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RECORD RADAR · ROTATION 013
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SUN 02 AUG 2026
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— ROTATION 013 / 2026.08.02
Rotation 013 /033
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The 33 new FOI releases from Federal government departments and eight key agencies from 27 July - 2 August 2026 are summarised below. Notable this week: The industry department told the minister Australia will miss its 1.2 million tech jobs by 2030 target by about 71,000; the Information Commissioner overturned agencies' original FOI decisions in 74% of reviews in 2025-26, up from 41% in 2020-21; PM&C had the National Archives hand-deliver a ~26-year-old file on Australia's space dealings with the US and NASA back into its custody with no reason given; and four agencies including PM&C scrambled over how to reference the International Court of Justice's July 2025 climate advisory opinion in the Pacific Islands Forum communique. Key companies mentioned: Meta, Cambridge Analytica, Goterra, BHP, PwC, Anthropic, Microsoft, Glencore, Nyrstar, Murray Irrigation Limited, bp Alternative Energy Australia, the Australian Renewable Energy Hub, and Squadron Energy. If you've been forwarded this email, you can subscribe here. To find out more about lodging FOI requests, at Right to Know. The initial summaries of the documents are produced by AI, but verified and written up by humans. All feedback is welcome, just hit reply.
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33
Found
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11
Recommended-read
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16
Look
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43%
Avg redact
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OAIC
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3 found · 2 recommended-read · 1 look
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READ
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OAIC
· % REDACTED 30%
Information watchdog overturns most agency FOI decisions on review
Federal agencies' freedom-of-information decisions are overturned far more often on review than five years ago. The Information Commissioner set aside the agency's original decision in 74% of reviews finalised in 2025-26, up from 41% in 2020-21, and affirmed it unchanged in just 10%. The latest year covered fewer reviews than earlier years. Redactions: out-of-scope material under s.22.
See the disclosure →
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READ
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OAIC
· % REDACTED 0%
Junior OAIC staff decide agencies' FOI extension requests
Decisions to grant agencies extra time to process federal FOI requests are delegated to APS 5-level officers, three levels below director, according to Information Commissioner training materials and drafting instructions released under FOI. The same materials tell staff to check that agencies have applied for the correct type of extension and warn that "agencies don't always get it right" on dates. Also released were the OAIC's grant and refusal decision templates. Redactions: none.
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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OAIC
· % REDACTED 5%
Meta to pay $50 million over Cambridge Analytica privacy case
Meta will pay $50 million to compensate Australian Facebook users caught up in the Cambridge Analytica incident, under an enforceable undertaking the Information Commissioner accepted in December 2024 that ends its civil penalty case against the company. Eligible users who held accounts between 2013 and 2015 can register with an independent administrator for a share; unclaimed money goes to consolidated revenue. Meta admits no liability. Redactions: names and signatures under s.47F and s.22.
See the disclosure →
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PM&C
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1 found · 1 recommended-read
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READ
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PM&C
· % REDACTED 10%
Prime Minister's department recalls Archives file on NASA space issues
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet had the National Archives of Australia hand-deliver a file about Australia's space dealings with the US, including NASA, into departmental custody on 28 May 2025. The Archives file, control symbol 2000/492, dates to about 2000. The emails cover only the secure hand-delivery logistics and give no reason for the recall or account of the contents. Please join us in trying to not hum The X-Files theme music. Redactions: contact details under s.22 and s.47E(d).
See the disclosure →
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ATTORNEY GENERAL
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2 found · 1 recommended-read
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READ
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ATTORNEY GENERAL
· % REDACTED 55%
Attorney-General's diary details work behind repeal of secrecy offences
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland used the late-March sitting fortnight to introduce the Secrecy Provisions Amendment (Repealing Offences) Bill, which removes criminal liability from more than 300 Commonwealth secrecy offences and adds protections for journalists. Her diary records a "Secrecy Deep Dive" briefing with her department, and a meeting with Commonwealth prosecutor Raelene Sharp KC. Redactions: appointments and staff details under s.22, s.34, s.37 and s.47E.
See the disclosure →
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SKIP
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ATTORNEY GENERAL
· % REDACTED 5%
Department refused requests seeking proof of Parliament's law-making authority
The Attorney-General's Department refused requests to produce the legal source of the Commonwealth's power to make laws and the basis for the King's Australian title, finding no such instruments exist and pointing requesters to the public Constitution. The decision letters, from 2016 and 2023, echo a separate release earlier this month in which Prime Minister and Cabinet handled a request about the Crown held by Australia's Sovereign. Redactions: applicants' and officers' contact details under s.22.
See the disclosure →
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HEALTH
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1 found · 1 recommended-read
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READ
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HEALTH
· % REDACTED 20%
Health pulled Medicare dataset after researchers cracked its anonymisation
The government published a large set of Medicare and prescription records online, saying patients and doctors could not be identified. University of Melbourne researchers used only public information to work out the hidden ID number of every doctor in the data, and the department took the dataset down once told. The two 2016 papers argue that hiding how such data is scrambled does not make it safe. Redactions: the part explaining how the researchers cracked the code, under s47E(d), and the authors' contact details, under s47F.
See the disclosure →
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DEWR
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1 found · 1 recommended-read
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READ
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DEWR
· % REDACTED 35%
Employment and Education keep fraud investigations in shared database
After the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and the Department of Education separated, officials agreed to keep their fraud and investigation records in one shared database, iBase, and lock down each department's cases so staff cannot see the other's referrals. A second document explains how users are added. Redactions: officials' names under s.22 and technical system details under s.47E(d).
See the disclosure →
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DFAT
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5 found · 2 recommended-read · 2 look
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READ
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DFAT
· % REDACTED 60%
DFAT drew up plan to implement Palestinian state recognition
DFAT prepared a detailed plan to implement Australian recognition of a Palestinian state, covering changes to internal communications, DFAT web pages, passports, Home Affairs and Social Services. Officials tied recognition to the Palestinian Authority meeting reform commitments, confirmed the PA had ended its prisoner payment scheme known as pay-for-slay, and drafted a joint letter for Wong to sign with her PA counterpart pressing early action. Redactions: the plan's substance and most advice withheld under s33(a)(iii), s33(b), s47C, s47E(d), with pages removed under s34(1)(c).
See the disclosure →
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READ
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DFAT
· % REDACTED 70%
DFAT repeatedly defends Tuvalu visa scheme against depopulation fears
DFAT repeatedly rehearsed lines rebutting fears the Falepili Mobility Pathway, its 280-visa-a-year scheme with Tuvalu, will depopulate the country. Talking points and a budget brief lean on Prime Minister Feleti Teo's line that it is not one-way traffic. A member of the public noted registration drew 8,750 applications, about 80 per cent of Tuvalu's population. Redactions: officials' details under s.22, correspondent identities under s.47F.
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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DFAT
· % REDACTED 90%
DFAT called El Salvador's offer to house US prisoners unprecedented
A DFAT cable on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's February meeting with President Nayib Bukele reported that El Salvador agreed to jail deportees from other countries and offered, for a fee, to house incarcerated US citizens in its CECOT mega-prison, which holds 40,000 inmates. DFAT called the offer unprecedented. A later brief recorded human rights criticism of the deal, including from the UN. Redactions: names under s.22, material under s.33(a)(iii), plus out-of-scope removals.
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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DFAT
· % REDACTED 90%
DFAT withholds view on legality of US Iran strikes
DFAT drafted contingency talking points on US military strikes on Iran but withheld almost all the substance. Asked whether the strikes comply with international law, the only released answer sidesteps the question, stating just that Australia respects international law and is committed to its obligations. Whether the department judged the strikes lawful cannot be determined from the release. Redactions: nearly all of it under s.22.
See the disclosure →
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SKIP
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DFAT
· % REDACTED 90%
DFAT withholds 123 of 131 pages of ambassador's Iran cables
The eight pages DFAT did release, from cables by Australia's ambassador in Tehran, cover Iran welcoming Iraq's 2005 constitutional referendum, a reformist MP heckled in parliament after attacking Ahmadinejad's economic record, and Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf telling a 2007 lecture that Iran could cooperate with the US while calling Israel a "fabricated entity." Redactions: 123 of 131 pages withheld under s.33(a)(iii) and s.33(b), covering international relations and confidential foreign-government information.
See the disclosure →
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EDUCATION
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1 found · 1 look
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LOOK
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EDUCATION
· % REDACTED 15%
BHP $30m skills scheme approved 100 places in first year
BHP committed $30 million over five years to a Future of Work partnership with the federal education department, offering people in five regional mining areas up to 1,000 short-course and apprenticeship places. By December 2021, 100 short-course applicants had been approved and three had completed study. Consultancy PwC ran the program, and funding was moved from apprenticeships to short courses. Redactions: personal details under s.22 and s.47F, financial figures and the communication strategy under s.47G. Redactions: contact details under s.22.
See the disclosure →
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IP AUSTRALIA
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1 found · 1 look
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LOOK
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IP AUSTRALIA
· % REDACTED 0%
IP Australia screens tech suppliers for foreign influence risk
IP Australia requires technology suppliers to disclose foreign ownership, control or influence before their bids can be assessed. The questionnaire asks whether a foreign government could legally compel them to hand over data or systems, whether foreign officials sit on their board, and where the agency's data would be held. Suppliers certified under Defence security programs are exempt. Redactions: none.
See the disclosure →
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INDUSTRY ETC
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7 found · 2 recommended-read · 4 look
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READ
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INDUSTRY ETC
· % REDACTED 10%
Department projects Australia will miss 2030 tech jobs target
The department told the industry minister it expects Australia to miss the government's target of 1.2 million technology jobs by 2030, projecting a shortfall of about 71,000. Tech jobs reached 999,053 in February 2026 after three quarterly rises, though the target could still be met by 2027 or 2028 if growth holds. The quarterly update will cease as the statistics agency overhauls its survey. Redactions: advice under s.47C, officials' details under s.22.
See the disclosure →
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READ
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INDUSTRY ETC
· % REDACTED 50%
Dedicated team runs government support for major smelters, refineries
A dedicated Department of Industry team, the Industrial Transition Response Team, manages the government's support packages for major heavy industry, including Glencore's Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery, Nyrstar's Port Pirie and Hobart smelters, and four aluminium smelters. Budget papers show the team received a $0.5 million allocation tied to the Glencore package. Redactions: staff names and most budget figures under s.22.
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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INDUSTRY ETC
· % REDACTED 10%
Resources minister to meet electrical union over BHP bargaining
Resources Minister Madeleine King was due to meet the Electrical Trades Union's national secretary, alongside a BHP Pilbara representative, for an update on the union's bargaining with the company. A departmental official preparing the brief sought to confirm attendees and asked what other issues the union planned to raise.
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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INDUSTRY ETC
· % REDACTED 35%
Ayres and PM met Anthropic and Microsoft chiefs in April
Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres met the chief executive of AI company Anthropic alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on 1 April, and met Microsoft's leadership with the Prime Minister at Kirribilli later in the month. His April schedule also included meetings with senior mining, energy, car manufacturing and quantum computing executives. Redactions: names, contact details and private appointments throughout, under s.22.
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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INDUSTRY ETC
· % REDACTED 35%
Australia weighs $179m to join European observatory
In 2024, officials advised the industry minister that full membership of the European Southern Observatory would cost Australia $179 million upfront plus $30 million a year, and would include access to the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, the world's largest optical telescope once operational. The minister agreed to open informal talks. The brief found the ageing Anglo-Australian Telescope is no longer world-class and faces a funding shortfall. Redactions: departmental advice under s.47C, officials' names under s.22.
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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INDUSTRY ETC
· % REDACTED 40%
Technology assistant minister Charlton met Anthropic and Microsoft chiefs
Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton's April diary inclues meetings with global AI firms Anthropic and Microsoft. Charlton also met unions the ACTU and MEAA on copyright law, and Australian AI start-ups and investors. Redactions: many entries and personal details under s.22, a Marles meeting under s.33.
See the disclosure →
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SKIP
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INDUSTRY ETC
· % REDACTED 95%
Department withholds almost all Northern Endeavour documents
The Northern Endeavour, a disused floating oil facility in the Timor Sea that the Commonwealth is paying to decommission after its operator collapsed, is the subject of three documents running to about 210 pages. Almost none of the content was released. The department withheld the material as commercially valuable, deliberative, or affecting national security, defence or international relations. Redactions: near-total, under s47(1)(b), s47C, s33 and s22.
See the disclosure →
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INFRASTRUCTURE
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1 found · 1 look
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LOOK
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INFRASTRUCTURE
· % REDACTED 5%
Norfolk Island's return to local elections delayed to 2026
The Albanese government is moving to keep Norfolk Island's Regional Council under an appointed administrator until December 2026, delaying a return to local elections, because legislation to create a new elected Assembly is running slow. Community representatives, who say the 2024 model was imposed and repeatedly rejected, may resign, and are fighting departmental advice to bar long-term non-citizen residents from voting. Redactions: officials' contact and personal details under s.22 and s.47F, deliberative material under s.47C.
See the disclosure →
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CLIMATE, ENERGY ETC
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8 found · 1 recommended-read · 5 look
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READ
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CLIMATE, ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 95%
Officials privately conceded 43% target may not match 1.5°C science
An 82-page Senate debate briefing prepared for then Assistant Minister Jenny McAllister on the Climate Change Bill 2022 has been released almost entirely withheld, with only eight pages containing substantive content. A "background — not for talking points" note acknowledges Australia's 43% cut on 2005 levels equates to just 31% on 2019 levels, below the 43% on 2019 levels the IPCC says is needed to keep 1.5°C within reach. Redactions: 74 of 82 pages withheld in full and extensive further redactions on released pages under s.22.
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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CLIMATE, ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 5%
Contracts show Murray Irrigation paid up to $36.5m per deal for basin water
Agreements and deeds between the Commonwealth and Murray Irrigation Limited under the Private Irrigation Infrastructure Operators Program, spanning 2010 to 2023, have been released. Murray Irrigation upgraded channels, meters and system infrastructure in the NSW Murray and in return assigned permanent water entitlements to the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder. Individual activity funding runs up to $36.5 million GST-inclusive. Redactions: contact details and per-project water share figures under s.47F and s.47G.
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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CLIMATE, ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 50%
BP handed over management of Pilbara hydrogen study last October
Four pages of ARENA's Advancing Renewables Program agreement with the Australian Renewable Energy Hub for a Pilbara hydrogen pre-FEED study. bp Alternative Energy Australia ran day-to-day management until end of October 2025. Redactions: partner names, offtaker, subcontractors and funding under s.47G(1) and s.22(1)(a)(ii).
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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CLIMATE, ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 10%
AEMO slashed 2050 NEM hydrogen forecast from 11Mt to under 3Mt
DCCEEW-AEMO emails on inputs to the 2026 Integrated System Plan show on-grid NEM hydrogen production under the Green Energy Exports scenario has been cut from 11 Mt in the 2023 IASR to under 3 Mt in 2025, a roughly 75 per cent downgrade. Departmental feedback cites cooling investor enthusiasm and the deferral of SA's Whyalla Hydrogen Facility. Redactions: names and emails under s.22(1)(a)(ii) and s.47F(1).
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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CLIMATE, ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 15%
Department cultivated insect waste firm Goterra through tours and staff talks
Environment department staff engaged Canberra-based Goterra, which uses black soldier fly larvae to process food waste, across four years from 2021 to 2025. Officials arranged multiple site tours of Goterra's Hume facility, an ECONet speaking series presentation in October 2023, and confirmed the John Gorton Building uses Goterra to process its food organics. A November 2025 Goterra inquiry about Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund grants is included. Redactions: staff and company personnel names and contact details under s.22 and s.47F.
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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CLIMATE, ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 90%
Officials scrambled over ICJ ruling language in PIF communique
DFAT, DCCEEW, the Attorney-General's Department and PM&C coordinated urgently on 11 September on how the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Communique would reference the International Court of Justice's July 2025 climate advisory opinion. Officials sought legal advice, tested fallback wording and consulted Minister Bowen's office before landing near-final text the next day. Redactions: positions, drafting options and legal advice under s33(a)(iii), s47C(1) and s42(1); names under s47F; irrelevant material under s22.
See the disclosure →
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SKIP
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CLIMATE, ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 95%
Almost nothing released on response to adulterated fuel complaint
DCCEEW released six pages in response to a request for records of actions taken over an adulterated fuel complaint. Only fragments of two internal emails are visible, confirming a January 2026 sampling request was sent to the National Measurement Institute. Redactions: site, product, complainant, results and enforcement steps under s.47G(1) and s.22(1)(a)(ii).
See the disclosure →
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SKIP
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CLIMATE, ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 90%
Squadron Energy pushed DCCEEW on Spicers Creek wind farm contract
Squadron Energy asked DCCEEW in February 2026 to have its Wind team engage on the Spicers Creek wind farm, a Capacity Investment Scheme project in the NSW Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone. A contract management meeting followed on 31 March, and Squadron sent a written "letter of preferences" on 8 April to which DCCEEW responded. Redactions: the substance of Squadron's requests, preferences and DCCEEW's response withheld under s47(1), s47C(1) and s47G(1)(b); names and contacts under s47F; irrelevant material under s22.
See the disclosure →
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LOOK
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AFP
· % REDACTED 0%
Federal police told to weigh press freedom in leak probes
Successive ministers directed the Australian Federal Police to weigh press freedom before investigating journalists over leaks by government officials. Then home affairs minister Peter Dutton set the expectation in a 2019 direction, issued after AFP raids on the media, telling the force to exhaust other avenues and seek journalists' voluntary help. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus retained it in a 2023 direction that reset the AFP's priorities. Redactions: none.
See the disclosure →
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SKIP
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ATO
· % REDACTED 100%
ATO refuses to release myID identity app's software inventory
The Australian Taxation Office created an inventory of software components and dependencies for its myID digital identity app on Android to answer an FOI request, then withheld it in full. The ATO said disclosure would expose the app's technology stack and vulnerabilities and could help attackers target the service used to access government online services.
See the disclosure →
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Quiet this rotation · no releases from FINANCE, TREASURY, SOCIAL SERVICES, HOME AFFAIRS, AGRICULTURE, DEFENCE, VETERAN'S AFFAIRS, ASIC, APRA, AUSTRAC, SERVICES AUSTRALIA, ACNC, AEC, RBA.
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Same rotation Monday · 09:00 AEST
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