Reasons for decision
3. The background and key steps in this IC review are set out in Attachment A.
The request and decision under review
4. The applicant applied to the Attorney-General's Department (the AGD) for access to documents sent by the Attorney-General and/or the Attorney-General's Department to the Prime Minister and/or the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet that contain advice in relation to the administration of the Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program by the former Minister for Sport, the Hon. Bridget McKenzie.
5. The Attorney-General at the time was Hon Christian Porter MP (then Attorney-General Porter), who accepted transfer of the request under s 16(1) of the FOI Act. Then Attorney-General Porter identified one document to be within the scope of the FOI request and refused access to the document on the basis that the document is exempt under s 34 and s 42 of the FOI Act.[1]
6. The applicant sought IC review on 4 June 2020.
7. In conducting the IC review, the OAIC requested then Attorney-General Porter to provide documents relevant to the processing of the FOI request, including the FOI request, the names and contact details of and correspondence to and from individuals or agencies consulted, as well as submissions in support of the exemptions claimed.
8. The OAIC had not completed its consideration of the submissions and did not request the document at issue prior to the appointment of Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash as Attorney-General (then Attorney-General Cash)[2], who became the new respondent in this IC review on 30 March 2021.[3]
9. Following the appointment, the OAIC made enquiries with the Attorney-General's Department, then Attorney-General Cash and the National Archives of Australia (NAA), as to whether then Attorney-General Cash was in possession of the document at issue or whether the document was transferred to the Department or to the NAA. The responses to the enquiries confirmed that the document was not in possession of then Attorney-General Cash, nor was it transferred to the Department or to the NAA by then Attorney-General Porter.
10. Following the May 2022 election, the Hon. Mark Dreyfus KC was appointed Attorney-General (current Attorney-General) and became the new respondent in this IC review.[4] The OAIC made enquiries with the Attorney-General's Department and the current Attorney-General, as to whether the current Attorney-General or Department was in possession of the document at issue. The responses to the enquiries confirmed that the
- ↑ The decision was made by then Attorney-General Hon Christian Porter MP's Chief of Staff, Mr Wellington, who was authorised to make decisions on FOI requests received by the Attorney-General's office. As the FOI Act provides that requests are made to agencies or ministers, I will refer to the Attorney-General as the decision proper officer/respondent in this matter.
- ↑ This was a change of Attorney-General within the same government.
- ↑ See Guidelines issued under s 93A of the FOI Act ('FOI Guidelines) at [10.27]; where a minister is a party to an IC review and there is a change of minister in the course of the review, the new minister is the respondent.
- ↑ See Guidelines issued under s 93A of the FOI Act ('FOI Guidelines) at [10.27]; where a minister is a party to an IC review and there is a change of minister in the course of the review, the new minister is the respondent.
2
oaic.gov.au
