-
On this page
Message from FOI Commissioner Toni Pirani
Welcome to our March ICON alert.
As I write this, we are coming to the end of Information Awareness Week – an important opportunity to promote modern and improved practices of managing information.
It was a pleasure to talk more about this at the GAIN Forum this week, which looked at out how information management professionals in government are grappling with the challenges and opportunities presented by technologies such as AI.
We also took the opportunity this week to release the OAIC’s messaging apps report. We found that although messaging apps are an established feature of digital communications in the APS, they are regularly being used without adequate policies and procedures to reflect statutory obligations. You can read more on this below.
Another significant piece of work is our forthcoming update to Part 2 of the FOI Guidelines to reflect the decision of the Full Federal Court in Attorney-General v Patrick [2024] FCAFC 126, relating to the circumstance when a minister leaves their ministerial office before an FOI request is determined. We’ll share the updates on the Freedom of information guidelines page soon.
On a related note, a recent IC review decision I made may be instructive for how to manage requests to ministers where the document is not in their possession at the time of the request but is in the possession of an agency.The decision discusses whether a document is “an official document of a minister” under the FOI Act in a situation where the document was “a document of an agency” on the day the FOI request was made, and has broader implications for agencies and ministers where there is a change of minister as a consequence of a change of government following a federal election.
Lastly, I am very delighted to welcome Ashleigh McDonald to the OAIC. Ashleigh has been appointed Executive General Manager, Information Rights, and will lead our FOI Case Management, Privacy Case Management, and Intake and Triage branches. She brings with her a strong record of serving the community through 23 years of public service, including in senior leadership roles in the Attorney-General’s Department and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Welcome, Ashleigh!
Messaging apps report
Messaging apps technology, like AI, is growing in use in the Australian Public Service (APS) and raising novel considerations for information governance. The Australian Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd this week released a report that examines the prevalence and use of messaging apps in Australian Government agencies.
The review of the policies and practices of 22 agencies found messaging apps are an established feature of digital communications in the APS, though they are regularly being used without adequate policies and procedures that reflect statutory obligations. Commissioner Tydd has shared her key findings and recommendations for agencies to close this information governance gap in her blog.
The report would not have been possible without the willing engagement of agencies that participated and expert input from National Archives of Australia. The co-regulatory approach taken with National Archives is the first of its kind for our agencies, with the report integrating record creation, retention and disposal obligations with information access and privacy rights, to provide a holistic approach to improving information governance. The OAIC will continue to work with National Archives to support agencies to understand and address these obligations when using messaging apps.
Reminder – Quarterly FOI stats due 21 April
A reminder that FOI Statistics quarter 3 returns (1 Jan to 31 March) are due to be uploaded to the FOIStats database by 21 April 2025. Please see the FOIStats guide for further guidance on uploading FOI Statistics, and contact us if you have any questions.
Extensions of Time webinar – registrations open
The OAIC is holding a series of webinars in 2025 for FOI practitioners.
The first webinar for 2025 will address Extensions of Time. It will be held on 8 April 2025 at 10-10.30am AEST. This webinar will cover timeframes for processing FOI requests, and the ins and outs of extensions to those timeframes.
If you would like to attend, please find the registration page here, click Register, and provide registration information.
We will publish information about the full series of webinars for FOI practitioners in upcoming ICON alerts.
Recent engagements
For Information Awareness Week this week, FOI Commissioner Toni Pirani presented at the National Archives GAIN Forum, and Information Commissioner Tydd joined National Archives of Australia Director-General Simon Froude on Wednesday for a webinar on information integrity, transparency and accountability. If you missed the webinar, ICON members can access the recording for free on the InfoGovANZ website – enter the coupon info55 at checkout.
New FOI statistics out
Have you checked out our statistics dashboard? It presents key FOI data reported to the OAIC by Australian Government agencies and ministers, and is updated quarterly. Data for Q2 (October - December 2024) is now available on the dashboard.
The dashboard has been created to help government, agencies, the media and the public better understand the volume and type of FOI requests received and how well agencies are meeting their obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
FOI complaints
A common issue raised in FOI complaints made to the OAIC recently has been non-responsiveness by agencies to update requests from FOI applicants, particularly where there has been a deemed refusal decision.
While there is no obligation under the FOI Act to respond to update requests or provide notice of a deemed decision, we encourage agencies as a matter of better practice to: keep applicants informed of progress delays; seek 15AA extension of time agreements in the first instance where the agency knows it will be unable to comply with the statutory processing timeframe; and notify applicants of their right to seek IC review of the deemed decision to ensure they can apply for IC review within the legislated timeframes under s 54S.
Recent Information Commissioner review decisions
Additional recent Information Commissioner review (IC review) decisions can be found on AustLII.
Geoffrey Shafran and Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel (Freedom of information) [2025] AICmr 46 (4 March 2025)
This decision discusses whether a document is “an official document of a minister” under the FOI Act in a situation where the document was “a document of an agency” on the day the FOI request was made. It has broader implications for agencies and ministers where there is a change of minister as a consequence of a change of government following a federal election.
Paul Farrell and Department of Home Affairs (Freedom of information) (No. 4) [2025] AICmr 42 (28 February 2025)
This decision primarily discusses the application of several conditional exemptions to a request for ministerial submissions in 2014 and 2015 that relate to or mention terminations and abortions for asylum seekers and refugees held on Nauru. It provides an example of how the FOI Act applies to documents prepared to inform ministerial decision making.
Paul Farrell and Department of Home Affairs (No. 3) (Freedom of information) [2025] AICmr 41 (26 February 2025)
This decision discusses the application of ss 47E(d) and 47F of the FOI Act to a process guide for a now redundant decision-making process. It emphasises the importance of agencies providing updated submissions to reflect changing circumstances when given the opportunity to do so during an IC review.
Paul Farrell and Department of Home Affairs (No. 2) (Freedom of information) [2025] AICmr 29 (13 February 2025)
This decision mainly discusses the application of s 47F of the FOI Act to de-identified material generated by the Department in response to the applicant’s FOI request. It provides guidance on when an individual will be “reasonably identifiable” for the purposes of that provision.
Centre for Independent Studies and Minister for Climate Change and Energy (Freedom of information) [2025] AICmr 27 (11 February 2025)
This decision discusses whether information concerning the operations of Snowy Hydro Limited is conditionally exempt under s 47G(1)(a) of the FOI Act. In balancing the public interest considerations, it gives weight to how disclosure may undermine the effective functioning of the energy market, to the detriment of Australian consumers, and therefore to the public interest.
‘ATM’ and Minister for Communications (Freedom of information) [2025] AICmr 15 (21 January 2025)
This decision discusses the application of s 24A of the FOI Act to material held by a Minister. It provides guidance on what constitutes reasonable searches in this context.
