time, the document is an exempt document. Thus, the question whether the document is an exempt document is to be determined at a later point in time (after the request for access). Sub-sections (5) and (6) include similar references to a document meeting a certain description "at a particular time". These sub-sections presuppose that a request for access to an official document of a Minister has been made (s 11A(1)) and they presuppose that an official document of a Minister has been identified so that the Minister can decide whether that document is exempt or conditionally exempt. Further, sub-sections (4) to (6) show that the drafter was conscious of issues of timing; when a fact or matter is to be determined at a later point in time (after the request for access), this is made clear. There is no indication in the balance of s 11A that the question whether a document is an official document of a Minister is to be revisited at a later point in time (after the request for access). There is therefore no textual or contextual basis on which an official document of a Minister to which s 11A(3) applies (at the time of the request) could cease to be such a document at a later point in time.
55 Section 15(1) provides that, subject to s 15A, a person who wishes to obtain access to (relevantly) an "official document of a Minister" may request access to the document. This links the making of a request with the document being an official document of a Minister and is consistent with the analysis set out above in relation to s 11A(1) to (3).
56 The scheme of these provisions appears to be that the question whether a document is an "official document of a Minister" is to be determined as at the time when the request for access is made, and then certain other matters (such as whether an exemption applies) are to be determined as at a later point in time. Those other matters include: whether a "practical refusal reason" exists in relation to the request (ss 24, 24AA); and whether the request for access should be refused because all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document and the document cannot be found or does not exist (s 24A).
57 The Attorney-General accepts that the time when the request for access is made is one relevant point in time for the purposes of determining whether a document is an "official document of a Minister". His contention is that the determination of this question should be carried out both at the time when the request for access is made and at the time when a decision is made on the request. The main reason he puts forward for so construing the provisions is practical: the Minister cannot provide access to a document that is not in his or her possession. However, as noted above, there is nothing in the text of s 11, 11A or 15 or other provisions to suggest that the question whether a document is an official document of a Minister is to be revisited. The
