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FOI requests to the OAIC

Please note that this email address is only used for making requests to
obtain access to a document held by the OAIC pursuant to the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act). We will only action and respond to
emails making FOI requests to the OAIC. For information on how to make an
FOI request to the OAIC, and to ensure that your request complies with the
requirements of the FOI Act, please refer to the FOI page on the OAIC’s
website at:
[1]https://www.oaic.gov.au/about-us/access-...
Once your request has been assessed by the OAIC, and registered on our
system, a separate acknowledgement email will be sent to you with a
reference number.

The OAIC does not hold all documents of other Commonwealth government
agencies, other state government agencies, or private organisations.

Accordingly:

1)      if you are seeking to access documents of a particular
Commonwealth agency, you will need to make your request directly to the
relevant agency. For example, if you are requesting a copy of your visa
records, please make an FOI request and send it to the Department of Home
Affairs.

2)      if you are seeking to access documents of a state or local
government agency, as each Australian state and territory also have
separate FOI legislation that governs information held by state government
agencies, please contact the relevant agency as to how to make an
application to access the documents. For example, if you are seeking
access to police report from NSW Police Force, it is governed by the
Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA Act), and you
will need to contact NSW police to find out how to make a GIPA application
for the police report.

3)      if you are seeking to access documents of a private organization,
which the FOI Act does not apply to, please contact the organization
directly to find out how to access the documents you are seeking. For
example, if you are seeking to access to hospital records or your medical
centre records, please contact these organisations directly. 

Enquiries and other matters

If your email relates to any of the following, please utilise our online
forms instead, which are available at
[2]https://www.oaic.gov.au/about-us/contact...

-               Enquiry

-               Privacy  Complaint

-               Notifiable Data Breach

-               Consumer Data Right Complaint

-               FOI Complaint

-               Freedom of Information Review

-               Agency FOI Extension of Time Requests

-               Speech requests.

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
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References

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2. https://www.oaic.gov.au/about-us/contact...

Good afternoon CR,

In relation to your request, I note that the OAIC did undertake courtesy consultation with around 100 government agencies. As such, there is a large volume of material particularly on FOIREQ24/00423. In additions to the exclusions listed below would you consider:

- excluding consultation responses from government agencies where no objection to the disclosure of the information was made? We could provide you with a list of agencies that did not raise objections and a list of agencies that did not respond. Responses from agencies that did object would remain within the scope of your request.

If you could consider and let me know if you are willing to exclude the above by cob Thursday 17 October 2024. If you do not respond, I will commence processing your request as submitted below.

Regards,

Emily Elliott
Senior Lawyer
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Sydney | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
E [OAIC request email]

The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people, cultures and Elders past and present.

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show quoted sections

Good morning,

The below is an initial count of the numbers (the actual number might vary slightly once we do a more comprehensive review of the file).

The number of agencies that
Did not object was 58
Did object 15
Did not respond 13

Regards,

Emily Elliott
Senior Lawyer
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Sydney | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
E [OAIC request email]

The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people, cultures and Elders past and present.

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show quoted sections

Our reference: FOIREQ24/00523

Dear CR

Freedom of Information request

I refer to your request for access to documents made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).

Your FOI request was received by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (OAIC) on 14 October 2024. This means that a decision on your
FOI request is currently due on 13 November 2024.

Scope of your request

Your FOI request was made in the following terms:

I request access to the following documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982:

1. Consultation with line areas of the OAIC and other government agencies
in relation to FOIREQ24/00352 and FOIREQ24/00423 regarding disclosure of
agency names.

2. Any further relevant correspondence regarding the disclosure of agency
names post-decision.

Please exclude the following information:

i) OAIC reference numbers and details of individual breach reports.
Material that was exempt from disclosure in the above-mentioned requests.

Following consultation with you, you confirmed that emails to agencies
that did not respond to the consultation were to be excluded, provided
that they are listed.

In order to process your request as efficiently as possible, I will
exclude duplicates and early parts of email streams that are captured in
later email streams from the scope of this request, unless you advise me
otherwise.

I will not identify you as the FOI applicant during any consultation
process. However, documents that are within the scope of your request that
the OAIC may need to consult third parties about may contain your personal
information.

Timeframes for dealing with your request
Section 15 of the FOI Act requires the OAIC to process your request no
later than 30 days after the day we receive it. However, section 15(6) of
the FOI Act allows us a further 30 days in situations where we need to
consult with third parties about certain information, such as business
documents or documents affecting their personal privacy.

The current decision due date for your request is 13 November 2024. We
will advise you if this timeframe is otherwise extended.

Disclosure Log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published online on our
disclosure log, unless they contain personal or business information that
would be unreasonable to publish.

If you would like to discuss your FOI request, please contact me on my
contact details set out below.

Yours sincerely

Emily

[1][IMG]   Emily Elliott

Senior Lawyer

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Sydney | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001

E [2][OAIC request email]
 
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people,
cultures and Elders past and present.  

[3]Subscribe to 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. mailto:[OAIC request email]
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/n...

Dear CR

We refer to your FOI request for access to the following:

1. Consultation with line areas of the OAIC and other government agencies
in relation to FOIREQ24/00352 and FOIREQ24/00423 regarding disclosure of
agency names.

2. Any further relevant correspondence regarding the disclosure of agency
names post-decision.

Please exclude the following information:

i) OAIC reference numbers and details of individual breach reports.
Material that was exempt from disclosure in the above-mentioned requests.

…

I prefer to access all consultation responses. You can exclude your emails
to agencies that did not respond, provided you list them.

I acknowledge the large volume of material. Please exclude the personal
information and names of public servants. Please let me know if I can help
facilitate processing in any other way.

We have compiled a bundle of documents for documents in scope of the
above.

Unfortunately the documents are still in excess of 1000 pages.

We invite you to consider whether you are agreeable to either of the
options below:

Option 1

Exclude courtesy consultation emails and attachments sent by the OAIC to
the external agencies.

There are a large volume of emails sent by the OAIC in response to
agencies’ queries as to which part of the list of agencies relate to their
agency.

The email from the OAIC would then attach a copy of the actual document at
issue or relevant entries from the document at issue, for the agencies to
respond to.

We would be grateful if you can kindly advise whether you are willing to
exclude these emails from the OAIC to these agencies in response to their
queries, as well as the attached extracts from the relevant document at
issue.

Option 2

If you are seeking all documents captured, that are in excess of 1000
pages, we would be grateful if you can please kindly advise if you are
agreeable to providing the OAIC an extension of time of 2 weeks to process
the request.

This means, if you are agreeable, the new due date will be Wednesday 27
November 2024.

Would you please kindly let us know whether you are agreeable to either of
the above options in relation to this FOI request by close of business on
Friday 8 November 2024?

We thank you and look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Margaret

 
[1][IMG]   Margaret Sui (she/her)

Principal Lawyer

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Sydney | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
 
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people, cultures
and Elders past and present.  

[2]Subscribe to Information Matters

From: OAIC - FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 21 October 2024 8:13 AM
To: CR <[FOI #12172 email]>
Cc: OAIC - FOI <[email address]>
Subject: FOIREQ24/00523 – Acknowledgement of your FOI request to the OAIC

Our reference: FOIREQ24/00523

Dear CR

Freedom of Information request

I refer to your request for access to documents made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).

Your FOI request was received by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (OAIC) on 14 October 2024. This means that a decision on your
FOI request is currently due on 13 November 2024.

Scope of your request

Your FOI request was made in the following terms:

I request access to the following documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982:

1. Consultation with line areas of the OAIC and other government agencies
in relation to FOIREQ24/00352 and FOIREQ24/00423 regarding disclosure of
agency names.

2. Any further relevant correspondence regarding the disclosure of agency
names post-decision.

Please exclude the following information:

i) OAIC reference numbers and details of individual breach reports.
Material that was exempt from disclosure in the above-mentioned requests.

Following consultation with you, you confirmed that emails to agencies
that did not respond to the consultation were to be excluded, provided
that they are listed.

In order to process your request as efficiently as possible, I will
exclude duplicates and early parts of email streams that are captured in
later email streams from the scope of this request, unless you advise me
otherwise.

I will not identify you as the FOI applicant during any consultation
process. However, documents that are within the scope of your request that
the OAIC may need to consult third parties about may contain your personal
information.

Timeframes for dealing with your request
Section 15 of the FOI Act requires the OAIC to process your request no
later than 30 days after the day we receive it. However, section 15(6) of
the FOI Act allows us a further 30 days in situations where we need to
consult with third parties about certain information, such as business
documents or documents affecting their personal privacy.

The current decision due date for your request is 13 November 2024. We
will advise you if this timeframe is otherwise extended.

Disclosure Log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published online on our
disclosure log, unless they contain personal or business information that
would be unreasonable to publish.

If you would like to discuss your FOI request, please contact me on my
contact details set out below.

Yours sincerely

Emily

[3][IMG]   Emily Elliott

Senior Lawyer

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Sydney | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001

E [4][OAIC request email]
 
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people,
cultures and Elders past and present.  

[5]Subscribe to 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://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/n...
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
4. mailto:[OAIC request email]
5. https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/n...

Dear CR

Thank you for your email below.

Unfortunately I am unable to provide a sample of the document as they are
still considered part of the FOI request that we are processing.

However by way of background, when processing FOIREQ24/00423:

1. the OAIC sent one email to a large number of agencies whose name and
details were captured in the document at issue.

2. The OAIC did not prepare separate courtesy consultation bundles to each
agency due to the large number of agencies involved.

3. In response that courtesy consultation email, some agencies requested
the specific details of the information captured in that document at issue
that relates to their agency (i.e. the rows that relate to them).

4. In response to these queries, the OAIC then sent separate emails to
these agencies with relevant extracts of the document at issue that relate
to them.

5. The agencies then emailed OAIC their position as to whether they had
any objections to the disclosure of this information or not.

I just want to seek your views as to whether you are willing to exclude
emails described in point 4 above, and if you would like these emails too,
consider granting the OAIC an extension of time of two weeks?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Margaret

 
[1][IMG]   Margaret Sui (she/her)

Principal Lawyer

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Sydney | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
 
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people, cultures
and Elders past and present.  

[2]Subscribe to Information Matters

show quoted sections

Dear CR

Thank you for your email below.

Unfortunately I am unable to provide a sample of the document as they are
still considered part of the FOI request that we are processing.

However by way of background, when processing FOIREQ24/00423:

1. the OAIC sent one email to a large number of agencies whose name and
details were captured in the document at issue.

2. The OAIC did not prepare separate courtesy consultation bundles to each
agency due to the large number of agencies involved.

3. In response that courtesy consultation email, some agencies requested
the specific details of the information captured in that document at issue
that relates to their agency (i.e. the rows that relate to them).

4. In response to these queries, the OAIC then sent separate emails to
these agencies with relevant extracts of the document at issue that relate
to them.

5. The agencies then emailed OAIC their position as to whether they had
any objections to the disclosure of this information or not.

I just want to seek your views as to whether you are willing to exclude
emails described in point 4 above, and if you would like these emails too,
consider granting the OAIC an extension of time of two weeks?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Margaret

 
[1][IMG]   Margaret Sui (she/her)

Principal Lawyer

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Sydney | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
 
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people, cultures
and Elders past and present.  

[2]Subscribe to Information Matters

show quoted sections

Dear CR

Thank you kindly for your expeditious response.

We will continue processing based on this understanding in your email
below and endeavour to provide you with a decision by 13 November 2024.

Kind regards

Margaret

 
[1][IMG]   Margaret Sui (she/her)

Principal Lawyer

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Sydney | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
 
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people, cultures
and Elders past and present.  

[2]Subscribe to Information Matters

show quoted sections

Dear CR,

Please see the attached documents in relation to your request,
FOIREQ24/00523

Please note that due to file size limits, you will receive the relevant
documents in 3 parts.

Kind regards,

Lachlan

[1][IMG]   Lachlan Smith-Marks (he/him)

Paralegal

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Melbourne |

E [2][OAIC request email]
   
 
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people,
cultures and Elders past and present.    

[3]Subscribe to 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. mailto:[OAIC request email]
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/n...

Dear CR,

Please see the attached documents in relation to your request,
FOIREQ24/00523

Please note that due to file size limits, you will receive the relevant
documents in 3 parts.

This email is part 1 of 3.

Kind regards,

Lachlan

[1][IMG]   Lachlan Smith-Marks (he/him)

Paralegal

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Melbourne |

E [2][OAIC request email]
   
 
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people,
cultures and Elders past and present.    

[3]Subscribe to 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. mailto:[OAIC request email]
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/n...