Commonwealth Electoral (COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022
Dear Australian Electoral Commission,
Under the FOI Act 1982, I request access to all documents relating to the preparation and making of the Commonwealth Electoral (COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022, including any ministerial briefs and internal or external correspondence.
I ask for a waiver of all fees on the grounds of the extraordinary public interest in COVID-19 related policy decisions generally, and more particularly in the integrity of the electoral process during the pandemic emergency period.
I ask that the documents be provided by email to this address.
Yours sincerely
Andrew
Thank you for contacting us.
This is an automatic response from the Australian Electoral Commission to confirm we have received your email.
For more information on enrolling to vote, federal elections or the AEC, visit www.aec.gov.au.
Please do not respond to this email.
Dear Andrew
Thank you for your email.
The AEC conducts impartial and independent federal elections, and manages
the electoral roll in accordance with the Commonwealth Electoral Act
1918. Any changes to this law are decided by the Parliament, not by the
AEC.
The AEC will analyse all aspects of the 2022 federal election as part of
its scheduled post-election review.
After each federal election the Commonwealth Parliament Joint Standing
Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) holds an inquiry into all aspects
of the conduct of the election. Members of the public can make submissions
to this inquiry on any aspect related to a federal election. Information
about inquiries will be available on the [1]JSCEM website.
Yours sincerely,
Peter | Public Enquiries Officer
2022 Federal Election Contact Centre
Australian Electoral Commission
[2]Contact AEC
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[3]Australian Electoral Commission logo [4]Australian Electoral Commission
________________________________________
From: Andrew [[FOI #8927 email]]
Sent: Friday, 20 May 2022 3:44 PM
To: INFO
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Commonwealth Electoral (COVID
Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022
CAUTION:This email originated from outside of the Australian Federal
Government. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise
the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Australian Electoral Commission,
Under the FOI Act 1982, I request access to all documents relating to the
preparation and making of the Commonwealth Electoral (COVID
Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022, including any ministerial
briefs and internal or external correspondence.
I ask for a waiver of all fees on the grounds of the extraordinary public
interest in COVID-19 related policy decisions generally, and more
particularly in the integrity of the electoral process during the pandemic
emergency period.
I ask that the documents be provided by email to this address.
Yours sincerely
Andrew
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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[5][FOI #8927 email]
Is [6][AEC request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Australian Electoral Commission? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[7]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[8]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
Dear Peter,
My email constitutes a request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, and I ask that you forward it to your Freedom of Information Team for response. This is not a matter for the Contact Centre.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew
Our reference: LEX2977
Dear Andrew
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) made in the following terms:
all documents relating to the preparation and making of the Commonwealth
Electoral (COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022, including
any ministerial briefs and internal or external correspondence.
Timeframe to process your request
Your request was received by the Australian Electoral Commission (the AEC)
on 20 May 2022, and the 30 day statutory timeframe for processing your
request commenced from the day after that date. You should expect to
receive a decision from us by 21 June 2022. 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 timeframe is extended.
Charges
We will advise you if any charge is payable to process your request and
the amount of any charge as soon as practicable. No charge is payable for
providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address to which we can
send notices. You have advised that your electronic address is
[1][FOI #8927 email]. We will send all notices
and correspondence to this address. Please advise us as soon as possible
if you wish for notices and correspondence to be sent to a different
address. If you do not advise us of changes to your address, notices and
correspondence will continue to be sent to the address specified above.
Administrative release of documents
The AEC has administrative access arrangements for the release of certain
documents without the need for a formal freedom of information request.
Where appropriate we may offer you documents via the administrative access
scheme in lieu of processing under the FOI Act. Information relating to
third parties cannot be released via administrative access. You will be
notified when documents are released to you on an administrative access
basis.
Disclosure log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log
on the AEC's website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this
publication, however it is subject to certain exceptions, including where
publication of personal, business, professional or commercial information
would be unreasonable.
Further assistance
If you have any questions please email [2][email address], or contact our
enquiries line on 13 23 26.
Yours sincerely
Natalie
Australian Electoral Commission
T: 13 23 26
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[3]Australian Electoral Commission logo [4]Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for submitting an FOI request to the Australian Electoral
Commission (AEC) on 20 May 2022.
We confirm that the scope of this request is for the following documents:
o all documents relating to the preparation and making of the
Commonwealth Electoral (COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations
2022, including any ministerial briefs and internal or external
correspondence.
We hope you can appreciate that the AEC’s resources are limited currently
as a result of the finalising of the 2022 Federal Election and that the
scope of your request covers quite a range of different document types so
it may take some time to process. Therefore, to allow time to identify and
assess the documents and correspondence you have requested, the AEC seeks
your agreement to extend the timeframe of this FOI request by agreement
under s 15AA of the Freedom of Information Act, until 20 July 2022. This
period may be extended if we need to consult third parties or for other
reasons. We will advise you if this timeframe is extended.
We would be grateful if you could please confirm, via reply email, your
agreement to extend the timeframe until 20 July 2022.
If you have any questions please email [1][email address], or contact our
enquiries line on 13 23 26.
Yours sincerely,
Mel
Australian Electoral Commission
T: 13 23 26
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[2]Australian Electoral Commission logo [3]Australian Electoral Commission
From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 6 June 2022 3:57 PM
To: [FOI #8927 email]
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Commonwealth Electoral
(COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022 - LEX2977
[SEC=OFFICIAL]
Our reference: LEX2977
Dear Andrew
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) made in the following terms:
all documents relating to the preparation and making of the Commonwealth
Electoral (COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022, including
any ministerial briefs and internal or external correspondence.
Timeframe to process your request
Your request was received by the Australian Electoral Commission (the AEC)
on 20 May 2022, and the 30 day statutory timeframe for processing your
request commenced from the day after that date. You should expect to
receive a decision from us by 21 June 2022. 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 timeframe is extended.
Charges
We will advise you if any charge is payable to process your request and
the amount of any charge as soon as practicable. No charge is payable for
providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address to which we can
send notices. You have advised that your electronic address is
[4][FOI #8927 email]. We will send all notices
and correspondence to this address. Please advise us as soon as possible
if you wish for notices and correspondence to be sent to a different
address. If you do not advise us of changes to your address, notices and
correspondence will continue to be sent to the address specified above.
Administrative release of documents
The AEC has administrative access arrangements for the release of certain
documents without the need for a formal freedom of information request.
Where appropriate we may offer you documents via the administrative access
scheme in lieu of processing under the FOI Act. Information relating to
third parties cannot be released via administrative access. You will be
notified when documents are released to you on an administrative access
basis.
Disclosure log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log
on the AEC's website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this
publication, however it is subject to certain exceptions, including where
publication of personal, business, professional or commercial information
would be unreasonable.
Further assistance
If you have any questions please email [5][email address], or contact our
enquiries line on 13 23 26.
Yours sincerely
Natalie
Australian Electoral Commission
T: 13 23 26
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[6]Australian Electoral Commission logo [7]Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Mel
I consent to the extension until 20 July 2022.
Thanks for your work on handling this request.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew
Dear Andrew,
The Australian Electoral Commission is processing your FOI request (our ref: LEX2977) for the following documents:
all documents relating to the preparation and making of the Commonwealth Electoral (COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022, including any ministerial briefs and internal or external correspondence.
Unfortunately, resourcing constraints combined with an unexpectedly broad and complex range of documents indicate to us that we will not be able to finish processing your FOI request by the current due date, being 20 July 2022.
We are writing to inform you that we have requested an extension of time from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) on the grounds that the request is complex and voluminous. We have requested an additional 30 days which, if granted, will extend the due date to 19 August 2022.
We appreciate your understanding and flexibility in previously agreeing to an extension. We hope that this further extension request does not cause you any inconvenience.
It is our understanding that the OAIC will be in contact with you to seek your views as to whether or not the extension should be granted.
Any issues or queries in the meantime and please let us know.
Kind regards,
Natalie
Australian Electoral Commission
T: 13 23 26
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Dear Natalie,
Thank you very much for the information, and I appreciate your efforts in processing my request.
I advise that I do not intend to oppose your application to the OAIC.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew
Dear Applicant and FOI Contact Officer,
Please see attached decision regarding the Australian Electoral
Commission’s application for an extension of time to process FOI request
LEX2846.
Kind regards,
[1][IMG] Eoin McMahon | Review Adviser
Investigations and Compliance
Freedom of Information
Regulatory Group
Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 |
[2]oaic.gov.au
+61 2 9942 4028 |
[3][email address]
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Notice:
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be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
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Dear Applicant and FOI Contact Officer,
Please see attached decision regarding the Australian Electoral
Commission’s application for an extension of time to process FOI request
LEX2977.
Kind regards,
[1][IMG] Eoin McMahon | Review Adviser
Investigations and Compliance
Freedom of Information
Regulatory Group
Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 |
[2]oaic.gov.au
+61 2 9942 4028 |
[3][email address]
[7]Subscribe [8]Subscribe to
[4]Facebook | [5]LinkedIn | [6]Twitter | icon Information
Matters
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
5. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
6. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
8. https://www.oaic.gov.au/updates/sign-up/
Dear Andrew,
Your Freedom of Information Request – narrowing of scope
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), received on 20 May 2022 made in the
following terms:
* all documents relating to the preparation and making of the
Commonwealth Electoral (COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations
2022, including any ministerial briefs and internal or external
correspondence.
We appreciate your not objecting to our request for an extension of time
with the OAIC. The revised decision date for this FOI request is now 19
August 2022.
In order to assist us in processing this request, we are requesting that
you consider narrowing the scope of your documents. We are not initiating
a s24AB consultation request at this stage, and decision due date of 19
August 2022 will remain unchanged while you consider narrowing your scope.
We are requesting this primarily because searches relating to this request
for ‘all documents’ are turning up a very large number of documents. This
is because the term ‘document’ is considered to be a broad term, which can
cover anything from formal letters to file notes.
Consequently, we would invite you to consider narrowing your FOI request
to specific types of documents.
To assist you, we would make the following suggestion for a revised scope:
* all letters, drafts of legislation, drafts of explanatory material,
policy tables, policy papers, executive briefs and ministerial briefs,
relating to the preparation and making of the Commonwealth Electoral
(COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022
We would appreciate if you could consider our suggestion and confirm via
reply email whether you would like to narrow your scope by listing
specific documents that you seek, or letting us know whether there are any
other specific documents you seek.
Any issues or queries and please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Yours sincerely
Natalie
Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: 13 23 26
Good afternoon Andrew
I am following up Natalie’s below email sent to you on 19 July 2022.
We would appreciate if you could consider our suggestion and confirm via
reply email whether you would like to narrow your scope by listing
specific documents that you seek, or letting us know whether there are any
other specific documents you seek.
Yours sincerely
Mel
Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: 13 23 26
_____________________________________________
From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 19 July 2022 9:24 AM
To: Andrew <[FOI #8927 email]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Commonwealth Electoral
(COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022 - LEX2977
[SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear Andrew,
Your Freedom of Information Request – narrowing of scope
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), received on 20 May 2022 made in the
following terms:
* all documents relating to the preparation and making of the
Commonwealth Electoral (COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations
2022, including any ministerial briefs and internal or external
correspondence.
We appreciate your not objecting to our request for an extension of time
with the OAIC. The revised decision date for this FOI request is now 19
August 2022.
In order to assist us in processing this request, we are requesting that
you consider narrowing the scope of your documents. We are not initiating
a s24AB consultation request at this stage, and decision due date of 19
August 2022 will remain unchanged while you consider narrowing your scope.
We are requesting this primarily because searches relating to this request
for ‘all documents’ are turning up a very large number of documents. This
is because the term ‘document’ is considered to be a broad term, which can
cover anything from formal letters to file notes.
Consequently, we would invite you to consider narrowing your FOI request
to specific types of documents.
To assist you, we would make the following suggestion for a revised scope:
* all letters, drafts of legislation, drafts of explanatory material,
policy tables, policy papers, executive briefs and ministerial briefs,
relating to the preparation and making of the Commonwealth Electoral
(COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022
We would appreciate if you could consider our suggestion and confirm via
reply email whether you would like to narrow your scope by listing
specific documents that you seek, or letting us know whether there are any
other specific documents you seek.
Any issues or queries and please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Yours sincerely
Natalie
Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: 13 23 26
Dear Mel and Natalie,
My apologies for not responding to your email earlier.
I'm happy to agree to a revised scope in the following terms, which is a bit wider than your suggested revision:
Documents of the following kinds/descriptions that relate to the preparation and making of the Commonwealth Electoral (COVID Enfranchisement) Amendment Regulations 2022:
- letters, drafts of legislation, drafts of explanatory material, policy tables, policy papers, executive briefs and ministerial briefs
- any external email correspondence between staff of the AEC and 1) relevant ministers, 2) staff of relevant ministerial offices, 3) staff of the Department of Finance
Thank you for your attention to this request.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew
Dear Andrew
I refer to your request dated for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.
I attach a letter to you dated 19 August 2022 with the decision regarding
this request, as well as the relevant documents.
If you have any questions please email [1][email address] or contact our
enquiries line on 13 23 26.
Yours sincerely
Mel
Australian Electoral Commission
T: 13 23 26