Applications to have individuals declared vexatious under s 89K
Ben Fairless made this Freedom of Information request to Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Office of the Australian Information Commissioner,
Can you provide a copy of all applications made by an agency to have an individual declared vexatious?
If this can be done administratively that would be great, otherwise please consider it a formal FOI request.
Yours faithfully,
Ben Fairless
Dear Office of the Australian Information Commissioner,
Thank you for the time taken to discuss this request over the phone.
Limitation of Request
------------------------
Following on from our conversation, I limit the scope of my request to:
- Applications by agencies to have an applicant declared vexatious which were not granted
- The reasons for the decision not to declare the individual or organisation vexatious.
I am willing to exempt from my request:
- duplicates of documents
- personally identifiable information of the individuals or organisations to whom an application has been made against
- names and direct contact details of officers of the agencies making the request
Request for Administrative Access
-------------------------------------
I reiterate that I would prefer to receive access to these documents administratively if possible. If this is not possible, then it should proceed as a formal FOI request.
Yours faithfully,
Ben Fairless
Dear Mr Fairless,
Thank you for your emails of 19 January and 21 January confirming the
scope of your FOI request.
Revised scope
I understand that you are seeking:
* “Applications by agencies to have an applicant declared vexatious
which were not granted
* The reasons for decision not to declare the individual or organisation
vexatious”.
I understand that you are also willing to exempt:
* “duplicates of documents
* personally identifiable information of the individuals or
organisations to whom an application has been made against
* names and direct contact details of officers of the agencies making
the request”.
I would be grateful if you could confirm whether you are only seeking the
initial applications or whether you are also seeking any further material
provided in support of the initial application.
Request for administrative access
I understand that you would prefer to receive these documents
administratively. At this stage, we are treating your request for access
as a formal request under the FOI Act. The decision is currently due to be
provided to you by 18 February 2016.
Consultation and request for extension to processing period
I have identified at least 20 files within the scope of your FOI request
and will be undertaking consultation with the relevant third parties. I
note though that these consultations do not fall within the consultation
provisions of ss 26A, 26AA, 27 and 27A which extend the processing time.
I am therefore seeking your consent under s 15AA of the FOI Act to extend
the time to process your FOI request, which provides that an agency may
extend the processing period by up to 30 days if the applicant agrees in
writing.
I am seeking your agreement to extend the processing period to 19 March
2016.
I would be grateful if you could confirm your consent to the decision
being provided to you by 4 February 2016.
If you have any questions, please contact Rocelle Ago, Acting Director on
1300 363 992 (local call) or by email at [1][email address].
Kind regards,
Rocelle Ago | Director | FOI Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, SYDNEY NSW 2000
GPO Box 5128 SYDNEY NSW 2001| [2]www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 9284 9621 | E-mail: [3][email address]
Dear Rocelle,
I would prefer to obtain the whole submission (incluidinng supplementary submissions) subject to the same exclusions I mentioned earlier.
Can you advise who you need to consult with and the status of those consultations? If they aren't provided for in the Act, is there a reason you wish to consult, and would you require the full 30 days to make a decision?
Yours sincerely,
Ben Fairless
Dear Mr Fairless
Thank you for your email and for confirming the scope of your request.
As we have now confirmed the scope of the request with you, we will be consulting with the agencies that have made the submissions/applications. Consistent with the Guidelines issued under s 93A of the FOI Act, we believe it is good practice to consult with the relevant agencies, even when the FOI Act does not specifically require consultation. The additional time that we are seeking would allow us to undertake consultation and review the responses received. While we are seeking the full 30 days, we will endeavour to provide you with our decision as soon as practicable.
Kind regards
Rocelle Ago
Rocelle Ago | Director | FOI Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, SYDNEY NSW 2000
GPO Box 5128 SYDNEY NSW 2001| www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 9284 9621 | E-mail: [email address]
Dear Rocelle,
In that case, happy to agree to the requested extension.
Yours sincerely,
Ben Fairless
Dear Mr Fairless,
I am writing to advise that Rocelle Ago and I tried to contact you on your mobile this morning, but there was no answer.
We left a message on your voicemail, but would appreciate if you could arrange to contact me on 02 9284 9842 to discuss your FOI application in further detail.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Kind regards,
Kevin
Kevin Cheng | Merit Review and Investigation Officer | Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001 | www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 9284 9842 | Email: [email address]
Protecting information rights – advancing information policy
Dear Mr Fairless,
Thank you for returning my call today.
As discussed, whenever an agency makes an application to have someone be declared a vexatious applicant, they would usually attach submissions in support of their application. In most cases, the FOI applications or a summary of the FOI applications made by the subject would form part of the agency’s submissions.
In some circumstances, the FOI applications that have been provided with the submissions may also contain personal information, notwithstanding the deletion of names and other obvious identifying information.
In the interests of processing your FOI request quickly, I understand that you are willing to exclude from the scope of your request any FOI applications that have been provided to our office in support of an agency’s application to have someone be declared a vexatious applicant.
I also note that although the agreed timeframe for our office to provide you with a substantive decision is by 19 March 2016, we note that this date falls on a Saturday. Accordingly, the decision will be provided to you by the following Monday on 21 March 2016.
If you have any questions or require further information, please feel free to contact me.
Kind regards,
Kevin
Kevin Cheng | Merit Review and Investigation Officer | FOI Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001 | www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 9284 9842 | Email: [email address]
Protecting information rights – advancing information policy
Email 1 of 3
Dear Mr Fairless,
I refer to previous correspondence in relation to your FOI request of 19
January 2016, and apologise for the slight delay in providing you with the
decision.
I attach my decision of even date, along with a schedule of documents.
I note that due to the size of the documents, I will be providing the
documents to you over 3 emails.
If you have any questions or require further information, please feel free
to contact me.
Kind regards,
Kevin
Kevin Cheng | Merit Review and Investigation Officer | FOI Dispute
Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001 | [1]www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 9284 9842 | Email: [2][email address]
Protecting information rights – advancing information policy
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References
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1. http://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. mailto:[email address]
Email 3 of 3
Dear Mr Fairless,
Please find my third email with the documents attached.
Kind regards,
Kevin
Kevin Cheng | Merit Review and Investigation Officer | FOI Dispute
Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001 | [1]www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 9284 9842 | Email: [2][email address]
Protecting information rights – advancing information policy
[3]Description: Description: Description: Description: Description:
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cid:image001.jpg@01CD2C68.A6382250
References
Visible links
1. http://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. mailto:[email address]
Email 2 of 3
Dear Mr Fairless,
Please find my second email with the documents at issue attached.
Kind regards,
Kevin
Kevin Cheng | Merit Review and Investigation Officer | FOI Dispute
Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001 | [1]www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 9284 9842 | Email: [2][email address]
Protecting information rights – advancing information policy
[3]Description: Description: Description: Description: Description:
Description: Description: Description: Description:
cid:image001.jpg@01CD2C68.A6382250
References
Visible links
1. http://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. mailto:[email address]