'metadata' disclosed under the TIA
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
I am seeking details of the telecommunications data ('metadata') disclosed to enforcement agencies under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979.
The specific information I require is sources of data (e.g. "Telstra"), types of data (e.g. "email") and entities of data (e.g. "recipient", "date sent", etc).
Yours faithfully,
G King
Thank you for your email. This is an automated response to advise you that
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If you wish to lodge a request for access to documents under the Freedom
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Dear FOI Requests,
To clarify: this is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act.
Yours sincerely,
G King
UNCLASSIFIED
Good afternoon Mr King
Referring to your FOI request of 2 July 2013 with this Department, the FOI
decision maker's determination is attached.
Kind Regards
FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department
3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
A: [AGD request email]
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Attorney-General's Department's handling of my FOI request ''metadata' disclosed under the TIA'.
The FOI request has been refused on the grounds that the Attorney-General's Department has no documents that fall within the scope of the request.
I believe this to be false given that under Part 2-4 of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 the Department is tasked with processing all applications relating to "interception of communications passing over a telecommunications system" for the purpose of "developing and testing interception capabilities".
This clearly indicates the Department does have documents relating to 'metadata' interception options available at the behest of security authority requests.
Given the current, high level of public interest in data privacy policy and widespread use of telecommunication intercepts (including local council employees: http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/co...) I urge you to make available more detailed information on the mechanics of this Act so that the community may more effectively participate in the nation's democratic processes.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/me...
Yours faithfully,
G King
UNCLASSIFIED
Good morning Mr King
I hereby acknowledge your request for Internal Review under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) dated 22 July 2013.
The review will be conducted as quickly as possible.
Kind Regards
FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
Email: [AGD request email]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear G King,
I refer to your request dated 22 July 2013 for an internal review of your FOI request. Please find attached decision letter of 7 August 2013 in response to your request.
Kind Regards
FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
Email: [AGD request email]
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
I am writing in response to an internal review of Attorney-General's Department's handling of my FOI request ''metadata' disclosed under the TIA'.
While I appreciate the clarification of terminology within the response, I respectfully request a further review of the available documents given "Section 81A of the TIA Act requires the Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department to maintain a General Register which includes particulars of all telecommunications interception warrants".
Does this 'General Register' contain particulars relating to the nature or type of 'communication data' disclosed to authorised officers of enforcement agencies? If so, I believe this document(s) would fulfil my original request and should be disclosed.
Yours faithfully,
G King
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr King,
Thank you for your email to the Department dated 12 August 2013.
2. You have referred to particular provisions of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (the TIA Act), stating:
While I appreciate the clarification of terminology within the response, I respectfully request a further review of the available documents given “Section 81A of the TIA Act requires the Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department to maintain a General Register which includes particulars of all telecommunications interception warrants”
3. You further stated:
Does this ‘General Register’ contain particulars relating to the nature or type of ‘communication data’ disclosed to authorised officers of enforcement agencies? If so, I believe this document(s) would fulfil my original request and should be disclosed.
4. The TIA Act does require the Secretary of the Department to cause a General Register of Warrants to be kept: see subsection 81A(1) of the TIA Act. You have asked:
Does this ‘General Register’ contain particulars relating to the nature or type of ‘communication data’ disclosed to authorised officers of enforcement agencies?
The General Register of Warrants maintained under section 81A of the TIA Act does not ‘contain particulars relating to the nature or type of communication data disclosed to authorised officers of enforcement agencies’.
5. The ‘particulars’ required to be kept in the General Register of Warrants is provided for in subsection 81A(2) of the TIA Act. The provision requires certain information to be included in the Register, such as the date of the issue of the warrant and the agency to which the warrant was issued. However, the provision does not require the General Register of Warrants to contain particulars of the ‘nature or type of communication data disclosed to authorised officers of enforcement agencies’. As the Department’s internal review decision letter of 7 August 2013 stated, at paragraph 8:
The Attorney-General’s Department does not receive specific details of the telecommunications data that is disclosed to enforcement agencies under the (TIA Act).
Further, at paragraph 14, the letter notes:
… the Department does not receive details of telecommunications data that is disclosed to an enforcement agency in response to an authorisation issued by the enforcement agency.
6. I hope the above information clarifies the position. If you wish to discuss this information, please contact the Department by email at [AGD request email].
Yours sincerely
FOI Case Officer
FOI & Privacy Section
Attorney-General’s Department