|
RECORD RADAR · ROTATION 020
|
SUN 20 SEP 2026
|
|
— ROTATION 020 / 2026.09.20
Rotation 020 /040
|
|
Welcome to our 20th edition. Thank you so much for subscribing, and especially to those of you who read these every week. It's nice to find so many fellow nerds. If you have teams, newsrooms or friends who would find FOI Weekly useful, please consider sharing it with them. The new FOI releases from Federal government departments and key agencies this week are summarised below. Notable this week: the Attorney General's Department ran a Google's AI model on material classified up to PROTECTED despite its own assessment warning that the tool sits outside Google's security certification; Commonwealth officials were aware for years that Criminal Code carriage service offences could criminalise doctors advising voluntary assisted dying patients by phone or video, and left the matter unresolved; a Criminal Code war crimes change backdated to 2002 applies to a prosecution now before the court; and a year of environment department incident reports logged deaths across its parks and Antarctic operations. Key companies mentioned: Google, INPEX, Afterpay, Block, Nine, KPMG and PsiQuantum. Forwarded this email? You can subscribe here. To find out more about lodging FOI requests, head over to Right to Know. The initial summaries of the documents are produced by AI, but reviewed by humans. All feedback is welcome via reply email.
|
|
40
Found
|
17
Recommended-read
|
19
Look
|
25%
Avg redact
|
|
ATTORNEY GENERAL
|
2 found · 2 recommended-read
|
| |
READ
·
ATTORNEY GENERAL
· % REDACTED 10%
Attorney General's AI tool sends protected data offshore to process
Records on the department's Google NotebookLM Enterprise rollout show its own security assessment flagged that NotebookLM data residency supports only US and EU regions, so machine-learning processing of material occurs offshore even where storage stays in Australia. The assessment also notes the tool fell outside Google's IRAP certification, yet it was deployed at PROTECTED across the department. Contract terms cap Google's liability for free services at $5,000 and set California as governing law. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.47F personal privacy.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
READ
·
ATTORNEY GENERAL
· % REDACTED 5%
Retrospective war crimes fix applies to live prosecution
Government briefing documents show a change to the war crimes provisions in the Criminal Code, altering the definition of a fighter who has surrendered or been wounded and so cannot lawfully be attacked. The change is backdated to 2002. Officials say it only corrects a wording mistake and does not change what the law means, but confirm it applies to war crimes cases, including one now before the court. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.47F personal privacy, s.47C deliberative, s.47E agency operations, s.42 legal privilege.
See the disclosure →
|
|
HEALTH
|
4 found · 4 recommended-read
|
| |
READ
·
HEALTH
· % REDACTED 30%
Aged care funding algorithm cannot be overridden despite assurances
A department briefing to the aged care minister warned that, from 1 November 2025, an algorithm would recommend older Australians' Support at Home funding classifications and that assessors would have no legal power to override it, despite the department publicly stating otherwise, including to media. Officials expected assessment organisations to criticise the position as inconsistent. Redactions: s.47E agency operations, s.47C deliberative processes, s.47F personal privacy.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
READ
·
HEALTH
· % REDACTED 40%
Ministers overrode pharmacy knockbacks under a rarely seen discretion power
Successive federal health ministers personally approved Tasmanian pharmacies the Health Department had rejected, across more than 100 documents (around 250 pages) released in part. Under section 90A of the National Health Act 1953 the minister can override a departmental knockback where a community would otherwise lack reasonable access to PBS medicines. The statements of reasons explaining why each minister was satisfied are almost entirely blacked out. Redactions: heavy. s 38 (secrecy provisions, applied through s 135A of the National Health Act) obscures the ministers' reasoning, with whole pages blacked out; s 47F removes pharmacy owner names and addresses; s 47E(c) covers agency operations.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
READ
·
HEALTH
· % REDACTED 5%
Actuaries flagged gaps in data behind aged care algorithm
An independent actuarial review of the trial data behind the Support at Home funding algorithm found a classification system was likely feasible but warned fit-for-purpose data would not guarantee fair funding. Cognitive impairment, a key cost driver, was under-assessed across the 22,002 trial records, and reviewers urged testing of whether results were fair and that assessors be able to modify recommendations. Redactions: s.47E agency operations, s.47F personal privacy.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
READ
·
HEALTH
· % REDACTED 45%
How the algorithm decides who gets aged care at home
The Department released the classification rules behind the In-home Assessment Tool that sorts older Australians into aged care funding classes. A decision tree scores functional ability, needs met, cognition and frailty, then sends people to Commonwealth Home Support or one of eight Support at Home classifications, or rejects them entirely. Redactions: s.47C deliberative process, s.47E agency operations. Oddly, the actual complexity equations, questions and variable-construction methods are all withheld, so the released rules cannot be independently checked.
See the disclosure →
|
|
PM&C
|
4 found · 1 recommended-read · 2 look
|
| |
READ
·
PM&C
· % REDACTED 20%
Government left assisted dying prosecution risk unresolved for years
Commonwealth officials spent years aware that Criminal Code carriage service offences could criminalise doctors advising voluntary assisted dying patients by phone or video, a barrier worst for regional patients. Queensland MP Aaron Harper and the WA Premier pushed for change, and a 2023 Federal Court ruling confirmed VAD counts as suicide under the Code. Officials said the matter remained under consideration. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.34 cabinet, s.47C deliberative, s.47E agency operations.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
PM&C
· % REDACTED 2%
Files reveal the succession order behind every prime minister
Each Australian government sets a standing order naming which ministers exercise the prime minister's powers when the PM is absent, and the release gathers every version from Julia Gillard's 2010 instrument to Anthony Albanese's May 2025 one. The deputy prime minister ranks first in each, followed by other senior ministers in a set order of precedence. Malcolm Turnbull's December 2017 order revoked all previous instruments. Redactions: s.22 signatures.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
PM&C
· % REDACTED 5%
Advocates urged Albanese to make follower feeds the default
Teach Us Consent and Digital Rights Watch wrote privately to Anthony Albanese in March, urging the government to require social media platforms to default users to chronological follower feeds under a proposed Digital Duty of Care. They branded platforms' current opt-in approach malicious compliance with European rules and sought a meeting, citing more than 10,000 signatures on their public Fix Our Feeds letter. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.47F personal privacy.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
SKIP
·
PM&C
· % REDACTED 70%
Darwin trip and ASIO meeting in sparse PM diary
Most of the prime minister's diary for these two days is redacted, leaving only a handful of visible engagements. Those include a Royal Darwin Hospital upgrade announcement, a visit to RAAF Base Darwin, a meeting with ASIO chief Mike Burgess, and radio and backyard cricket sessions with FM radio hosts. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.37 law enforcement, s.47F personal privacy, s.47G business affairs.
See the disclosure →
|
|
INDUSTRY
|
5 found · 2 recommended-read · 3 look
|
| |
READ
·
INDUSTRY
· % REDACTED 45%
Government's $125m PsiQuantum stake now worth $190m
The Commonwealth's US$125 million convertible note in PsiQuantum is now valued at about US$190 million, a paper gain of US$65 million after the company's Series E raise, according to ministerial briefs on the $463.3 million investment to build a fault tolerant quantum computer in Brisbane. Redactions: s 47C, s 47G, s 47(1)(b) and s 33(a)(i), with a quarterly update to the ministers almost wholly withheld, including a page marked PROTECTED // Cabinet.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
READ
·
INDUSTRY
· % REDACTED 65%
Pre-PsiQuantum market-test papers released heavily redacted
Finance advised that a confidential expression of interest, quietly sounding selected competitors under NDA, was the "minimum necessary" to show value for money and avoid committing to one company without testing the market, mid-2023 records on the Government's quantum computer investment show. The papers track an interdepartmental committee of Industry, Finance, Treasury and Prime Minister and Cabinet designing that market test before the deal, later delivered through PsiQuantum; some email threads are already headed "PsiQuantum B3 IDC." Redactions: s 34(3) (Cabinet deliberations) and s 22(1)(a)(ii) (personal and out-of-scope material).
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
INDUSTRY
· % REDACTED 15%
KPMG assures Industry department no government data hit by scandal
KPMG's Australia CEO and its National Managing Partner Audit and Assurance resigned, and the firm admitted its handling of a whistleblower "fell short," as the department pressed for assurance that no government data had been compromised. Deputy Secretary Neal Mason wrote to KPMG after the scandal broke in late May 2026. Redactions: s 22(1)(a)(ii) (personal identifiers), s 47C (deliberative) and s 47G (business affairs).
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
INDUSTRY
· % REDACTED 20%
Astronomers' top priority knocked back as Australia snubs ESO
Australia has decided not to join the European Southern Observatory, despite full membership being the astronomy community's number one priority, with the department recommending and Minister Tim Ayres agreeing to let the current partnership lapse in mid-2027. Membership of the 16-nation body, which runs the world's most advanced optical telescopes in Chile, would have cost about $580 million over 10 years, even with a $40 million ESO discount for joining early. The department judged the return, about 1:1, well below alternatives such as association to Horizon Europe (up to 11:1). Redactions: s 47C (deliberative content) and s 22(1)(a)(ii) (personal identifiers), with two pages of the response correspondence wholly withheld.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
INDUSTRY
· % REDACTED 10%
Male Champions of Change seeks $2m Women in STEM grant
The Champions of Change Coalition, whose registered legal name is Male Champions of Change, is seeking almost $2 million from the Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship program to run a CEO-led push to cut gender segregation in engineering. Its three-year Champions of Change Engineers Group aims to lift women, now about 16% of qualified engineers, past 40% of the profession. Redactions: s 22(1)(a)(ii) (contact details) and s 47G (business affairs), obscuring budget line items, some target figures and contribution amounts.
See the disclosure →
|
|
HOME AFFAIRS
|
3 found · 2 recommended-read · 1 look
|
| |
READ
·
HOME AFFAIRS
· % REDACTED 30%
Government suspends visitor visas for 6800 Iranians after Iran conflict
Home Affairs used new Migration Act powers to suspend Subclass 600 visitor visas held by about 6,800 Iranian nationals offshore, responding to the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the US. Burke made the six-month determination on 25 March after Albanese and Wong agreed in writing. Released overstay data shows Iran is not among the top 10 nationalities overstaying visas. Redactions: s.47C deliberative, s.42 legal privilege, s.47E agency operations, s.33 international relations, s.22 irrelevant material.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
HOME AFFAIRS
· % REDACTED 90%
Home Affairs redacts nearly all of antisemitism royal commission response
The Department blacked out almost its entire response to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, releasing only fragments under an irrelevance exemption. What survives shows Home Affairs is pursuing electronic surveillance reform to replace more than 1,200 pages of piecemeal intelligence legislation with a single framework, and names Hamish Hansford, Head of National Security, as its evidence witness. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
READ
·
HOME AFFAIRS
· % REDACTED 5%
Home Affairs manual on blocking visas over unpaid Commonwealth debts
An internal Home Affairs procedural instruction sets out how visa officers handle applicants who owe money to the Commonwealth, including removal, detention and litigation costs. Debts are flagged on the Central Movement Alert List and can block a visa unless paid in full or covered by an approved instalment plan; only the Finance Minister can waive them. Redactions: s.11C contact details.
See the disclosure →
|
|
TREASURY
|
2 found · 1 recommended-read · 1 look
|
| |
READ
·
TREASURY
· % REDACTED 15%
Payday super could penalise employers for delays beyond their control
Treasury's internal advice on the payday super reforms noted employers could face the super guarantee charge for contribution delays outside their control, and that the Treasurer had declined to fund an ATO tool giving employers visibility of compliance data. Officials also reported payroll software providers wanted at least 18 months' lead time before committing to system changes. Redactions: s.34 Cabinet documents, s.47C deliberative processes, s.47E agency operations, s.22 irrelevant material.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
TREASURY
· % REDACTED 0%
Australian Office of Financial Management uses no contractors for any work
The debt agency's Strategic Commissioning Framework return states it has no contractor workforce and that all work is performed by APS staff, leaving nothing to bring back in house. Across functions spanning debt issuance, cash and portfolio management, estimates and compliance, the AOFM records no outsourcing challenges, with only one HR strategy function noted as contracted and easily returned once the term ends.
See the disclosure →
|
|
CLIMATE ENERGY ETC
|
7 found · 4 recommended-read · 3 look
|
| |
READ
·
CLIMATE ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 5%
Deaths and near-misses fill DCCEEW's incident log
DCCEEW's year of incident reports logs several deaths and catastrophic near-misses across its parks and Antarctic operations, among them a surfer's death at Booderee, a snorkelling fatality at Christmas Island, and the icebreaker Nuyina's grounding off Heard Island. Quad bikes crossing buried high-voltage cables at Casey and repeated segway-tour injuries at Uluru also appear. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.47F personal privacy.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
READ
·
CLIMATE ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 15%
Australia cancelled 700 million surplus Kyoto units for Paris
A 2023 brief asked then assistant climate minister Jenny McAllister to cancel all surplus Commonwealth-held Kyoto units, roughly 700 million, so Australia could honour its Paris pledge not to carry over past overachievement. A signed letter instructs the Clean Energy Regulator to act before the UN's 9 September deadline. Legal advice behind the decision was withheld. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.42 legal privilege.
|
| |
LOOK
·
CLIMATE ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 5%
Afterpay dropped carbon-neutral tag after Block takeover
Afterpay withdrew from the federal Climate Active carbon-neutral program in late 2022, telling the department it would no longer seek certification after becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of US-listed Block, which runs its own sustainability strategy. The withdrawal took effect on 10 January 2023, and Afterpay was told to stop using the Climate Active trademark. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
READ
·
CLIMATE ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 85%
Bird flu vaccine plan targets threatened native birds
Australia is preparing to vaccinate priority native bird species against H5 bird flu, backed by more than $113 million and trials at Geelong's disease preparedness centre. Officials stress vaccination is no silver bullet and enhanced biosecurity remains central. Free-ranging wild birds are excluded under permit conditions, while poultry vaccination stays under review. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.47F personal privacy.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
CLIMATE ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 85%
Bubble curtain funded to protect cuttlefish amid algal bloom
The Commonwealth has committed $250,000 for an air bubble curtain to shield giant Australian cuttlefish in the Upper Spencer Gulf, as SA's harmful algal bloom stretches beyond a year. Officials record low cuttlefish numbers this breeding season but say it is not yet known whether the bloom is responsible. The 2025 breeding site was unaffected. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, covering most of the release; s.47F personal privacy.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
READ
·
CLIMATE ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 15%
Staff hotline records suicide risk and bullying calls
A year of work health and safety hotline calls at the department includes managers seeking advice on staff threatening self-harm or feeling suicidal, alongside complaints about bullying by a manager. Most entries cover routine matters such as ergonomic assessments, incident reports and travel risk. One caller reported finding a government security pass near the Adelaide office. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
CLIMATE ENERGY ETC
· % REDACTED 10%
Kakadu quarters needed flood repairs soon after refit
The Director of National Parks paid one Katherine contractor more than $680,000 for two Kakadu projects: upgrading the Igoymarrwa (Mary River) ranger station visitor hub and converting the Bowali Bird Palace into staff accommodation. The Bird Palace conversion drew four variations, then needed an emergency water dry-out weeks after its final claim. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.47F personal privacy, s.47G business affairs.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
DEWR
· % REDACTED 60%
INPEX strike threatened Australian LNG and fuel supply
Internal briefings track the Offshore Alliance and ETU strike at INPEX's WA Ichthys LNG plant, which supplies 8 to 10 percent of Japan's LNG imports. During a fuel crisis, INPEX warned facilities risked shutting in with major consequences, applied under Section 424 to halt the action, and was refused by the Fair Work Commission. Unions and INPEX settled and action ceased on 17 June. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.47F personal privacy, s.47G business affairs.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
DEWR
· % REDACTED 40%
Regulator flagged school rollout of energy qualification
Assessment reports on a new Certificate II gateway qualification designed to introduce Year 10 students to energy sector careers. The assurance body repeatedly pressed Powering Skills Organisation over thin consultation with school curriculum authorities and doubts the course could realistically run in schools, citing an early draft that told schools to spend a full eight-hour day weekly on one subject. It was eventually cleared. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
ASIC
· % REDACTED 35%
Super funds trail banks on scam website warnings, ASIC finds
Most of 47 super funds lag the big four banks on scam and fraud website communications, this internal ASIC report found, underpinning its February warning to trustees. Only nine clearly defined a scam, two offered foreign-language material against three banks, and one in five had a dedicated scam-reporting contact. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.37(2)(b) investigative methods, the assessment framework sought.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
ASIC
· % REDACTED 10%
ASIC hires sole bidder for Shield collapse victim support website
ASIC ran a limited tender to four consumer groups for a website supporting victims of the Shield and First Guardian super collapses, but only Super Consumers Australia bid. Its initial $212,278 quote, against ASIC's $50,000 estimate, was negotiated to $122,320 by dropping paid advertising and translation and adding stop/go points. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
DEFENCE
· % REDACTED 45%
Senate push to release IGADF command accountability report defeated
A Senate order to release the Inspector-General of the ADF report into command accountability, produced after the Brereton Afghanistan inquiry, was defeated 24 votes to 15, with the Coalition citing risks to ongoing war crimes investigations. Chief of the Defence Force David Johnston had taken Senator David Shoebridge's estimates questions on the report's delivery and a copy on notice. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.47C deliberative matter, s.47E agency operations.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
DEFENCE
· % REDACTED 30%
Military photographers lack formal training, Defence review finds
The ADF has no consistent training for its military photographers, imagery specialists and reporters, relying on civilian courses and informal on-the-job experience, an outsourced needs analysis found. It recommends a formal photography qualification pathway, plus video and drone training, managed jointly across Navy, Army and Air Force. Defence funded the analysis externally after its own training centre was tied up with cyber and military police work. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material, s.47E agency operations.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
LOOK
·
DEFENCE
· % REDACTED 10%
Cooling tower testing at Defence Deakin offices, Legionella undetected
Cooling tower water at Defence's Deakin offices returned Legionella results below the detection limit throughout testing from February 2019 to March 2020. General bacterial counts mostly sat within range, though two samples in late 2019 and early 2020 reached roughly 5,400 and 5,200 colony-forming units per millilitre. A separate building audit scored the site 92 per cent, flagging faulty air conditioning and minor safety gaps. Redactions: s.47E agency operations, s.47F personal privacy.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
SKIP
·
DEFENCE
· % REDACTED 0%
New Defence Secretary's first-day message to all staff
Meghan Quinn used her first day as Defence Secretary to email all staff on 18 May 2026, flagging the 2026 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program as her priority and promising to work closely with the Chief of the Defence Force. The message is a routine welcome note with no policy detail or announcements. Redactions: none.
See the disclosure →
|
|
OAIC
|
2 found · 1 recommended-read · 1 look
|
| |
LOOK
·
OAIC
· % REDACTED 20%
OAIC's cost to fight self-represented litigant reaches $24750
The OAIC engaged the Australian Government Solicitor and junior counsel to defend a judicial review brought by a self-represented litigant whose privacy complaint about ASIO it had declined to investigate. Cost estimates climbed from an initial $3,500 to $24,750 as the applicant filed repeated interlocutory applications, all dismissed. Redactions: s.47F personal privacy, s.47E agency operations, s.42 legal privilege, s.22 irrelevant material.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
READ
·
OAIC
· % REDACTED 15%
FOI regulator OAIC spends $18700 automating its own request form
The FOI regulator is paying a contractor $17,000 plus GST to replace its manual PDF intake form with an automated web form that registers requests directly into its Resolve case system. Internal papers say the current manual process is no longer sustainable amid reduced staffing and rising workloads, and warn of data-entry errors and missed statutory deadlines. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
SKIP
·
DFAT
· % REDACTED 5%
DFAT procedure offers passports to adults from Japan custody cases
A DFAT procedure sets out how the passport office writes to Australians now aged 18 or over who, as children, were the subject of international custody disputes taken to Japan, advising them they may be eligible for an Australian passport. A risk matrix weighs harm to the young person, privacy breaches and damage to relations with Japan against making contact. The released register is a blank template. Redactions: s.22 irrelevant material.
See the disclosure →
|
|
VETERAN AFFAIRS
|
2 found · 1 look
|
| |
LOOK
·
VETERAN AFFAIRS
· % REDACTED 0%
Under a quarter of myGov veterans use digital Veteran Card
As of 30 June, 236,820 veteran health cardholders held a myGov account, while 52,000 had linked their Veteran Card to the myGov digital wallet. Some 140,620 had installed the myGov app. Redactions: none.
See the disclosure →
|
| |
SKIP
·
VETERAN AFFAIRS
· % REDACTED 0%
Four veterans accessed new Alzheimer's drugs on DVA funding
Four current or former ADF members accessed DVA-funded donanemab or lecanemab, new Alzheimer's treatments, between January 2025 and September 2026, across 20 prescriptions costing $66,181. All four were men aged 65 to 83, two in Victoria and two in Queensland. Redactions: none.
See the disclosure →
|
|
Quiet this rotation · no releases from EDUCATION, INFRASTRUCTURE, ATO, ACCC, APRA, AUSTRAC, AFP, IP AUSTRALIA, NDIS + NDIS COMMISSION, ACNC, AEC, RBA, FINANCE, SOCIAL SERVICES.
|
|
If someone in your world would find FOI Weekly useful, please forward it to them.
Same rotation Monday · 09:00 AEST
— ANI
|
|