Please provide material deemed as irrelevant under section 22(1)(a)(i) from FOI/2023/349

The request was successful.

Hi,

This request for information is made in accordance with the FOI Act. Please refer your department's 10 Jan 2024 disclosure Ref No. FOI/2023/349. Please provide a copy of the disclosed document with the information that is redacted from that document via section 22 (1)(a)(ii) disclosed.

I expect all Australian government email addresses to be included in the disclosure. OAIC holds the view that it is generally not unreasonable for public servants’ names to be disclosed in response to an FOI request. FOI memorandum No. 94 states:

“It was not Parliament’s intention to provide anonymity for pubic officials each time once of them is mentioned in a file. That would be contrary to the aims of the FOI Act and would not assist in promoting openness or accountability.”

There are no special reasons that make disclosing public servant's email addresses unreasonable in this case. I have explicitly asked for their disclosure and they are therefore clearly not irrelevant to this request.

Please note, my legally enforceable right of access sits above your department's internal policy of not disclosing non-SES email addresses.

Yours faithfully,

Trav S

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

2 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Reference: FOI/2024/014

 

Dear Trav S

 

Thank you for your email of 11 January 2024, in which you made a request
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department).

 

You set out the terms of the request as follows:

 

This request for information is made in accordance with the FOI Act. 
Please refer your department's 10 Jan 2024 disclosure Ref No.
FOI/2023/349.  Please provide a copy of the disclosed document with the
information that is redacted from that document via section 22 (1)(a)(ii)
disclosed.  

 

Timeframe for receiving your decision and request for extension of time

The 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the
day after the Department received your request, you should therefore
expect a decision from us by 12 February 2024.  The processing period of
30 days may be extended in certain circumstances and we will write to you
separately regarding any extension of time.

 

Charges

Agencies may decide that an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect
of a request for access to documents. If the Department decides that you
are liable to pay a charge, we will send you a preliminary assessment of
the charge as soon as possible.

 

Publication of documents

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log at
[1]https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...,
subject to certain exceptions. If you think you might wish to raise any
objections to the publication of any of the information which may be
released to you please contact us by email at [2][DPMC request email].  If you
do wish to object to the publication of information, you would need to
provide supporting reasons.

 

Further information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
[3]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

 

Kind regards

Coordinator | FOI Section

[ ]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country | One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [4][email address]  w. [5]pmc.gov.au

 

[6]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...
2. mailto:[DPMC request email]
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
4. mailto:[email address]
5. https://www.pmc.gov.au/

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

5 Attachments

OFFICIAL

FOI/2024/014

 

Dear Trav S

 

Please see attached correspondence regarding your Freedom of Information
request.

 

Kind regards

 

Emily

Adviser

FOI Section | Legal Policy Branch[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [1][email address] w. [2]pmc.gov.au

 

[3]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/