The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the FOI Act
Dear Commonwealth Ombudsman,
Under the FOI Act, I request access to any notice or direction issued to the Commonwealth Ombudsman/Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman (OCO)/any person at the OCO, under ss.55(2)(e)(ii), 55E(2), 55R(3), 55T(2), 55T(4), 75(1) and/or 79(3) of the FOI Act from 1 July 2022 onwards.
In accordance with paragraphs 6.153 and 6.154 of the FOI Guidelines I consent to the redaction of the personal information of any person contained within a relevant document except where that person is a public servant or statutory officer.
I'm happy to set out the public interest in the documents the subject of my request (on request and/or in response to a charges notice or access refusal decision) by reference to particular acts/omissions engaged in by specified OCO officers in the context of the considerable wide public interest in matters of public sector integrity and corruption.
Yours faithfully,
French
Our reference: FOIREQ24/00113
Dear French
Freedom of Information request
I refer to your request for access to documents made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).
You FOI request was received by the Commonwealth Ombudsman on 18 February
2024. In accordance with s 16(1) of the FOI Act, your FOI request has been
transferred to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
(OAIC) by agreement because your FOI request more closely relates to the
functions of the OAIC.
A decision on your FOI request is currently due on 19 March 2024.
Scope of your request
Your FOI request was made in the following terms:
Under the FOI Act, I request access to any notice or direction issued to
the Commonwealth Ombudsman/Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman (OCO)/any
person at the OCO, under ss.55(2)(e)(ii), 55E(2), 55R(3), 55T(2), 55T(4),
75(1) and/or 79(3) of the FOI Act from 1 July 2022 onwards.
In accordance with paragraphs 6.153 and 6.154 of the FOI Guidelines I
consent to the redaction of the personal information of any person
contained within a relevant document except where that person is a public
servant or statutory officer.
I'm happy to set out the public interest in the documents the subject of
my request (on request and/or in response to charges notice or access
refusal decision) by reference to particular acts/omissions engaged in by
specified OCO officers in the context of the considerable wide public
interest in matters of public sector integrity and corruption.
In order to process your request as efficiently as possible, I will
exclude duplicates and early parts of email streams that are captured in
later email streams from the scope of this request, unless you advise me
otherwise.
We will not identify you as the FOI applicant during any consultation
process, unless we seek your permission. However, documents that are
within the scope of your request that we may need to consult third parties
about may contain your personal information.
Timeframes for dealing with your request
Section 15 of the FOI Act requires the OAIC to process your request no
later than 30 days after the day we receive it. However, section 15(6) of
the FOI Act allows us a further 30 days in situations where we need to
consult with third parties about certain information, such as business
documents or documents affecting their personal privacy.
The current decision due date for your request is 19 March 2024. We will
advise you if this timeframe is otherwise extended.
Disclosure Log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published online on our
disclosure log, unless they contain personal or business information that
would be unreasonable to publish.
If you would like to discuss your FOI request, please contact me on my
contact details set out below.
Kind regards
Molly
[1][IMG] Molly Cooke
A/g Senior Lawyer
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
E [2][email address]
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people,
cultures and Elders past and present.
[3]Subscribe to Information Matters
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. mailto:%[email address]
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/n...
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Our Ref: FOI – 2024- 10020
28 February 2024
French P
Dear French P
Freedom of information request – Transfer of request
I refer to your Freedom of Information request received by our Office on
18 February 2024. Your request was phrased as follows:
Under the FOI Act, I request access to any notice or direction issued to
the Commonwealth Ombudsman/Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman (OCO)/any
person at the OCO, under ss.55(2)(e)(ii), 55E(2), 55R(3), 55T(2), 55T(4),
75(1) and/or 79(3) of the FOI Act from 1 July 2022 onwards.
In accordance with paragraphs 6.153 and 6.154 of the FOI Guidelines I
consent to the redaction of the personal information of any person
contained within a relevant document except where that person is a public
servant or statutory officer.
I'm happy to set out the public interest in the documents the subject of
my request (on request and/or in response to charges notice or access
refusal decision) by reference to particular acts/omissions engaged in by
specified OCO officers in the context of the considerable wide public
interest in matters of public sector integrity and corruption.
Section 16 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) requires us
to transfer a request where the subject matter of the documents is more
closely related with the functions of another agency than with those of
the agency to which the request is made. I consider that the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is better placed to respond to
your request and have therefore transferred the request to OAIC for
processing.
Please do not hesitate to contact me at
[1][email address] if you have any further questions.
Regards
Senzeni
Assistant Director – Legal
Legal Team | Defence, Investigations, ACT & Legal Branch
COMMONWEALTH OMBUDSMAN
Phone: 1300 362 072
Email: [2][email address]
Website: [3]ombudsman.gov.au
The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman acknowledges the Traditional
Owners of ountry throughout Australia and their continuing connection to
land, culture and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and
present.
The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman acknowledges the traditional
owners of country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to
land, culture and community. We pay our respects to elders past and
present.
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COMMONWEALTH OMBUDSMAN - IMPORTANT CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
This e-mail message or an attachment to it is confidential, and it is
intended to be accessed only by the person or entity to which it is
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No use, copying or disclosure (including by further transmission) of this
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References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/
Good morning,
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your request.
Regards,
Emily
[1][IMG] Emily Elliott
Senior Lawyer
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Sydney | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
E [2][email address]
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people,
cultures and Elders past and present.
[3]Subscribe to Information Matters
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/n...