On the first thing you mentioned, about whether it can be shared within a department, the Privacy Act says only if it's for the purpose for which it was originally collected, or for a purpose consistent with that. So if you get the name of an access requester—it's on a form seeking access—you can disclose it to the extent necessary to process that access request, but not to serve the communications needs of the department or the minister, and so forth. That doesn't mean you can't tell the powers that be what may be released; just don't link it up with that identity.
So when you start having a separate little process for more sensitive requests, either because it's the individual and the individual is a thorn in the side of the government, or whether it's the subject of the thorn, that's when discriminatory treatment creeps in. It takes longer to answer that because more people are being consulted, and so forth.
That is the point I was trying to make, and I'm not sure if that gets to your question or not.