Australian Government Australian Taxation Office —- GPO Box 1797 MELBOURNE VIC 3001 Our Reference: FOI 1-6OYQVEM Contact officer: Julie Galeotti Telephone: 03 928 51810 |: julie.galeotti@ato.gov.au Issue date: 19 June 2015 Emai Mr Ben Grubb 1 Darling Island Road Pyrmont NSW 2009 And via email to baruibb @smh.com.au Dear Mr Grubb, Decision regarding your Freedom of Information request | refer to your email of 18 May 2014 requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI Act) | am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions regarding access to documents. Scope of Request You have requested:- 1. Documents conceming referrals the ATO has made to the Australian Federal Police for unauthorised disclosures of commonwealth information (i.e. Section 70 of Crimes Act). 2, Documents conceming the ATO’s potential access of journalists’ telecommunications data under the Telecommunications Act. Decision Section 24 Access is refused to the documents requested on the grounds that | could not find any documents which fall within the scope of your request. Section 24A of the FOI Act allows agencies to refuse access to documents if: (@) all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and (b) the agency of Minister is satisfied that the document; © is in the agency's or Minister's possession but cannot be found; or © does not exist. | have undertaken the following searches for relevant documents and | am satisfied that the documents do not exist.‘Searches undertaken Referrals to Australian Federal Police (AFP) Your request was referred to our Fraud Prevention & Internal Investigations area and our Private Groups and High Wealth Individuals Investigation team as these areas are the most likely to send referrals to the Australian Federal Police (AFP). They have both advised that they have not made any referrals to the AFP regarding section 70 of the Crimes Act. We therefore are unable to locate any documents regarding part one of your request. Journalists’ telecommunications data under the Telecommunications Act. ‘The Fraud Prevention & Internal Investigations area and our Private Groups and High Wealth Individuals Investigation team have advised that they are unaware of any applications regarding journalists’ telecommunications data. They are also unaware of any documents relating to the potential access ot journalists’ telecommunications data. | have therefore been unable to locate any documents relating to part two of your request. Backaround The ATO is able to access telecommunications data under sections 178 and 179 of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (TIA Act). Authorised ATO officers are able to require a telecommunications service provider to disclose historical data if they are satisfied that the disclosure is reasonably necessary for the enforcement of the criminal law (section 178), or a law imposing @ pecuniary penalty or protection of the public revenue (section 179). This information may include: + telephone number, = name and address details, = specific itemised call records, = information on ID documents supplied by clients when applying for telecommunication services, = subscriber information relating to internet address searches. It does not include the actual content of telecommunications. ‘As required under the TIA Act, the ATO reports annually to the Attorney-General’s Department Communications Access Co-ordinator regarding its access to telecommunications data. The number of authorisations is published in the Annual Report on the TIA Act. Your rights of review Ifyou are unhappy with the decision, you can either request an internal reviow or request an independent review by the Australian Information Commissioner. You can also apply to the ‘Australian Information Commissioner after an internal review has been conducted. ‘A request for an internal review needs to: be in writing sabe sent fo us within 30 days of being notified of my decision, and e sent, quoting reference number FO! 1-GOYQVEM via: ~email at foi@ato.gov.au or mail to: Australian Taxation OfficeGPO Box 1787, Melbourne Vic 3001 The internal review will be done by an officer who did not make the initial decision. A request for an independent review by the Australian Information Commissioner needs be sent within 60 days of being notified of my dec include a copy of this notice; include an address where notices can be sent (eg your email address); and be sent to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: by mail: GPO Box 2999 CANBERRA CITY ACT 2601 by fax: (02) 9284 9666 by email: ‘enquiries @ oaic. gov.au You may also apply to the Australian Information Commissioner if you have not been informed of the outcome of an internal review within 80 days. Please note: The Australian Government has introduced a Bill into Parliament to abolish the OAIC. For more information about how the OAIC is handling FOI matters please visit their website at www.oaic.gov.au. Complaints Any complaint about the processing of your FOI request can be directed to the Commonwealth Ombudsman. The complaint should set out the grounds on which you consider the action should be investigated. Complaints can be made in writing, by phone, in person or by using an online form available from their website. = 1300 362 072 (calls from mobile phones at mobile phone rates) © ombucsman@ ombudsman.gov.au © GPO Box 442 Canberra ACT 2601 © www.ombudsman.gov.au/pages/making-a-complaint/ For further details regarding the Commonwealth Ombudsman, visit: www.ombudsman.gov.au, For more information Ifyou have any questions, please contact me via the details above or phone 13 28 69 between 8.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday, and ask for me on extension 51810, Yours sincerely, q Co al Julie Galeotti Senior FOI Adviser General Counsel Australian Taxation Office