PO Box 382 North Adelaide SA 5006 AUSTRALIA www.efa.org.au Tel: 07 3424 0201 Fax: 07 3424 0241

4 April 2003

The FOI Coordinator
Australian Broadcasting Authority
PO Box Q500
Queen Victoria Building
NSW 1230

Dear Sir/Madam

Subject: Freedom of Information Application

We hereby request, under the Freedom of Information Act, a copy of the following document:

1. the draft agreement, prepared during 2000 or 2001, between the OFLC and the ABA concerning protocols/administrative arrangements for making Internet content classification decisions available online.

With a view to ensuring there is no misunderstanding regarding which draft agreement is requested, we advise it is the old agreement, which we understand does not reflect current operating procedures. It is the agreement referred to by Mr Richard Fraser of the ABA in the AAT in July 2001 and also by Mr Des Clark of the OFLC during a Senate Estimates Committee hearing in November 2002 and in a subsequent answer to a Question on Notice, as detailed below.

Extract from transcript of AAT hearing, July 2001:

Ms Graham [EFA]--Are you able to advise whether the ABA and the OFLC are still negotiating protocols regarding putting classification decisions on line?
Mr Fraser [ABA]--We have had discussions with the OFLC about the sort of information that is kept in their publicly accessible data base, and we have agreed on a format for information which would not - which doesn't contain information that is likely to lead a person to prohibited content.
...
Ms Graham [EFA]--Is this going to list it in any way that would identify what kind of page it was; what the topic of the page was; what the subject matter of the page was?
Mr Fraser [ABA]--I understand that for each item you will see a complaint reference number, a classification and a very short description of the type of content concerned and possibly a date on which it was classified.

Extract from transcript of Senate Estimates Committee hearing, 20 November 2002:

"Senator LUDWIG—What work has the OFLC and the ABA done to develop the protocols for making classification decisions available online?
Mr Clark—We have a draft agreement in relation to that, which has not been finalised. It has been somewhat overtaken by the guidelines review, but it is something that we have recently begun some further discussions on with the ABA.
Senator LUDWIG—Is that available to the committee? Is it in a draft stage?
Mr Clark—I do not see why not. I will try to make that available.
...
Mr Clark—The draft document has been there for at least 18 months."

Question on Notice No. 7 - Senate Estimates Committee

"Senator Ludwig asked the following question at the hearing of 20 November 2002:

Is that (the draft agreement between OFLC and the ABA) available to the Committee?

I am advised that the answer to the honourable Senator's question is as follows:

A draft document prepared by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) dealing with administrative arrangements between the OFLC and the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) does not reflect current operating procedures. ..."

The relevant application fee of $30 is enclosed.

If there are any queries regarding this application, please contact EFA's Executive Director on the phone or fax number at the top of this letter, or via email to ...

Yours faithfully

Irene Graham
Executive Director
Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc.

Encl. - cheque