Mr Sudding

Yesterday we received a message from your other email address saying:

"I received a message from Right to know team asking me to confirm my (original) request.. I confirmed that - "I am not a robot". This was duly confirmed, but somehow you have received it twice.
Please ignore the second request."

We will not process the duplicate request however would be grateful if you would withdraw it by return email, or have the duplicate request removed from the Right To Know site altogether so there is no question which request is on foot, particulraly as neither is validly worded at present.

Many thanks,
FOI Advisor, ABC Legal

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Dear Mr Sudding,

The ABC is taking your request made on 11 November 2021 to be a valid
request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (‘FOI Act’) and
are processing this request accordingly.

The ABC must make a decision about your FOI application by Monday 13
December 2021, subject to any suspension of the processing period or
extension of time, such as if processing charges apply or if consultation
with third parties is required. We will advise you of any applicable
charges and / or third-party consultation.

By making an FOI request, you may be providing personal information to the
ABC. We manage personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy
- available at [1]http://about.abc.net.au/abc-privacy-poli.... Personal
information (such as your name) may be disclosed in the course of
processing this request, such as for the purposes of consultation or
internal reporting.

Thank you,

FOI Coordinator, ABC Legal

References

Visible links
1. http://about.abc.net.au/abc-privacy-poli...

Dear Mr Sudding

The ABC is required to consult with external legal providers under section
27 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth). As such, the time for
processing this request is extended by 30 days under section 15(6) of the
FOI Act.

Our decision is now due on Wednesday 12 January 2022.

Kind regards,

FOI Coordinator, ABC Legal

Dear Mr Sudding

We are well progressed in reviewing the files in relation to this FOI
request. We are consulting with external counsel and relevant ABC staff.
However due to internal and external staff holiday leave we will not be
able to finalise our decision by the due date of Wednesday 12 January
2021.

We would therefore be grateful if you would agree an extension under s
15AA of the Freedom of Information Act (Cth) 1982, such that the decision
would be due by Friday 11 February 2022.

Would you kindly reply by email as to whether you agree to this extension
of time, and to confirm you are contactable at this email address?

Many thanks, FOI Coordinator

ABC Legal | 13 9994

Thank you for your email. The ABC annual shutdown period means that the
FOI team is on leave, and limited staff will return by 5 January 2022. We
will respond to you then. Please note that other ABC staff remain on leave
until late January, so there may be some delay with progressing FOI
requests until we are able to have their input. We appreciate your
understanding.  

Mr Sudding

Thank you for your email, would you kindly confirm whether you agree to the extension so we can advise the regulator?

Many thanks, FOI Advisor
ABC Legal | 13 9994 
 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians
and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.
 

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Dear Mr Sudding

We are writing to provide you with an update on the processing of your FOI
request (our ref FOI 036).

The ABC has substantially progressed the work on your FOI request,
including identifying those documents which appear to be relevant to that
request. In the interests of ensuring that your request is processed in a
timely way, and that the documents identified meaningfully respond to your
request, the ABC is focusing on documents which go to the substance of
your request. That is, the ABC is proposing to make a decision on
documents which relate in a substantive way to the investigation, and
invoices received from external counsel for work in relation to the
investigation. The ABC is proposing to set to one side, as not relevant,
documents that do not contain information of substance concerning the
actual investigation and which did not contribute in a meaningful way to
the investigation, and are only peripherally connected to matters of
administrative process that sat around the investigation.

Categories of documents which the ABC is proposing to exclude on that
basis are:

•             emails making practical arrangements for interviewees to
attend interviews with the investigator, such as scheduling and room
bookings

•             emails recording administrative steps taken to obtain access
to relevant ABC files for the investigation, such as requests to retrieve
documents from archives or obtain technical support to access electronic
files

•             emails relating to the budget and cost estimates for the
investigation by external counsel (noting that all final invoices from
external counsel are included within scope).

Please let us know if you have any comments about this approach.
Otherwise, I will proceed to make a decision on your request on this
basis.

Regards

Pamela Longstaff

FOI Decision-maker

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Dear Mr Sudding

DECISION – FOI REQUEST REF. NO. 202122-036 – ABC INTERNAL INVESTIGATION

Attached is the ABC’s decision letter about your freedom of information
request. The remaining documents will be emailed to you next week.

Many thanks, Dee

[1]ABC Dee Jesperson

FOI Coordinator

ABC Legal
P: 02 8333 3317

 
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the
First Australians
and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and
work.

This email, including any attachments, is intended only for the addressee.
It is confidential and may contain privileged information. You should not
read, copy, use or disclose it, or take any other action in reliance of
the information contained in this email, without authorisation.  If you
have received the email in error, please immediately let the sender know
by separate email or telephone and delete the email from your system.

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Dear Mr Sudding

Attached are 13 documents, as referred to in the ABC’s decision letter.

Further documents to follow.

Many thanks, Dee

[1]ABC Dee Jesperson

FOI Coordinator

ABC Legal
P: 02 8333 3317

 
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the
First Australians
and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and
work.

This email, including any attachments, is intended only for the addressee.
It is confidential and may contain privileged information. You should not
read, copy, use or disclose it, or take any other action in reliance of
the information contained in this email, without authorisation.  If you
have received the email in error, please immediately let the sender know
by separate email or telephone and delete the email from your system.

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Dear Mr Sudding

Attached are the last 13 documents, as referred to in the ABC’s decision
letter.

We have sent three emails in total, so please let us know if any of the
documents were not received.

Many thanks, Dee

[1]ABC Dee Jesperson

FOI Coordinator

ABC Legal
P: 02 8333 3317

 
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the
First Australians
and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and
work.

This email, including any attachments, is intended only for the addressee.
It is confidential and may contain privileged information. You should not
read, copy, use or disclose it, or take any other action in reliance of
the information contained in this email, without authorisation.  If you
have received the email in error, please immediately let the sender know
by separate email or telephone and delete the email from your system.

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