Request for documents on Senate Counting Arrangements
Dear Australian Electoral Commission,
Thankyou for the documents released on June 7 in response to my request about the Senate Counting Solution. I would like to make a followup request, based on the released email dated Friday October 12, 2018, which states that the Scytl contract was not used because "there was another suitable arrangement used for this purpose."
I request, under the Freedom of Information Act, all documents related to this other "suitable arrangement" for the Senate Counting Solution.
Yours faithfully,
Vanessa Teague
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Dear Australian Electoral Commission,
As with the previous request, I am happy to exclude from scope the names and signatures of particular individuals.
Yours faithfully,
Vanessa Teague
Dear Ms Teague
I refer to your online request made 8 June 2021 10:30 AM and your follow
up online message dated 8 June 2021 10:33 AM in which you request (‘your
FOI Request’) to the Australian Electoral Commission (‘AEC’) under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 for access to documents relating to the
Senate Counting Solution.
I attach my scanned letter to you dated 8 June 2021 acknowledging receipt
of your FOI Request.
Regards
Owen Jones
Owen Jones | Senior Lawyer
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: (02) 6271 4528 | F: (02) 6293 7657
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This email may contain legal advice that is subject to legal professional
privilege. Care should be taken to avoid unintended waiver of that
privilege. The Australian Electoral Commission’s Chief Legal Officer
should be consulted prior to any decision to disclose the existence or
content of any advice contained in this email to a third party.
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Dear Legal Services Mailbox,
No, I do not withdraw my request, which is for "all documents related to this solution," not for the source code. I am familiar with the decision to block Michael Cordover's application for the source code, but I do not see why that should apply to all related documents.
Yours sincerely,
Vanessa Teague
Dear Ms Teague
I refer to your online request made 8 June 2021 10:30 AM to the Australian
Electoral Commission (‘AEC’) in which you request (your ‘FOI Request’)
access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the ‘FOI Act’) access to
information about for access to documents relating to the Senate Counting
Solution.
I attach my scanned letter to you dated 16 June 2021 explaining why I am
initiating a request consultation process in respect of your FOI Request
and giving you options as to how the FOI Request may be processed.
Regards
Owen Jones
Owen Jones | Senior Lawyer
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: (02) 6271 4528 | F: (02) 6293 7657
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]Australian Electoral Commission logo [2]Australian Electoral Commission
This email may contain legal advice that is subject to legal professional
privilege. Care should be taken to avoid unintended waiver of that
privilege. The Australian Electoral Commission’s Chief Legal Officer
should be consulted prior to any decision to disclose the existence or
content of any advice contained in this email to a third party.
Dear Mr Jones,
Thankyou for the opportunity to clarify - I had not intended my request to incorporate history before the 2018 email I referred to, and the 2016 solution it discusses. So to be more precise, I request documents (excluding source code) dated 2016, 2017 or 2018 which
- relate to the development of the EasyCount software, other than the source code itself, (i.e. a(i) in your letter), or
- are procurement and contracting documents relating to the engagement of information and communication contractors and contract staff to undertake projects relating to the development of the EasyCount software (i.e. a(iii) in your letter), or
- are authored by external software testing consultants engaged to independently validate and verify the Senate Counting Solution (i.e. a(iv-C) in your letter).
Yours sincerely,
Vanessa Teague
Dear Vanessa Teague
Please find enclosed in this email a pdf copy of the AEC’s response to
your Freedom of Information request of 8 June 2021, plus one additional
document relevant to your FOI request.
Regards
Louise Parrott
Principal Government Lawyer
Dear Legal Services Mailbox,
Thankyou for the opportunity to clarify. I would like to refine my request.
I request documents (excluding source code) dated 2016, 2017 or 2018 which
- are procurement and contracting documents relating to the engagement of information and communication contractors and contract staff to undertake projects relating to the development of the EasyCount software (i.e. a(iii) in your letter).
Yours sincerely,
Vanessa Teague
Dear Vanessa
Thank you for your email. I will now process this FOI request.
Regards
Louise
Louise Parrott | Principal Government Lawyer
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Ms Teague
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) received on 8 June 2021, as revised on 13
July 2021.
We are considering the documents in the scope of your request and seek
your agreement to exclude from scope the names, signatures or handwritten
initials and contact details of Australian Electoral Commission staff,
contractors and contract staff.
Please let me know by 22 July 2021 if you agree to exclude the above
information from the scope of your request.
If this information is excluded from the scope of the request, we will be
able to provide the decision on your request on 26 July 2021. If you do
not agree, the AEC may be required to consult with third parties under s
27A of the FOI Act, which may extend the time to finalise the request and
provide you with a decision (see s 15(6) of the FOI Act).
Kind regards
Louise Parrott | Principal Government Lawyer
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Legal Services Mailbox,
Yes, I agree to exclude from scope the names, signatures or handwritten
initials and contact details of Australian Electoral Commission staff,
contractors and contract staff.
Yours sincerely,
Vanessa Teague
Dear Ms Teague
Thank you for your email of 20 July 2021.
Since we wrote last wrote to you, the Australian Electoral Commission
(AEC) has located various additional documents relevant to your request.
As your request covers documents which contain information concerning the
business, commercial or financial affairs of an organisation, or a
person’s business or professional affairs, the AEC is required to consult
with the person or organisation concerned (under section 27 of the FOI
Act) before making a decision on the release of those documents.
For this reason the period for processing your request has been extended
by 30 days in order to allow the AEC time to consult with that person or
organisation (section 15(6) of the FOI Act). The processing period for
your request will now end on Tuesday, 24 August 2021.
The consultation mechanism under section 27 applies when we believe the
person or organisation concerned may wish to contend that the requested
documents are exempt because their release would disclose trade secrets or
commercially valuable information or may adversely affect their business
or financial affairs. We will take into account any comments we receive
from the person or organisation but the final decision about whether to
grant you access to the documents you requested rests with the AEC.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Kind regards
Louise Parrott | Principal Government Lawyer
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Ms Teague,
I refer to your request dated 8 June 2021 for access to documents under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (‘the FOI Act’).
I attach a letter to you dated 24 August 2021 regarding my decision.
As detailed in the letter, I have decided to release in part 64 documents,
totalling 393 pages. We will send you the documents to this email address
as soon as practicable.
Regards,
Megan Weimar | Principal Government Lawyer
Electoral Authorisations Section and Investigations | Legal & Procurement
Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Ms Teague,
I refer to my email and letter sent to this address yesterday, 24 August
2021, regarding your FOI request made on 8 June 2021 under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (‘FOI Act’).
As foreshadowed in that email, please find attached Part 1 and Part 2 of
the documents relating to your FOI request.
In a subsequent email, we will send through Part 3 and Part 4 of the
released documents.
If you have any issues receiving the documents please feel free to get in
touch.
Regards,
Megan Weimar | Principal Government Lawyer
Electoral Authorisations Section and Investigations | Legal & Procurement
Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Ms Teague,
We received a failed delivery notification at 3:14PM today regarding Part
3 and Part 4 of the released documents.
Consequently, please find attached Part 3 of the documents. As we have not
received a failed delivery notification regarding Part 1 and Part 2 of the
documents, we will assume that you have received these documents.
Part 4 will be sent through in a subsequent email.
Regards,
Megan Weimar | Principal Government Lawyer
Electoral Authorisations Section and Investigations | Legal & Procurement
Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
Dear Ms Teague,
As mentioned in my previous email, please find attached Part 4 of the
released documents.
Regards,
Megan Weimar | Principal Government Lawyer
Electoral Authorisations Section and Investigations | Legal & Procurement
Branch
Australian Electoral Commission