Our ref:
ID : A1147582
CR (via
Righttoknow.org.au)
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear CR
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST – NOTICE OF ACCESS DECISION - F281
This notice contains my decision in relation to access to documents in the possession of the National Offshore
Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) that were requested under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). The request was for (paraphrased):
1. The most recent 30 notices of charges issued to FOI applicants [1 July 2022 to 1 October 2024].
2. For each of these 30 notices, any subsequent decisions regarding charges following applicant
contention.
3. For each of these 30 notices, any subsequent decisions regarding charges following internal or
external review
You also requested the exclusion of the following information:
personal information of FOI applicants (including supporting evidence or details of personal
circumstances in a financial hardship contention; and
Emails attaching charges notices/decision letters.
I am the decision maker in this matter, having been authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act.
Decision
I identified 31 documents which fall within the scope of the request. I am required to undertake reasonable
searches to find requested documents in accordance with the above request. What constitutes a
’reasonable’ search will depend on the circumstances of each request. For this request, I confirm that I took
comprehensive steps to locate documents, having regard to:
The subject matter of the documents;
NOPSEMA’s record management systems; and
Assistance from officers within the agency to locate documents.
Given the nature of the scope of the request, I undertook both a key word search and manual searches of
all FOI files within the time period provided (1 July 2022 to 1 October 2024) in NOPSEMA’s electronic
records management system. The reason for this was to ensure that no documents within the scope were
missed due to document filing or naming errors. Following these searches, I retrieved all documents
identified as a notice of charge or decision relating to charges. Our interpretation of your request
National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority
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categories resulted in retrieving decision notices where NOPSEMA had exercised its discretion not to
impose a charge, as well as subsequent (final) access decisions following applicant contentions where
charges were reduced.
I also manually reviewed all FOI review files (those that had proceeded to internal or external (OAIC/AAT)
review and did not identify any documents relating to the scope categories above. I am satisfied that the
searches conducted were thorough and all reasonable steps have been taken to locate any document
relevant to your request.
After reviewing each of the documents in issue, I have decided to grant access to 31 documents in part. A
schedule of the documents located is enclosed at Attachment A. Specifically, I have decided that of these
31 documents:
• Access is granted in part to all documents with irrelevant matter deleted under s 22; and
• access is granted in part to 14 documents (marked in the schedule) with exempt matter deleted
under section 22 and conditionally exempt under section 47E of the FOI Act (Agency operations).
My detailed reasons for this decision are set out below.
Reasons for Decision
Section 22 of the FOI Act – irrelevant to request
Section 22 of the FOI Act provides that if giving access to a document would disclose information that would
reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request, it is possible for NOPSEMA to prepare an edited copy of
the document, modified by deletions.
I am satisfied that the information contained in each of the 31 documents, namely personal information of
FOI applicants, would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request, on the basis that you agreed to its
exclusion in your request. Accordingly, I have deleted names, specific job titles (where it would be possible to
identify an individual) and email address information from the documents pursuant to s 22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI
Act.
In addition, documents ID
2.F253 and
3a.F248 contain extensive information relating to final decisions on
access to documents, including an assessment of the contents of the documents being assessed for disclosure
to certain FOI applicants. As your request relates to decisions on charges only, I am satisfied that the
information not relating to the decision on charges can reasonably be regarded as irrelevant and has
therefore been deleted pursuant to s 22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act, with the remaining information being
released to you.
Section 47E – Public Interest conditional exemption – operations of agencies
Paragraph 47E(d) of the FOI Act provides:
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or could reasonably be
expected to, do any of the following:
…
(d) have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of an
agency.
National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority
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ABN: 22 385 178 289
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In relation to 14 documents within the scope of your request, I identified that NOPSEMA’s bank account
number was recorded in the notices. I appreciate that a BSB number is publicly available, however, individual
account numbers are generally not locatable publicly due to risks of scams and other unauthorised or
fraudulent uses (such as creating fraudulent direct debits). Whilst I acknowledge that NOPSEMA routinely
provides its bank account number directly to various parties it has dealings with, including FOI applicants, I
consider that in such circumstances it has been provided for a specific purpose and not distributed widely for
general business use (as opposed to an ABN, ACN or other type of identifying number).
Noting that documents released under the FOI Act are not protected from further dissemination once they
are released and published online, I consider that it is reasonable to expect that publishing such information
would lead to inappropriate or unauthorised use of its banking details. This would result in a major
operational and security issues for the agency and require significant internal resources to rectify. As such, I
am satisfied that disclosure of NOPSEMA’s bank account number could reasonably be expected cause a
substantial adverse effect on NOPSEMA’s proper and efficient operations and is therefore conditionally
exempt under 47E(d) of the FOI Act.
The public interest – s 11A of the FOI Act
As I have decided that parts of the documents are conditionally exempt, I am now required to consider
whether access to the conditionally exempt information would be contrary to the public interest. In
summary, the test is whether access to the conditionally exempt part of the document would be, on balance,
contrary to the public interest.
Having regard to the factors set out in s 11B(3) of the FOI Act, I am satisfied that;
Access to the part of the document would promote the objects of the FOI Act;
The subject matter of the documents is not a matter of public importance, and has a very limited scope
given it identifies an account NOPSEMA holds with a financial institution used for administrative
purposes only;
The limited nature of the information does not promote effective oversight of public expenditure (by
way of contrast, the remaining information in the documents such as amounts charged and received
under FOI requests will be released); and
You do not require this information to access your own personal information.
In addition, I have also considered the following factors that weigh against the release of conditionally
exempt information in the documents:
That the FOI Act does not control, restrict or limit the subsequent use or further dissemination under
the FOI Act, and such information as deemed conditionally exempt above could be easily misused or
misappropriated for fraudulent purposes if access to it is readily available online, and there is a strong
public interest in NOPSEMA having the ability to conduct its administrative affairs (such as banking)
efficiently and securely.
I have also had regard to s 11B(4) irrelevant factors, including:
Access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Commonwealth Government, or cause
loss of confidence in the Commonwealth Government;
National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority
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Access to the document could result in any person misinterpreting or misunderstanding the document;
The author of the document was (or is) of high seniority in the agency to which the request for access
to the document was made;
Access to the document could result in confusion or unnecessary debate.
I confirm that I have not taken any of these (irrelevant) factors into account in making this decision.
Upon balancing all of the above relevant public interest considerations, I have concluded that the
disclosure of the conditionally exempt information in the documents is not in the public interest and
therefore exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act.
Release of documents
On 29 October 2024 NOPSEMA agreed to waive the charges for processing your request. Further, as there
are no third parties who have review rights applying to this decision, NOPSEMA will provide you with a secure
file link shortly to facilitate your access to the documents.
Your review rights
If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for internal review or Information Commissioner
Review. We encourage you to seek internal review as a first step as it may provide a more rapid resolution of
your concerns.
Internal review
Any application for an internal review of the decision must be made in writing within 30 days of receipt of this
decision. No fee is required for an application for internal review. A request for internal review should be
directed to the following address:
The Internal Reviewer, Freedom of Information
NOPSEMA
GPO Box 2568
PERTH WA 6001
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
No particular form is required but it is desirable to set out in the application the grounds on which you
consider that the decision should be reviewed.
Information Commissioner review
Alternatively, you may make an application to the Information Commissioner under section 54L of the FOI
Act. An application for review to the Information Commissioner must be made in writing within 60 days of
receipt of this decision. An application can be made in one of the following ways:
online:
Information Commissioner Review Application form (business.gov.au)
email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
post:
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
in person:
Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW
More information about Information Commissioner review is available on the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner website. Go
to Information Commissioner review - Home (oaic.gov.au).
National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority
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ABN: 22 385 178 289
nopsema.gov.au
Our Ref:A1147582
Yours sincerely
Michela Giubilato
Freedom of Information Authorised Officer
wA895734
07 November 2024
Attachments
A.
Schedule of documents
National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority
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ABN: 22 385 178 289
nopsema.gov.au
Document Outline
