BKXP and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Freedom of Information)

This matter concerned a Freedom of Information request made by BKXP to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for access to draft versions of country information assessments and related source and commentary documents. The applicant sought access to these documents, but DFAT claimed that certain portions were exempt under the *Freedom of Information Act 1982* (Cth). The reviewable decision of DFAT to refuse access to these redacted portions was before the Deputy President.

The primary legal issues before the Deputy President were whether the draft country information assessments and associated documents were conditionally exempt under sections 47C and 47E(d) of the *Freedom of Information Act 1982* (Cth), and if so, whether their disclosure would be contrary to the public interest. Section 47E(d) specifically addresses documents where disclosure could reasonably be expected to have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of an agency. The Deputy President also considered the relevance of guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner regarding the interpretation of "substantial adverse effect."

The Deputy President found that the draft documents, including source and commentary materials, were conditionally exempt under both section 47C (deliberative documents) and section 47E(d) of the Act. This conclusion was based on an inspection of the documents, which revealed their deliberative nature, their classification, and their progressive amendment through the drafting process. The Deputy President adopted the Information Commissioner's guidelines, which define "substantial adverse effect" as an adverse effect that is sufficiently serious or significant to cause concern to a properly concerned reasonable person. The Deputy President was satisfied that the redacted portions, relating to framework documents and caseload information, would have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of the agency, namely Home Affairs.

Consequently, the Deputy President affirmed the reviewable decision, finding that the redacted portions of the documents were exempt under section 47E(d) and that disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.