section 47F - Public interest conditional exemption - personal privacy
Section 47F(1) of the FOI Act provides:

1 s 93A of the FOI Act
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1.  A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would involve the
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person
For the purposes of the FOI Act, I note ‘personal information’ has the same meaning as in the Privacy
Act 1988.
Having identified third party ‘personal information’ within the documents, I have considered the
provisions of section 47F(2), which require me to have regard to:
a.  the extent to which the information is well known;
b.  whether the person is known to be associated with the matters in the document
c.  the availability of the information from a public source; and
d.  any other matters relevant, for example if it is reasonable to suspect the person would expect
their information to be released as part of an FOI request.
The FOI Guidelines note at paragraph 6.138 that “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”. The FOI Guidelines also notes what is considered unreasonable requires a
consideration of al  the circumstances. The other key factors for determining whether disclosure is
unreasonable include:
a.  the author of the document is identifiable
b.  the documents contain third party personal information
c.  release of the document would cause stress on the third party
d.  no public purpose would be achieved through release.
The documents contain the name and personal information of third parties. I have considered the
circumstances and find the individuals are not necessarily known to be associated with the matters in
the document. I have also had regard to other relevant matters as per section 47F(2)(d), including the
fact these individuals would likely not expect their information to be released as part of an FOI
request.
Considering the above, and that individuals have not provided consent to the release their names and
personal information, I find the release of this material constitutes an unreasonable disclosure of
personal information (section 47F(2)).
I am satisfied parts of the requested documents are conditional y exempt under section 47F(1) of the
FOI Act.
2.  Public interest
The FOI Act provides a conditional y exempt document must nevertheless be disclosed unless its
disclosure would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest2. In determining whether its disclosure

2 section 11A(5)) of the FOI Act
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would be contrary to the public interest, the FOI Act requires a decision-maker to balance the public
interest factors.
As I have decided parts of Documents 1 to 5 are conditional y exempt, I am now required to consider
the public interest factors, in doing so I have not taken into account the irrelevant factors as set out in
section 11B(4) of the FOI Act, this includes:
a)  access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Commonwealth
Government, or cause a loss in confidence in the Commonwealth Government
b)  access to the document could result in any person misinterpreting or misunderstanding
the document
c)  the author of the documents was (or is) of high seniority in the agency to which the
request for access to the document was made
d)  access to the document could result in confusion or unnecessary debate
In applying the public interest, I have noted the objects of the FOI Act3 and the factors favouring
access as listed in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act. Having regard to the material before me and the
circumstances of the documents found to be conditionally exempt, I am satisfied of the fol owing:
•  access would promote the objects of the FOI Act4
•  the subject matter within the conditional y exempt documents does not seem to have the
character of public importance, rather the matter has very limited scope and may only be of
interest to a narrow section of the public
•  the subject matter within the conditional y exempt documents does not offer any insights into
public expenditure
The FOI Act does not set out any public interest factors against disclosure and require that agencies
are to have regard to the Guidelines to work out if disclosure would, on balance, be contrary to the
public interest5. The Guidelines contain a non-exhaustive list of factors that, depending on the
circumstances of the documents found to be conditional y exempt, may weigh against disclosure.
The disclosure of the material which I have found to be conditionally exempt could reasonably be
expected to prejudice the protection of an individual’s right to privacy. Such disclosure would not
advance the public interest in transparency or scrutiny of government activities, or expenditure.
After careful consideration of al  relevant factors, I have decided that, on balance, the factors against
disclosure outweigh those favouring disclosure. Accordingly, I am of the view disclosure of certain
parts contained within Documents 1 to 5 would be contrary to the public interest.

3 section 3 of the FOI Act
4 section 11B(3)(a) of the FOI Act
5 section 11B(5) of the FOI Act
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3.  Deletion of irrelevant matter
Section 22 of the FOI Act authorises the Department to give access to an edited copy of a document
if giving access to a document would disclose information that would be reasonably regarded as
irrelevant to the request, and it is possible for the Department to prepare an edited copy, modified by
deletions, ensuring that the edited copy would not disclose any information that would reasonably be
regarded as irrelevant to the request.
On 30 September 2024, the Department advised you of its policy to exclude the personal and direct
contact details of officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES) and any Ministerial staff, as well as
any person’s signature, and the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers, which are contained in
documents that fal  within the terms of an FOI request. This category of information is identified as
irrelevant and documents can be modified by the Department to delete the irrelevant material.
Accordingly I am satisfied parts of the documents are irrelevant under section 22(1)(a)(i ) of the FOI
Act. The remaining parts of the documents have been released to you as they are relevant to your
request.
Review rights
If you disagree with my decision, you may apply for internal review or Information Commissioner
review of the decision.
Internal review
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to the Department for an internal review of
my decision. The internal review application must be made within 30 days after the date of this letter,
please attach the reasons why you disagree with the decision.
Applications for review should be sent to xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Information Commissioner review
Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Australian Information Commissioner to
review my decision. An application for review by the Information Commissioner must be made in
writing within 60 days after the date of this letter. You can apply using the OAIC Web Form.6
FOI Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your FOI request, please let us know what we could
have done better. We may be able to rectify the problem. If you are not satisfied with our response,
you can make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner. A complaint to the

6 https://webform.oaic.gov.au/prod?entitytype=ICReview&layoutcode=ICReviewWF
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Information Commissioner must be made in writing. You can make a complaint using the
OAIC Web Form.7
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your requests, you can contact the FOI Section by email at
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely

David Belgrove
Assistant Secretary
Parliamentary and Government Branch
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
21 November 2024

7 https://webform.oaic.gov.au/prod?entitytype=Complaint&layoutcode=FOIComplaintWF
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