OFFICIAL

Dear Andrew,

               

YOUR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

 

I refer to your request dated 3 November 2024, seeking access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act) as follows:

 

I am seeking access to the 2022 COVID-19 Safety Risk Assessment conducted
by the AFP noted in its submission to the COVID-19 Response Inquiry.

Specifically, I am interested in the accessing the external
advice/briefings received by the AFP to make the determination in this
risk assessment of COVID-19 vaccination's role in protecting the community
against COVID-19.

 

Timeframe

 

Your request was received by the AFP on 3 November 2024, and the 30 day
statutory period for processing your request commenced from that date. The
due date for your request is 3 December 2024.

 

Information irrelevant to the scope of your request

 

The AFP, in its management of FOI requests, excludes the following
information on the basis that is irrelevant to the scope of a request:

 

o duplicate documents, including duplicate emails (the AFP will only
provide emails where they form a final email chain and the
authors/recipients are contained within the final email); and
o information that is publicly available, for example, newspaper
articles, online publications including information available on the
AFP Information Publication Scheme and the AFP disclosure log.

 

Please advise this office whether you also consent to exclude the
following information:

 

o Names of AFP members, other than the Senior Executive; and
o Direct telephone numbers, middle names of AFP members, signatures and
mobile telephone numbers of AFP members.

 

Disclosure of your identity

 

The AFP may be required to consult with third parties in accordance with
sections 26A, 27 and 27A of the Act. Please advise us if you consent to
the AFP identifying you as the FOI applicant for the purposes of the
consultation. If we do not receive your consent, we will not disclose your
identity to third parties.

 

Information Publication Scheme

 

Please be advised that effective 1 May 2011 and in accordance with section
8(2) of the Act, an agency is required to publish information on the AFP
website following the notification of a decision in respect of a freedom
of information request. Details of the decision will be published in a
Disclosure Log which can be found at
[1]https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/informat....

 

The requirement to publish information released under FOI reinforces the
objectives of the FOI Act to promote a pro-disclosure culture across
government, and to increase recognition that information held by
government is a national resource. Exceptions to the requirement to
publish information would apply to personal information and information
concerning the business affairs of a person if it was considered
‘unreasonable’ to do so. 

 

If however, after noting the above, you wish to raise any concerns about
the publication of information concerning your request prior to the
notification of a decision, please advise the AFP in writing before 3
December 2024.

 

If you have any queries in relation to this matter, please do not hesitate
to contact our team at [2][AFP request email].

 

Yours sincerely,

 

JORDYN (AFP 27543)
PARALEGAL, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION | COMMERCIAL, GOVERNANCE & INFORMATION
AFP LEGAL – CORPORATE | CHIEF COUNSEL PORTFOLIO
[3]Australian Federal Police

 

 

 

 

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/informat...
2. mailto:[AFP request email]
3. http://www.afp.gov.au/

OFFICIAL

Good afternoon Andrew,

 

I refer to your request for access to information held by the Australian
Federal Police, LEX 3307.

 

I advise that a decision in relation to similar subject matter was made by
the AFP on 22 May 2024, LEX 1541.

 

In LEX 1541, information in the following scope was requested: 

 

 1. Details of the expert practitioners that were consulted.
 2. Any records of the advice that was provided.
 3. Minutes or records of the meetings in which the changes to the
National Guideline on Covid were approved.
 4. Any medical or industrial relations advice in relation to the
requirement for AFP members to have two primary does of the Covid
vaccine. 

 

Documents obtained as relevant to this request have been published on the
AFP disclosure log and can be found at the following link:
[1]https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/governan...

 

These documents contain a risk assessment and executive briefings on the
subject matter.

 

The AFP confirms that the documents you seek have previously been
considered for release under the FOI Act.  Accordingly, should you wish
for the AFP to continue with your request thereby repeating the FOI
process, a practical refusal under the Act may be considered.  The AFP
maintains it would be a substantial and unreasonable diversion of the
resources of the AFP from its other operations.

 

The AFP maintains that the information available publicly satisfies your
request.

 

Therefore, if these documents are what you seek, we would be grateful if
you could please advise if you agree to withdraw your request by close of
business 3 December 2024. 

 

If you have any queries in relation to this matter, please do not hesitate
to contact our team at [2][AFP request email]. 

 

Kind Regards,

JORDYN (AFP 27543)
PARALEGAL, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION | COMMERCIAL, GOVERNANCE & INFORMATION
AFP LEGAL – CORPORATE | CHIEF COUNSEL PORTFOLIO
[3]Australian Federal Police

 

 

 

 

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/governan...
2. mailto:[AFP request email]
3. http://www.afp.gov.au/

OFFICIAL

Dear Andrew,

 

Please find attached the decision in relation to your request for access
to documents held by the Australian Federal Police under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth), LEX 3307.

 

Kind Regards,

 

JORDYN (AFP 27543)
PARALEGAL, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION | COMMERCIAL, GOVERNANCE & INFORMATION
AFP LEGAL – CORPORATE | CHIEF COUNSEL PORTFOLIO
[1]Australian Federal Police

 

 

 

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References

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1. http://www.afp.gov.au/