Review and Update of ARPANSA Information Publication Scheme
Dear Office of the Australian Information Commissioner,
ARPANSA is subject to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and is required to comply with the Information Publication Scheme (IPS) provisions. The IPS underpins a pro-disclosure culture across government. It transforms the FOI framework from one that is reactive to individual requests to one that relies on voluntary agency-driven publication of information. A document entitled "ARPANSA Information Publication Scheme - Agency Plan" is available on its website and is dated May 2011.
A new power (section 80A of the ARPANS Act} enables the CEO of ARPANSA to issue an improvement notice in writing if he believes that the ARPANS Act, regulations, or the conditions of a Commonwealth radiation licence are being contravened. An improvement notice is a serious matter. Such a notice was issued by ARPANSA in 2017. Because this notice does not seem to be publicly available, I requested it last month under FOI (still awaiting acknowledgement by ARPANSA). It appears that a periodic review of the ARPANSA IPS should have identified the need for an IPS plan update based on changes to the Act or regulations.
I therefore seek access to information under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) regarding ARPANSA's compliance with FOI Act requirements. The FOI Act (section 9) requires agencies to review their IPS operations periodically; each agency, in fact, was required to complete a review of its IPS compliance by 1 May 2016. I believe OAIC would have assisted in such a review. I request documents associated with this required review and any documents associated with any reviews of ARPANSA IPS compliance after May of 2011.
Thank your for your continued efforts to promote a participatory democracy by assisting the public to better understand how government makes decisions and administers programs.
Yours faithfully,
Anonymous
Dear FOI applicant
Your Freedom of Information request
I refer to your request for access to documents, made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) and received by the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) on 1 June 2018.
Scope of your request
In your email you seek access to:
.. information … regarding ARPANSA's compliance with FOI Act requirements.
The FOI Act (section 9) requires agencies to review their IPS operations
periodically; each agency, in fact, was required to complete a review of
its IPS compliance by 1 May 2016. I believe OAIC would have assisted in
such a review. I request documents associated with this required review
and any documents associated with any reviews of ARPANSA IPS compliance
after May of 2011.
Timeframes for dealing with your request
Section 15 of the FOI Act requires this office to process your request no
later than 30 days after the day we receive it.
The OAIC received your request on 1 June 2018 and must therefore process
it by Monday 2 July 2018 (because the due date is Sunday 1 July 2018, s
36(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 has effect so that the decision
is due on the next working day after the due date).
Section 15(6) of the FOI Act allows the OAIC a further 30 days if we need
to consult with third parties about certain information, such as business
documents or documents affecting their personal privacy. We will advise
you if this is necessary.
Disclosure Log
Information released under the FOI Act may later be published online on
our [1]disclosure log, subject to certain exceptions (for example,
personal information will not be published where this would be
unreasonable.)
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Regards
Raewyn Harlock | Assistant Director | FOI Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001 | [2]www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 9284 9802 | Email: [3][email address]
Protecting information rights – advancing information policy
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Dear Raewyn Harlock,
Thank you for your timely acknowledgment.
My request is straightforward and simple. I don't know if ARPANSA completed the required review of its IPS compliance. If it did, then OAIC would've been involved and I request documents associated with this required review. If ARPANSA did not, please so state.
Yours sincerely,
Anonymous
Our reference: FOIREQ18/00065
Dear Anonymous
Freedom of information request no. FOIREQ18/00065
I refer to your request, made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act) and received by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (OAIC) on 1 June 2018.
The OAIC has completed search and retrieval for documents within the scope
of your request. Because your request covers documents containing business
and personal information relating to other organisations, the OAIC is
required to consult these organisations under ss 27 and 27A of the FOI Act
before making a decision on release of the documents.
For this reason, the period for processing your request has been extended
by 30 days to allow time to consult (see s 15(6) of the FOI Act). The
processing period for your request will now end on Tuesday 31 July 2018.
The consultation mechanisms under ss 27 and 27A apply when we believe the
person or organisation concerned may wish to contend that the requested
documents are exempt for reasons of personal privacy or may adversely
affect their business or financial affairs. We will take into account any
comments we receive but the final decision about whether to grant you
access to the documents you requested rests with the office of the OAIC.
Kind regards,
Brandon Chen | Investigation and Review Officer | FOI Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001 | [1]www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 9284 9726 | Email: [2][email address]
Protecting information rights – advancing information policy
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Dear Brandon Chen,
Thank you. I understand that a decision on my request may take a bit longer.
I requested any documents related to the required IPS review by ARPANSA. It's possible that ARPANSA conducted no review, in which case a simple declarative statement to that effect would suffice.
I really don't think there is anything of a personal or business sensitive nature involved in this request. Given that the IPS underpins a pro-disclosure culture across government, it would indeed be ironic if my request were denied.
Yours sincerely,
Anonymous
Our reference: FOIREQ18/00065
Dear Anonymous
Freedom of Information request
I refer to your freedom of information request received on 1 June 2018.
Please see attached decision and related documents.
Regards
Cate Cloudsdale | Senior Lawyer | Legal Services
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, SYDNEY NSW 2000
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001| [1]www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 8231 4249 | E-mail: [2][email address]
Protecting information rights – advancing information policy
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WARNING: The information contained in this email may be confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient, any use or copying of any part
of this information is unauthorised. If you have received this email in
error, we apologise for any inconvenience and request that you notify
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with any attachments.
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Dear Cate Cloudsdale,
Thank you for the timely response.
I requested access to information regarding ARPANSA's compliance with the FOI Act, specifically (section 9) for agencies to review their IPS operations periodically; each agency, in fact, was required to complete a review of its IPS compliance by 1 May 2016. I requested documents associated with this required review. Your response suggests that ARPANSA conducted no such review; it appears that the requirement was satisfied by an online survey in 2012 and not changes to their IPS have occurred since 2011.
ARPANSA stated in 2012 that their IPS is reviewed annually, but no evidence of this exists. They stated that training occurs(q23-26) - again, no evidence. They stated in 2012 that a strategy for increasing open access is under development (q45)...and it apparently still is. It may be instructive for OAIC to verify the accuracy of a certain number of responses to the 2018 survey.
Yours sincerely,
Anonymous
Dear FOI applicant
Thank you for your comments in relation to the Information Publication
Scheme (IPS) survey. I have passed your comments on to the relevant policy
area in the OAIC dealing with IPS.
Regards
Cate Cloudsdale | Senior Lawyer | Legal Services
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, SYDNEY NSW 2000
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001| [1]www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 8231 4249 | E-mail: [2][email address]
Protecting information rights – advancing information policy
-----Original Message-----
From: Sun Shine <[FOI #4621 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 2 August 2018 1:52 PM
To: Cate Cloudsdale <[email address]>
Subject: Re: FOIREQ18/00065 - Decision [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Dear Cate Cloudsdale,
Thank you for the timely response.
I requested access to information regarding ARPANSA's compliance with the
FOI Act, specifically (section 9) for agencies to review their IPS
operations periodically; each agency, in fact, was required to complete a
review of its IPS compliance by 1 May 2016. I requested documents
associated with this required review. Your response suggests that ARPANSA
conducted no such review; it appears that the requirement was satisfied by
an online survey in 2012 and not changes to their IPS have occurred since
2011.
ARPANSA stated in 2012 that their IPS is reviewed annually, but no
evidence of this exists. They stated that training occurs(q23-26) - again,
no evidence. They stated in 2012 that a strategy for increasing open
access is under development (q45)...and it apparently still is. It may be
instructive for OAIC to verify the accuracy of a certain number of
responses to the 2018 survey.
Yours sincerely,
Anonymous
-----Original Message-----
Our reference: FOIREQ18/00065
Dear Anonymous
Freedom of Information request
I refer to your freedom of information request received on 1 June 2018.
Please see attached decision and related documents.
Regards
Cate Cloudsdale | Senior Lawyer | Legal Services
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, SYDNEY NSW 2000
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001|
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Phone: +61 2 8231 4249 | E-mail: [2][email address]
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