OFFICIAL
Our Ref: LEX 3435
10 January 2024
NoseyRosey
By email
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Nosey
Freedom of Information request – proposed practical refusal – diversion of resources
I refer to your request dated 18 December 2024, seeking access to the following documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act):
Request
I am seeking documents held by the AFP relating to the sharing of personal information
originating from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) over the last ten years.
I request any and all documents, records, data, and supporting material held by the AFP
concerning the sharing of personal information that the AFP has received from, or provided to,
the DVA. This includes any arrangements, whether one-off data exchanges or ongoing
systematic transfers of DVA client information, including personal, medical, financial, or service-
related details about veterans or their dependents. In particular, I am seeking copies of
memoranda of understanding, service-level agreements, internal correspondence, meeting
minutes, file transfer logs, policy documents, reports, and any other records that detail the nature,
purpose, and scope of information sharing between the AFP and the DVA.
If the AFP holds policies, procedures, or guidelines that govern how it requests, receives, stores,
handles, or uses data originating from the DVA, I request access to those documents as well.
Furthermore, if there have been any privacy impact assessments, ethics approvals, or internal
reviews that relate to the AFP’s use or handling of DVA-sourced information, I respectfully request
access to those records. Additionally, if the AFP has any documents describing the intended
uses, underlying rationale, or anticipated outcomes of accessing DVA client information, please
include these in the scope of the request. If practicable, I also seek a suitably de-identified sample
of the data fields to understand the nature and scope of the data shared.
If the AFP does not hold information beyond what is related solely to Centrelink Confirmation
eServices (CCeS) arrangements, and there are no other forms of DVA data shared, then it is not
necessary to provide the CCeS-related data. Otherwise, please include any relevant data or
documentation within the scope of this request.
OFFICIAL
Freedom of Information
/ GPO Box 401 Canberra City ACT 2601
/ Email: xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
POLICING FOR A SAFER AUSTRALIA
ABN 17 864 931 143
afp.gov.au
OFFICIAL
I believe that the work involved in processing your request in its current form would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of the AFP from its other operations, due to the size and scope of
your request. This is a ‘practical refusal reason’ (section 24AA of the Act).
On this basis, I intend to refuse access to the documents you requested. However, before I make a final
decision, you have an opportunity to revise your request. This is a ‘request consultation process’ in
accordance with section 24AB of the Act.
Why I intend to refuse the request
I note that this request is identical to FOI request LEX 2708 which was submitted on your behalf. A
decision was made to refuse that request under section 24(1) of the Act. There is therefore no reason
for the agency to provide a different decision in regard to this request.
I have decided that a practical refusal reason exists because:
1.
Searches conducted to date of your request regarding internal correspondence only have
identified at least 272084 emails that would need to be reviewed for relevance to the scope
of your request;
2.
I would need to examine each of these emails individually to determine the documents within
the scope of your request, potentially consult with another person or body in relation to the
request, make a copy or an edited copy of the documents, and redact exempt material from
the documents;
3.
Searching, reviewing and indexing these documents may also substantially and unreasonably
divert the resources of the AFP from its other operations.
Consultation period
This consultation period is for
14 days, commencing the day after the date of this notice. You have an
opportunity to revise your request to enable it to proceed. Before the end of the consultation period, you
must do one of the following in writing:
1.
withdraw the request, or
2.
make a revised request, or
3.
indicate that you do not wish to revise the request.
Potential revision of request
Reducing the scope of your request may involve limiting your request for a specific document(s) and/or
limit your request to a specific period of time. From previous correspondence is has been interpreted
that you are seeking high level documentation regarding data sharing arrangements between the AFP
and DVA, specifically in relation to the sharing of personal information. You may therefore wish to limit
your request to current memoranda of understanding, service-level agreements, policies, procedures or
guidelines that govern how the AFP requests, receives, stores, handles or uses personal information
originating from the DVA. This suggestion is offered as guidance only. Should you decide to revise your
request, this does not guarantee that the practical refusal reason will no longer exist. If it does no longer
exist, there is no guarantee that documents will be released without exemptions applied. These
decisions are made when any documents that are the subject of a request are assessed.
During the consultation period, you may contact me by email
at xxx@xxx.xxx.xx. If you revise the request
in a way that adequately addresses the practical refusal grounds, I will recommence processing your
request. Please note that the time taken to consult you regarding the scope of your request is not taken
into account for the purposes of the 30 day time limit for processing the request.
OFFICIAL
OFFICIAL
If you do not respond in one of the 3 ways indicated above during the consultation period, your request
will be taken to have been withdrawn.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Funston
Freedom of Information Officer
Freedom of Information
Chief Counsel Portfolio
OFFICIAL
