Dear Tourism Australia,

This FOI application refers to Disclosure Log TA1121. Details of a prior request for the documents published in the Disclosure Log :
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/t...

Agencies and ministers must publish information that has been released in response to each FOI access request, subject to certain exceptions (s 11C). The decisions to grant access to documents under the FOI Act, and to publish information in a disclosure log, are separate decisions.

Tourism Australia website - Disclosure Log
Tourism Australia is required by the FOI Act to publish a disclosure log on its website. The disclosure log lists information which has been released in response to an FOI access request.
The disclosure log requirement does not apply to:
• personal information about any person if publication of that information would be ‘unreasonable’;
• information about the business, commercial, financial or professional affairs of any person if publication of that information would be ‘unreasonable’;
........
The information described in this disclosure log has been released by Tourism Australia under the FOI Act and is available for public access. (Tourism Australia website )

At some stage Tourism Australia published a Disclosure Log entry to reflect the access grant (TA1121) made on 15 November 2021. The Disclosure Log reveals that Tourism Australia granted the FOI applicant access in full to 2 documents, access granted in part to 16 documents, and access refused to 50 documents. Access to released information can be arranged by contacting: [email address] .

On request for documents in the Disclosure Log Tourism Australia provided 15 documents but did not disclose that three documents had been withheld. Following a query about the missing documents Tourism Australia advised that the three documents contain personal information and/or business or professional affairs of a person which the TA has determined is unreasonable to publish.

Tourism Australia asserts it determined that the Disclosure Log requirement did not apply to three of the released documents.( i.e the withheld documents). But contrary to its determination not to publish Tourism Australia did in fact include the documents in its Disclosure Log entry.(TA1121). FOI law indicates that the determination by Tourism Australia not to publish would have been made on or after 15 November 2021 but prior to the creation of the Disclosure Log entry TA1121.

Tourism Australia has not asserted that the Disclosure Log entry is incorrect. Tourism Australia has declined to provide the documents despite the statements on its website and in the Disclosure Log about public access.

Under FOI I seek access to the document or documents that contain details of the determination made by Tourism Australia not to publish information about the three documents in its Disclosure Log.

Under FOI I seek access to the three documents that have been withheld.

Yours faithfully,

JS