FOI24 280 Decision letter with Attachment A.PDF.pdf

Our ref:
FOI24/280; CM24/10790

4 July 2024

The FOI People
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear applicant
Freedom of Information Request FOI24/280 – Decision letter
The purpose of this letter is to provide a decision on your request to access documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) which you submitted to the Attorney-General's Office
and which was subsequently transferred to the Attorney-General's Department (the department)
under section 16(1) of the FOI Act.
Your request
On 5 June 2024, you requested access to:
… al  public speeches made by the Attorney-General that contain a condemnation about the
killing of children in the occupied Palestinian Territories, specifically in East Jerusalem, the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip since the 7th October 2023 and;
… I require all draft and final versions of these speeches.
On 11 June 2024, the department acknowledged your request and advised you the request had been
transferred to the department from the Attorney-General’s Office under s 16(1) of the FOI Act.
On 14 June 2024, you agreed to an extension of time under s15AA of the FOI Act.
A decision in relation to your request is due on 5 August 2024.
My decision
I am an officer authorised under s23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to FOI requests
made to the department.
In making my decision, I have taken the fol owing into account:
•  the terms of your request,
•  advice provided to me by officers with responsibility for matters to which your request
relates,
•  the provisions of the FOI Act, and
•  the FOI Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner (the Guidelines).
Section 24A of the FOI Act relevantly provides that an agency or Minister may refuse a request for
access to a document if all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document and the agency is
satisfied that the document:
•  is in the agency’s possession but cannot be found, or
•  does not exist.

When considering a decision to refuse access under s 24A of the FOI Act, paragraph 3.89 of the
Guidelines state that an agency or minister should take comprehensive steps to locate documents,
having regard to:
•  the subject matter of the documents,
•  the current and past file and record management systems and the practice of destruction or
removal of documents,
•  the individuals within an agency or minister’s office who may be able to assist with the
location of documents, and
•  the age of the documents.
To identify the documents for your request, I arranged for staff likely to be able to identify
documents to undertake comprehensive searches of relevant departmental information holdings. In
particular, staff members in the Media and Communication section in the Strategy and Governance
Branch and the Counter Terrorism Policy and Engagement section in the Security Law and Policy
Branch interrogated the department’s records management system using search terms which were
developed with reference to the information provided in the scope of your request. Despite these
efforts, no relevant documents were identified.
Having regard to the above, I am satisfied that reasonable steps to locate the documents to which
you have sought access were undertaken. I am also satisfied that the documents do not exist within
the department’s records holdings. I have therefore decided to refuse access pursuant to s 24A of
the FOI Act.
Additional information
Your review rights under the FOI Act are set out at Attachment A to this letter.
If you wish to discuss this decision, the FOI case officer for this matter is Alistair, who can be reached
on (02) 6141 6666 or by email to xxx@xx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely

Timothy Caesar
A/g Assistant Secretary
Strategy and Governance Branch

Attachments
Attachment A:
Review rights

Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI24/280 Decision letter
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Attachment A – Your review rights
If you disagree with my decision, you may ask for an internal review or Information Commissioner
review.
Internal review
You may apply for an internal review of my decision within 30 days of receiving this letter. Your
request for internal review must be in writing, and should provide reasons why you believe the
review is necessary. You may apply by emailing xxx@xx.xxx.xx or by post to:
Director, Freedom of Information and Privacy Section
Strategy and Governance Branch
Attorney-General’s Department
3-5 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600
Another officer will make a new decision on your request within 30 days of receiving your request
for internal review. If you are unhappy with the internal review decision, you may ask for an
information Commissioner review.
Information Commissioner review
Information Commissioner review requests must be submitted within 60 days of receiving this letter.
Your request should include your contact details, a copy of my decision, and the reasons why you
disagree with my decision. You can apply in one of the following ways:
Online: https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=ICR_10
Email:   xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Mail:   Director of FOI Dispute Resolution, GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001.
More information about Information Commissioner review is available at:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-rights/freedom-of-
information-reviews/information-commissioner-review.
FOI Complaints
If you are concerned about how we handled your FOI request, please let us know what we could
have done better, as we may be able to rectify the situation. If you are not satisfied with our
response, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner. Your complaint must be in
writing, and can be lodged in one of the following ways:

Online: https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=ICCA_1
Email:  xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Mail:   Director of FOI Dispute Resolution, GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001.

More information about Freedom of information complaints is available at:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-rights/freedom-of-
information-complaints.
Attorney-General's Department Freedom of Information Request FOI24/280 Decision letter
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