Senior management reactions to the Independent Review into ABC Systems and Processes in Support of Staff who Experience Racism
Dear Australian Broadcasting Corporation,
I request access to the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982:
1. Internal communications (including, but not limited to, emails, memos, meeting minutes, and other correspondence) among ABC leadership and senior management concerning their responses to the findings of the Independent Review into ABC Systems and Processes in Support of Staff who Experience Racism. Specifically, I am interested in documents that capture:
- Initial reactions to the content of the report.
- Discussions regarding the potential impact of the report on ABC’s public image.
- Any plans, strategies, or actions proposed or taken in response to the report's findings.
I understand that this request may cover a broad range of documents and am open to discussing ways to refine or narrow the scope to facilitate processing.
Yours faithfully,
CR
ABC FOI 202425-050
Dear CR
The ABC acknowledges receipt of your FOI request, attached, sent on 4
October 2024 seeking access under the Commonwealth Freedom of Information
Act (1982) to:
1. Internal communications (including, but not limited to, emails, memos,
meeting minutes, and other correspondence) among ABC leadership and
senior management concerning their responses to the findings of the
Independent Review into ABC Systems and Processes in Support of Staff
who Experience Racism. Specifically, I am interested in documents that
capture:
- [A] Initial reactions to the content of the report.
- [B] Discussions regarding the potential impact of the report on ABC’s
public image.
- [C] Any plans, strategies, or actions proposed or taken in response
to the report's findings.
I understand that this request may cover a broad range of documents and am
open to discussing ways to refine or narrow the scope to facilitate
processing.
Thank you for confirming you may be happy to refine the scope of your
request.
As there are 3 subparagraphs above (numbered A to C) – can you let us know
if you are more interested in 1 or 2 of these points as opposed to all 3
from the outset?
A decision on your request is due to by Monday 4 November 2024, subject to
any extensions of time for consultation or by agreement.
If the ABC is required to consult with persons external to the ABC, are
you happy to be identified as the FOI applicant? If so, please let us know
by return email. It is optional to share your name (or to say it is on
behalf of Ch 7).
By making a FOI request, you are providing personal information to the
ABC. The ABC manages personal information in accordance with its Privacy
Policy - available at [1]ABC Privacy Policy – ABC Help - Australian
Broadcasting Corporation Help Centre . Personal information may be
disclosed in the course of processing this request, such as for the
purposes of consultation or internal reporting.
Can you please also let us know if you would be happy to agree an
extension of time under s 15AA of the FOI Act as the ABC FOI team is
managing multiple files due close together in the coming month. If so a
maximum of 30 days can be agreed.
Many thanks,
ABC FOI team
13 9994
This email, including any attachments, is intended only for the addressee.
It is confidential and may contain privileged information. You should not
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have received the email in error, please immediately let the sender know
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Dear ABC FOI Team,
To help facilitate the processing of my request, I have decided to remove part B and revise part C as follows:
- [C] Actions proposed or taken in response to the release of the report.
To clarify part C, I am not seeking information regarding ABC's long-term goals or commitments in response to the findings of the report. Instead, I am specifically requesting details on the immediate actions taken as a result of the report's release. This may include, for example, the drafting of a press release, an apology, internal employee communications, preparation for a media interview (such as drafting a speech), consultation with PR and crisis management experts, etc.
I hope this clarification helps. Please let me know if you require any further information.
Additionally, I consent to being identified as the FOI applicant. You may refer to me as "CR" on the transparency website Right to Know.
Lastly, I consent to a 14-day extension.
Thank you for your prompt processing.
Yours sincerely,
CR
ABC FOI 202425-050
Good afternoon CR
Thank you for the return email below and apologies for the delay in responding, our team is managing a large workload at present.
With your agreement to a s 15AA extension of time, a decision on your request is currently due by Monday 18 November.
Regarding the clarity of the scope provided previously, would you please confirm the revised request is seeking:
1. Internal communications (including, but not limited to, emails, memos, meeting minutes, and other correspondence) among ABC leadership an senior management concerning their responses to the findings of the Independent Review into ABC Systems and Processes in Support of Staff who Experience Racism. Specifically, I am interested in documents that capture:
- [A] Initial reactions to the content of the report.
- [B] *removed by agreement*
- [C] details on the immediate actions taken as a result of the report's release. This may include, for example, the drafting of a press release, an apology, internal employee communications, preparation for a media interview (such as drafting a speech), consultation with PR and crisis management experts, etc. (for context: I am not seeking information regarding ABC's long-term goals or commitments in response to the findings of the report.)
Due to the competing demands of our team, the ABC will unfortunately not be able to finlaise and issue the decision by Monday. Under s 15AA, a further 16 days can be agreed as an extension of time for processing. This would mean a decision would be due to be issued by Wednesday 4 December 2024.
Please let us know if you may be happy to agree to a further extension of time. This would avoid the decision becoming a deemed refusal.
We thank you for your consideration and patience.
Many thanks,
ABC FOI team
13 9994
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians
and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.
This email, including any attachments, is intended only for the addressee. It is confidential and may contain privileged information. You should not read, copy, use or disclose it, or take any other action in reliance of the information contained in this email, without authorisation. If you have received the email in error, please immediately let the sender know by separate email or telephone and delete the email from your system.
Dear ABC FOI Team,
I agree with your interpretation of the scope and to the extension.
Yours sincerely,
CR
Thank you kindly, we really appreciate it
Many thanks,
ABC FOI team
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians
and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.
This email, including any attachments, is intended only for the addressee. It is confidential and may contain privileged information. You should not read, copy, use or disclose it, or take any other action in reliance of the information contained in this email, without authorisation. If you have received the email in error, please immediately let the sender know by separate email or telephone and delete the email from your system.
ABC FOI 202425-050
Good afternoon CR
The ABC is required to consult with an affected third party which means
the timeframe for processing your request is automatically extended by 30
days under s 15(6) of the Freedom of Information Act (Cth) 1982.
A decision on your request is due by Friday 3 January 2025.
It is optional to be identified as the FOI applicant for the purposes of
consultation. If you consent to this, please let us know by return email.
We wanted to clarify the meaning of 2 aspects of the scope of your request
(noting that part B was withdrawn by agreement). The scope is currently:
1. Internal communications (including, but not limited to, emails, memos,
meeting minutes, and other correspondence) among ABC leadership an[d]
senior management concerning their responses to the findings of the
Independent Review into ABC Systems and Processes in Support of Staff who
Experience Racism. Specifically, I am interested in documents that
capture:
- [A] Initial reactions to the content of the report.
- [C] details on the immediate actions taken as a result of the report's
release. This may include, for example, the drafting of a press release,
an apology, internal employee communications, preparation for a media
interview (such as drafting a speech), consultation with PR and crisis
management experts, etc. (for context [the applicant is] not seeking
information regarding ABC's long-term goals or commitments in response to
the findings of the report.)
For A – would you say that “initial reactions” are limited to the first
week after the report was circulated internally?
For C – by “immediate reactions”, would you say this applies to the first
week, or perhaps fortnight, after the report was released to management?
We would be grateful if you could specify a timeframe for parts A and C so
that our team can assess that searches match the scope of the request.
Thank you for your patience.
ABC FOI team
13 9994
This email, including any attachments, is intended only for the addressee.
It is confidential and may contain privileged information. You should not
read, copy, use or disclose it, or take any other action in reliance of
the information contained in this email, without authorisation. If you
have received the email in error, please immediately let the sender know
by separate email or telephone and delete the email from your system.
Dear ABC FOI team,
Thank you for your email.
I consent to being identified as the FOI applicant. You may refer to me as "CR" on the transparency website Right to Know.
I would be appreciative if you could please very briefly sample potentially relevant documents and determine a reasonable timeframe for both parts of my request.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
CR