Urquhart; Chief Executive Officer, Services Australia and (Freedom of Information)

This matter concerned an application for review by the Chief Executive Officer of Services Australia (the Applicant) against a decision of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The OAIC had set aside the Applicant's decision to refuse a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by Mr Urquhart (the Respondent) on the grounds that processing the request would constitute a "practical refusal reason" under section 24(1) of the *Freedom of Information Act 1982* (Cth). The Applicant sought a review of the OAIC's decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether a practical refusal reason existed in accordance with section 24(1) of the FOI Act, and whether the consultation process engaged in by the Applicant pursuant to section 24AB of the FOI Act was adequate. The Applicant contended that the work involved in processing Mr Urquhart's request would substantially and unreasonably divert its resources from other operations, thereby constituting a practical refusal reason.

The Tribunal considered unchallenged evidence from the Applicant, including affidavits from Ms Hamilton and Mr Pratt, which indicated that processing the request would take approximately 180 hours, equivalent to more than four and a half weeks of one staff member's time. This was significantly longer than the Applicant's average processing time of 2.8 days per request. The Tribunal found this estimated processing time to be substantial and likely to divert the Applicant's resources. The Tribunal also noted that the Applicant had followed the recommended guidelines for assessing processing time by conducting a sample review of the documents.

The Tribunal set aside the OAIC's decision and found that a practical refusal reason existed. The Tribunal concluded that the work involved in processing the Respondent's FOI request would substantially and unreasonably divert the Applicant's resources from its other operations.