ATTACHMENT A
Key procedural steps
| Date | Events |
| 4 June 2020 | The applicant sought IC review of the then Attorney-General Porter's decision under s 54L of the FOI Act. |
| 12 August 2020 | The OAIC notified both the applicant and then Attorney-General Porter of the commencement of this IC review pursuant to s 54Z of the FOI Act. The OAIC requested that both parties provide submissions/evidence relevant to the IC's consideration of the application of ss 34 and 42 of the FOI Act. |
| Between 20 September 2020 to 19 March 2021 | Between 20 September 2020 to 19 March 2021 the OAIC corresponded with the parties who provided further submissions to the OAIC and exchanged non-confidential submissions. The respondent did not provide the document at issue. |
| 30 March 2021 | Attorney-General Porter ceased to be the Attorney-General. On the same day, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash was appointed Attorney-General and became the new respondent in this IC review.[1] |
| 18 August 2021 | The OAIC wrote to the Department asking the then Attorney-General Cash to confirm whether she was in possession of the document at issue in this IC review. |
| 2 September 2021 | The Department replied to the OAIC stating:
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| 24 September 2021 | The OAIC wrote to the Department seeking further information from then Attorney-General Cash to establish that she was not in possession of the document at issue in this IC review and give her an opportunity to provide further submissions before the OAIC determined the next steps in this IC review. Then Attorney-General Cash was asked to provide further submissions and evidence of searches conducted and whether they were entitled to access the document. |
| 7 October 2021 | The OAIC received submissions from then Attorney-General Cash (dated 6 October 2021). The then Attorney-General submitted that all reasonable steps to find the document at issue in this IC review were undertaken, and it was not in her possession. In her submissions, she explained the steps undertaken to search for the document. |
| 20 October 2021 | The OAIC shared the submissions provided by former Attorney-General Cash with the applicant and invited the applicant to make any submissions in response. |
| 21 October 2021 | The OAIC wrote to then Attorney-General Cash seeking further clarification about whether the document at issue in this IC review was provided to the National Archives of Australia (NAA), the Department, or another Department. It was also noted that General Records Authority 38[2] and Cabinet documents issues may have been relevant to the document at issue in this IC review. The OAIC requested then Attorney-General Cash make enquiries with the Department to determine whether the document at issue was provided to the NAA, and if not, where the document may have been transferred.
The OAIC also wrote to the NAA seeking information as to whether a current |
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