Advice Provided by AGD regarding the release of Techincal Information
Ben Fairless made this Freedom of Information request to Attorney-General's Department
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
I request a copy of all documents held by the the department that relate to:
- The FOI/Administrative Access requests made via Right to Know for information relating to IP addresses used to access the internet
- Requests from other Government departments to the Attorney-General's Department seeking advice in relation to the release of IP address information under FOI.
- Advice provided by technical experts within the Department to inform any advice provided by the Department to other agencies.
I specifically exclude:
- Duplicates of the above documents
- Documents created prior to 1 January 2014.
Please treat this as a request for administrative access. If for some reason the request cannot be dealt with in this way, please treat it as a formal application under the Freedom of Information Act.
Yours faithfully,
Ben Fairless
Thank you for your email. This is an automated response to advise you that
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of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), please ensure that your request is in
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Kind Regards
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section.
Privacy Collection Notice
When you make a request for documents or an inquiry about privacy matters,
the Attorney-General’s Department will only collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act
1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that
we can contact you about your request under the Freedom of Information Act
for access to documents or access to, or correction of, personal
information; or a complaint you have made or your request for access to,
or correction of, personal information under the Privacy Act. If your
request concerns your personal information, we will collect the minimum
amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. The handling of your
personal information is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy
policy is available at http://www.ag.gov.au/Pages/Privacystatem....
If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the
Privacy Contact Officer on 02 6141 2660 or via e-mail [email address].
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UNCLASSIFIED
14/10786
11 August 2014
Mr Ben Fairless
Email: [1][FOI #731 email]
Dear Mr Fairless
Freedom of Information Request no. FOI14/159
I refer to your request for access to documents relating to requests
regarding to IP addresses under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. I
have taken your request to be for:
- The FOI/Administrative Access requests made via Right to Know for
information relating to IP addresses used to access the internet
- Requests from other Government departments to the Attorney-General's
Department seeking advice in relation to the release of IP address
information under FOI.
- Advice provided by technical experts within the Department to inform any
advice provided by the Department to other agencies.
If you disagree with our interpretation of your request, please let me
know as soon as possible.
We received your request on 7 August 2014 and the 30 day statutory period
for processing your request commenced from the day after that date. You
should therefore expect a decision from us by 6 September 2014. The period
of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult third parties or for
other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
It is the usual practice of the Department to not release the names and
contact details of junior officers of the Department and other government
agencies, where that personal information is contained in documents within
scope of a request. The names and contact details of senior officers will
generally be released. We will take it that you agree to the removal of
junior officers’ personal information unless you advise that you would
like us to consider releasing that information as part of the documents
you have requested.
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log
[2]http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtection...,
subject to certain exceptions. (For example, personal information will not
be published where this would be unreasonable.)
We will contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if
you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact. If you have
any questions, please contact the FOI Section by email [3][AGD request email].
Kind Regards
FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
*: [4][AGD request email]
[5]2586 Indigenous signature block NEW
Dear FOI Contact Officer,
Thank you for your acknowledgement.
It could just be poor wording, but I want to ensure that you have not unduly limited my request.
I am seeking documents that **relate to**:
- The FOI/Administrative Access requests made via Right to Know for information relating to IP addresses used to access the internet
- Requests from other Government departments to the
Attorney-General's Department seeking advice in relation to the release of IP address information under FOI.
- Advice provided by technical experts within the Department to inform any advice provided by the Department to other agencies.
"Relate to" in this context would include any documents which are directly relevant to the 3 points listed above (subject to the exclusions mentioned in my original request).
For example, an internal email between the FOI Officer and a Decision Maker in relation to my (or anyone else's) FOI request for IP address information would fall under "related" information, whereas information about FOI requests in general would not.
Can you please confirm ASAP that:
- My request will be processed as written (including the clarification above)
- That the exclusions mentioned in my original request will be considered.
Yours sincerely,
Ben Fairless
UNCLASSIFIED
Good morning Mr Fairless
I confirm that the Department has taken your request to be for documents relating to the matters listed below.
Regards
Jo
FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
*: [AGD request email]
UNCLASSIFIED
Good afternoon Mr Fairless
Freedom of Information Request no. 14-159
Attached is a notice of assessment of charges for your Freedom of
Information request.
If, after reading the attached notice, you have any questions please
contact us at [1][email address] or telephone (02) 6141 6666.
Kind regards
Jo
FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
*: [2][AGD request email]
Privacy Collection Notice
When you make a request for documents or an inquiry about privacy matters,
the Attorney-General’s Department will only collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act
1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that
we can contact you about your request under the Freedom of Information Act
for access to documents or access to, or correction of, personal
information; or a complaint you have made or your request for access to,
or correction of, personal information under the Privacy Act. If your
request concerns your personal information, we will collect the minimum
amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. The handling of your
personal information is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy
policy is available at http://www.ag.gov.au/Pages/Privacystatem....
If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the
Privacy Contact Officer on 02 6141 2660 or via e-mail [email address].
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References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[AGD request email]
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
RE: Freedom of Information Request no. 14-159
I refer to the charges notice issued by the Attorney-General's Department ("Department") on August 15 2014.
Charges incorrectly assessed
---------------------------------------
I contend that the Decision Maker has incorrectly assessed the charges. The Decision Maker has not have taken into account the exclusions which were mentioned in my original request of August 7, and which I reminded the Department of in my email of August 11.
I asked that the below documents be excluded from my request:
- Duplicates of the above documents
- Documents created prior to 1 January 2014
These exclusions are not mentioned in the charges notice issued by the Department on August 15.
For the above reasons, I contend that the Department has not correctly assessed the charges associated in processing my request because it has not correctly considered the scope of my request.
Changes to request
-------------------------
In response to the charges letter, I wish to exclude:
- Documents which I have sent to the Department
- Documents sent from the Department or other government agencies to me
Summary
-------------
I ask that the Department reconsider the charges, and take into account the original and new exclusions detailed above.
This email only addresses the failure of the Decision Maker to fully consider my request (including the exclusions). I reserve the right to make further contentions on any revised charges notice.
Yours sincerely,
Ben Fairless
UNCLASSIFIED
Good afternoon Mr Fairless
Thank you for your email. We are considering the issues you have raised and will respond shortly.
I note that in your revised scope you have excluded documents that have been sent by you to the Department and documents sent by the Department or other government agencies to yourself. Can you please advise whether you also wish to exclude documents sent by you to other government agencies (for example, FOI requests)?
Regards
Jo
FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
*: [AGD request email]
Dear Jo,
Happy for the exclusions to be (in all):
- Duplicates of the [requested] documents
- Documents created prior to 1 January 2014
- Documents which I have sent to the Department or to other Agencies
- Documents sent from the Department or other government agencies to me
Thanks,
Ben Fairless
UNCLASSIFIED
Good afternoon Mr Fairless
Freedom of Information Request no. FOI14/159
Further to your email of 19 August 2014, in which you revised the scope of
your request and contended the notice of assessment of charges sent to you
on 15 August 2014, attached is a revised notice of assessment of charges
for your Freedom of Information request.
If, after reading the attached notice, you have any questions please
contact us at [1][email address] or telephone (02) 6141 6666.
Kind regards
Jo
FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
*: [2][AGD request email]
Privacy Collection Notice
When you make a request for documents or an inquiry about privacy matters,
the Attorney-General’s Department will only collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act
1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that
we can contact you about your request under the Freedom of Information Act
for access to documents or access to, or correction of, personal
information; or a complaint you have made or your request for access to,
or correction of, personal information under the Privacy Act. If your
request concerns your personal information, we will collect the minimum
amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. The handling of your
personal information is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy
policy is available at http://www.ag.gov.au/Pages/Privacystatem....
If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the
Privacy Contact Officer on 02 6141 2660 or via e-mail [email address].
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References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[AGD request email]
Dear FOI Requests,
At this stage, I would like to withdraw this request.
Yours sincerely,
Ben Fairless