31 December 2024
Noseyrosey
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Nosey,
Freedom of Information – Request consultation notice under section 24AB
FOI Reference number: 24/25 – 37
I refer to your correspondence to the Fair Work Commission (
Commission) dated 14 December 2024, in
which you requested access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (
FOI Act).
To recap, you have requested the following:
“I seek access to any and all documents, records, data, and supporting material held by [Name of
Agency] concerning the sharing of personal information originating from the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) over the last ten years. This includes any data transfers from or to the DVA,
whether they were one-off exchanges or ongoing, systematic transfers of DVA client information,
including personal, medical, financial, or service-related details concerning veterans or their
dependents.
I am interested in obtaining a comprehensive understanding of what DVA client information
[Authority name] has received or accessed and for what purposes. Specifically, I request:
All records of data sharing arrangements between DVA and [Authority name], including but not
limited to memoranda of understanding, service-level agreements, emails, letters, meeting
minutes, file transfer logs, internal reports, and instructions that outline what data was shared,
when it was shared, and the format or system used for the transfer.
Any policies, procedures, guidelines, or frameworks that govern how [Authority name] requests,
obtains, stores, handles, or uses DVA client information. This includes documents that detail the
criteria for approving access to such data, any consent or authorization processes, security controls,
and retention or destruction policies.
Copies of any ethics committee approvals, privacy impact assessments, internal review board
decisions, or other documents that reflect deliberations or authorizations for obtaining DVA client
information. This includes records that show the agency considered the ethical, legal, or privacy
implications of receiving or using DVA client data.
Documents that outline the intended uses or practical applications of the DVA client data, such as
project proposals, business cases, internal strategy papers, or briefings that explain why [Authority
11 Exhibition Street
Email
: xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Melbourne VIC 3000
GPO Box 1994
Melbourne VIC 3001
name] sought access to this information, how it was intended to be integrated into the agency’s
operations, and any expected outcomes or benefits.
A representative sample (in a suitably de-identified or redacted form) of the data or data fields
received, so long as providing this sample does not breach any exemption under the FOI Act. The
purpose is to understand the nature and granularity of the information shared, without disclosing
identifiable personal details.” (
requested documents)
My intentions with your request
I intend to refuse the request, based on its current wording and scope.
I draw your attention to sections 24 and 24AA of the FOI Act. An extract of those provisions are
provided below:
24 Power to refuse request—diversion of resources etc.
(1) If an agency or Minister is satisfied, when dealing with a request for a document, that a practical refusal
reason exists in relation to the request (see section 24AA), the agency or Minister:
(a) must undertake a request consultation process (see section 24AB); and
(b) if, after the request consultation process, the agency or Minister is satisfied that the practical refusal
reason still exists—the agency or Minister may refuse to give access to the document in accordance
with the request.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the agency or Minister may treat 2 or more requests as a single request
if the agency or Minister is satisfied that:
(a) the requests relate to the same document or documents; or
(b) the requests relate to documents, the subject matter of which is substantially the same.
24AA When does a practical refusal reason exist?
(1) For the purposes of section 24, a
practical refusal reason exists in relation to a request for a document if
either (or both) of the following applies:
(a) the work involved in processing the request:
(i) in the case of an agency—would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the
agency from its other operations; or
(ii) in the case of a Minister—would substantially and unreasonably interfere with the
performance of the Minister’s functions;
(b) the request does not satisfy the requirement in paragraph 15(2)(b) (identification of documents).
(2) Subject to subsection (3), but without limiting the matters to which the agency or Minister may have
regard, in deciding whether a practical refusal reason exists, the agency or Minister must have regard to the
resources that would have to be used for the following:
(a) identifying, locating or collating the documents within the filing system of the agency, or the office
of the Minister;
(b) deciding whether to grant, refuse or defer access to a document to which the request relates, or to
grant access to an edited copy of such a document, including resources that would have to be used for:
(i) examining the document; or
(ii) consulting with any person or body in relation to the request;
(c) making a copy, or an edited copy, of the document;
(d) notifying any interim or final decision on the request.
(3) In deciding whether a practical refusal reason exists, an agency or Minister must not have regard to:
(a) any reasons that the applicant gives for requesting access; or
(b) the agency’s or Minister’s belief as to what the applicant’s reasons are for requesting access; or
(c) any maximum amount, specified in the regulations, payable as a charge for processing a request of
that kind.
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For the reasons outlined below, a practical refusal reason exists in relation to the wording and the
scope of the request.
In accordance with section 24AB(2) of the FOI Act, I am required to consult with you in writing to advise
you of my intention to refuse your request. I am also required under section 24AB(2) to:
• seek confirmation as to whether you wish to revise your request within 14 days after you have
been given the notice; and
• state the practical refusal reason in relation to your request.
Having assessed the nature and the number of the requested documents, the work involved in
processing the request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the Commission
from its other operations. It is on that basis that a practical refusal reason exists, under section
24AA(1)(a)(i) of the FOI Act.
Commission staff have undertaken a search for the requested documents. The search was conducted
with the assistance of the Commission’s ICT team, which has oversight of, among other things, the
Commission’s email servers and correspondence which is received by email addresses monitored by
staff of the Commission. The search has also incorporated the timeframe which you had specified in
your request.
I have been advised of and I am satisfied that there are a large number of results. Specifically, the
search conducted by ICT returned 907 results, which contain documents which may or may not be
captured by the scope of your request. If I, or another decision-maker under the FOI Act, were to spend
at least 3 minutes on each result, which may contain one or more documents that may or may not fall
within the scope of your request, it would take approximately, and at minimum, 45.35 hours to process
your request.
This, in my view, would reasonably be expected to amount to an unreasonable diversion of resources
for Commission staff, based on the following factors:
• the Commission’s Legal Services team, which processes of Freedom of Information requests, is
a small team that also has oversight of, among other things, management of judicial review
matters in which the Commission is involved in as a party, advice and governance in relation to
the Commission’s obligations under the
Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and the provision of legal advice
and assistance to internal stakeholders in relation to the Commission’s statutory functions;
• flowing on from my previous point, the Commission, as an agency, has finite resources and is
not able to gather, assess, evaluate, and process an excessively large number of documents
within the timeframes as stipulated by the FOI Act;
• consultation with third parties under the FOI Act, as well as internal consultation with
Commission personnel may be required in determining the suitability in releasing some of the
requested documents; and
• some of the requested documents may require a more detailed analysis compared to other
documents in relation to their suitability and whether those documents should be released,
which is expected to add to the processing time.
I have not considered the reasons which you have alluded to in your request, as that is an irrelevant
consideration, as per section 24AA(3)(b) of the FOI Act.
Based on the above, I am satisfied that a practical refusal reason exists in relation to this request, within
the meanings of sections 24(1) and 24AA(1) of the FOI Act.
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Consultation process
I have decided to give you 14 days, starting on the day after you have been given this notice to do one
of the following:
• withdraw your request;
• make a revised request; or
• indicate that you do not wish to revise your request.
If you revise your request so that no practical refusal reason exists, I can assess the revised request.
As a suggestion, you may wish to consider narrowing the timeframe provided to be for a shorter time
frame than the current period of ten years. Another suggestion which you may wish to consider is to
specify which document, or documents, that you are requesting, rather than a broad and non-
exhaustive list of categories of documents.
I further note that the Commission is Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal and is also the
Commonwealth regulator of registered organisations, as listed under the
Fair Work (Registered
Organisations) Act 2009 (Cth). If you do wish to revise the scope of your request, I ask that you take the
Commission’s functions as an agency into consideration. Further information about the Commission’s
functions as an agency can be found
here. Please also note that if you do provide a revised request, the due date for a decision may be extended
by a period of 30 days, based on consultation requirements concerning either personal information or
business information being contained in the documents covered by the revised request. However,
whether the Commission will undergo consultation with any affected third parties will, of course, be
contingent on the scope of the revised request.
If you decide to consider revising your request, I am willing to assist in negotiating for a revised scope.
Status of your request
Under s 24AB(7) of the FOI Act, the request will be taken to have been withdrawn if, within 14 days
after you have been given this notice:
• you do not make a revised request;
• you do not indicate that you do not wish to revise your request; or
• you do not consult me.
Under section 24AB(8) of the FOI Act, the period starting on the day you are given this notice and
ending on the day you make a revised request or indicate that you do not wish to revise the request is
disregarded when calculating the 30-day period for assessing the request (i.e. the clock has ‘stopped’ in
relation to the processing time of your request until you make a revised request or indicate that you do
not wish to revise your request).
Thank you for your assistance in relation to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Officer
FOI Delegate
Legal Services
Fair Work Commission
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