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Freedom of Information (FOI) request
Practical Refusal Consultation Notice
Reference: 2024/217-219-MUL
Deborah
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Deborah,
I refer to your three (3) requests to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the
Department), under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act), received on 11 July 2024.
The terms for each of your request is set out in Attachment A.
Notice of combining multiple requests
Section 24(2) of the FOI Act provides that in deciding whether a practical refusal reason exists, two or
more requests may be treated as a single request if the agency is satisfied the requests relate to the
same documents, or the subject matter of the request is substantial y the same. The FOI Guidelines
further explain the most common circumstance for a series of requests to be combined is when those
requests have been submitted by a single applicant.
You have submitted three requests for access to documents that detail the support provided by
Australia to Irael and Palestine, and correspondence sent from the Australian government to the
United Nations regarding the topics of Israel and Palestine.
The Department is satisfied that the subject matter across al your requests is substantial y the same
and, for the purposes of deciding whether a practical refusal reason exists we have combined these
requests and decided to treat them as a single request pursuant to section 24(2) of the FOI Act.
Notice of practical refusal reason
Section 24(1) of the FOI Act provides that a request to an agency may be refused if the agency is
satisfied that a practical refusal reason exists in relation to that request. An agency can find a practical
Postal Address: PO Box 6500, CANBERRA ACT 2600
Telephone: +61 2 6271 5849 Fax: +61 2 6271 5776 www.pmc.gov.au ABN: 18 108 001 191
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refusal reason exists if the work involved in processing the request in its current form would
substantial y and unreasonably divert the resources of the Department from its other operations.
This constitutes a ‘practical refusal reason’ under section 24AA of the FOI Act. On this basis, the
decision maker for the request intends to refuse access to the documents you have requested.
However, before a final decision to refuse the request can be made, you have an opportunity to revise
your request. This is called a ‘request consultation process’ as set out in section 24AB of the FOI Act.
You have 14 days to respond to this notice, as set out below.
Reasons for intention to refuse your request
The construction of your requests are broad and complex because you are seeking a large range of
information comprising 16 separate components, with portions of the request covering a period of
2000 to 2024 (24 years). Further it is not clear if the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
would be the appropriate agency to deal with each aspect of your request, and we would need to
make assumptions as to what documents, within our possession, would meet the terms of your
request, as a result we do not consider you have met the requirement of section 15(2)(b) of the
FOI Act, that is the terms of your request are not sufficient to enable the Department to identify
documents. This requires us to consult with you on the terms of your request through a request
consultation process.
Further in deciding if a practical refusal reason exists, an agency must have regard to the resources
required to perform the fol owing activities specified in section 24AA(2) of the FOI Act:
• identifying, locating or col ating documents within the filing system of the agency;
• examining the documents;
• deciding whether to grant, refuse or defer access;
• consulting with other parties;
• redacting exempt material from the documents;
• making copies of documents;
• notifying an interim or final decision to the applicant.
The processing of such a large and complex request wil require searches across multiple systems and
record repositories, a number of which may be archived and no longer actively used by the
Department. The task to search for and retrieve any documents possibly relevant to your request is in
and of itself is unreasonable.
In order to process your request, a decision maker would be required to assess each of the
documents returned from the searches to determine if they are responsive and then to make a
decision on access. This would include deciding whether to grant, refuse or defer access to the
documents, requiring the resources of multiple staff, coordinated through the FOI team, to examine
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the documents, make copies, or edited copies, of the documents, and to notify you of a decision on
access.
Having regard to the nature of the documents requested, it wil be necessary for the Department to
consult multiple stakeholders across government. We consider it may also be necessary to consult
with foreign government agencies, and international organisations, on any documents found to be
responsive to your request.
Other matters may be relevant in deciding if a practical refusal reason exists such as the staffing
resources available to an agency for FOI processing, whether the processing can only be undertaken
by one or more specialist officers in an agency who have competing responsibilities, the impact that
processing may have on other work in an agency including FOI processing, and whether there is a
significant public interest in the documents requested.
1 The Department acknowledges that the processing of requests for access to documents is a legitimate
part of each agency’s functions, and that FOI requests may require the real ocation of resources within
an agency in some circumstances. However, in this case, the Department is not able to reasonably
divert its resources from its other operations to assist in processing this request. In reaching this view,
the Department has had regard to the public interest in providing access to information but considers
that this is outweighed by the competing public interest in the ability of the Department to undertake
its ordinary functions without substantial impairment, in particular the processing of other FOI
requests.
For the reasons given above, the decision maker considers that processing your request in its current
form would create a substantial and unreasonable diversion of the Department’s resources from its
other operations.
We have provided you with some additional information below to assist you with parts of your
request with respect to where you can access public information.
Additional Information
The Department has published documents related to the subject matter of your requests on its FOI
Disclosure Log. These are available at:
Briefs related to Palestininans in Gaza (foi-pm-24-021.pdf (pmc.gov.au)
Documents containing information provided to the Of ice of the Prime Minister regarding provision of
support to Israel fol owing the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 (foi-2023-296IR)
Question time briefs regarding Hamas, Israel and Gaza (foi-2023-334IC)
1 3.117 of the FOI Guidelines
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AusTender provides a publication of Australian Government contracts awarded. You can search for
contracts entered into on this website.
See:
Contract Notices: AusTender (tenders.gov.au)
The Department of Foreign Af airs leads Australia’s international interests and has made available
information realted to the subject of your requests.
S
ee: Homepage | Australian Government Department of Foreign Af airs and Trade (dfat.gov.au)
Request consultation process
You now have an opportunity to revise your request to enable it to proceed. Revising your request
can mean narrowing the scope of the request to make it more manageable or explaining in more
detail the specific documents you wish to access. You may also wish to consider if you have directed
your request, or parts of the request, to the correct agency.
For example, you may wish to consider revising your request in one or more of the fol owing ways:
• specifying a smal er timeframe for the documents you are seeking to access
• reducing your request by identifying a specific part for the Department to respond to, based
on our role and functions as set out in the
Administrative Arangement Orders.
• limiting it to certain documents, for example, formal correspondence, briefings or submissions.
Before the end of the consultation period, you must do one of the fol owing, in writing:
• withdraw your request;
• make a revised request; or
• tell us that you do not wish to revise your request.
Action required
Section 24AB of the FOI Act provides that before the end of the consultation period you must do one
of the fol owing, in writing, within the next 14 days (by 22 August 2024):
• revise your FOI request;
• indicate that you do not wish to revise it; or
• withdraw the FOI request.
The consultation period runs for 14 days and starts on the day after you receive this notice.
During this, you may wish to seek assistance to revise your request from the contact person listed
below.
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If you do not do one of the above during the consultation period, your request wil be taken to have
been withdrawn
2.
No guarantee of access
Please be aware that even if you revise your FOI request to enable it to be processed, there is stil no
guarantee that documents wil ultimately be released. That is a matter for the decision maker to
decide in the usual manner after examining the relevant documents. The issue we are addressing at
the moment is whether your FOI request can be processed – not what the eventual outcome may be
if it is processed.
Calculation of 30 day period
Please note that the time taken to consult with you regarding the scope of your FOI request, under
this request consultation notice, is not taken into account for the purposes of calculating the 30 day
period
3.
Contact officer
Should you wish to discuss any aspect of your request, please contact the Department by email at
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx or by phone 02 6271 5849, quoting reference number FOI 2024-217-219-MUL.
Yours sincerely
Janelle Dedakis
Senior Adviser
FOI and Privacy Section
8 August 2024
2 s 24AB(7) of the FOI Act
3 s 24AB(8) of the FOI Act
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Attachment A
Terms of FOI requests
FOI Request 1: 2024/217
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), I am requesting access to documents held by the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet concerning the fol owing:
Policies and Directives: All current policies and directives regarding Australia’s support and relations with
Israel, including but not limited to military, financial, and diplomatic support.
Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs): Copies of all agreements, MOUs, and any other
formal arrangements made between the Australian government and the government of Israel from January
2000 to the present.
Financial Transactions: Detailed account transactions and financial records showing any form of support or
aid provided to Israel by the Australian government. This includes, but is not limited to, monetary aid,
military aid, and subsidies.
Correspondence: Copies of correspondence between the Australian government officials and Israeli
government officials that discuss or relate to the support provided by Australia, particularly in the context of
military and financial aid.
Reports and Briefings: All reports, briefings, and assessments prepared by or for the Australian government
departments concerning the impact of Australian support on the political and humanitarian situation in
Palestine.
Minutes of Meetings: All minutes or records of meetings between Australian and Israeli officials that discuss
matters related to the policies, agreements, and financial transactions listed above.
I request that these documents be provided in electronic format where possible. If certain documents are
exempt from release, I request that you provide an index of these documents along with the reasons for
exemption as required by the FOI Act.
FOI Request 2: 2024/218
I am seeking access to documents within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet that detail
Australia's support for Palestine. My request specifically includes:
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PM&C | [Title]
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Policies and Directives: All current policies and directives related to Australia’s humanitarian, financial, and
diplomatic support for Palestine.
Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs): Copies of all agreements, MOUs, and any other
formal arrangements made between the Australian government and Palestinian authorities or international
bodies supporting Palestine from January 2000 to 11 July 2024.
Financial Transactions and Aid Details: Detailed account transactions and financial records showing any
form of support or aid provided to Palestine by the Australian government, including humanitarian aid,
development aid, financial grants, and specifically aid in the form of food, water, medical supplies, and the
dispatch of humanitarian workers.
Correspondence: Copies of correspondence between Australian government officials and Palestinian
authorities or representatives that discuss or relate to the support provided by Australia.
Reports and Briefings: All reports, briefings, and assessments prepared by or for Australian government
departments concerning the impact of Australian support on the political and humanitarian situation in
Palestine.
Minutes of Meetings: Any minutes or records of meetings between Australian officials and Palestinian
authorities or international bodies involved in Palestinian aid that discuss matters related to the policies,
agreements, and financial transactions listed above.
I request that these documents be provided in electronic format where possible. If certain documents are
exempt from release, I request that you provide an index of these documents along with the reasons for
exemption as required by the FOI Act.
FOI Request 3: 2024/219
I am requesting access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), specifically seeking
copies of all correspondence sent from the Australian government to the United Nations regarding the
topics of Israel and Palestine, covering the period from January 2000 to the present day, 2024.
My request includes:
Diplomatic Correspondence: All letters, emails, and communiqués sent to the United Nations or its affiliated
bodies that discuss or mention Israel and Palestine, including but not limited to issues concerning conflicts,
peace processes, humanitarian aid, and resolutions.
Meeting Summaries: Summaries or records of meetings involving Australian and UN officials where
discussions about Israel and Palestine took place.
Position Papers and Briefings: Any position papers, policy briefings, or statements prepared by or for the
Australian government for submission to the United Nations regarding Israel and Palestine.
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PM&C | [Title]
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Reports on UN Resolutions: Any communications related to Australian government positions on United
Nations resolutions concerning Israel and Palestine.
Please provide these documents in electronic format where possible. If certain documents are exempt from
release, I kindly request that you provide an index of these documents along with the reasons for
exemption, as stipulated by the FOI Act.
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PM&C | [Title]
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