OFFICIAL

Freedom of Information (FOI) request
Notice of Decision
Reference: FOI/2024/231IR
To: Trav S
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear Trav S,

I refer to your email of 21 August 2024, seeking an internal review under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (the FOI Act), of the decision made on 21 August 2024 (the Primary Decision) by a delegate
of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department).
You set out your request for internal review, as follows:
Dear PMC, Please provide an internal review of Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's
handling of my FOI request 'Number of HOSMs awarded to GE Contingent for Humanitarian
service in Banda Aceh'.
I submit the Department understands the HOSM was awarded to commercial security
contractors serving with the GE contingent in Banda Aceh.
The public servant responsible for administering the HOSM program, Mr Peter Rush, was
informed of this fact wel  over a decade ago. Documents obtained via FOI clearly demonstrate
the public servant concealed these matters from his superiors in the Department and from
several Ministers and their staff. Such acts undermine the integrity of the HOSM program.
I submit the Department understands the requested material is relevant to external reviews
currently underway by the Information Commissioner. The material corroborates other FOI
documents that reveal serious maladministration of the HOSM program. The material wil  help
settle disputed facts and assist the IC accurately weigh the public interest factors in those cases.
The material will inform ongoing discussions with Members of Parliament and wil  be provided
as evidence to other Commonwealth agencies with the appropriate jurisdiction to inquire into
these matters.
I submit the Department could produce and release the requested document in accordance with
the provisions prescribed by section 17 (1) of the Act. In particular:(c) the agency could produce a
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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written document containing the information in discrete form by the use of a computer or other
equipment that is ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or col ating stored information
I submit compliance with my request for documents wil  not substantially and unreasonably
divert the resources of the agency from its other operations.
Kind regards
Trav SA ful  history of my FOI request and al  correspondence is available on the Internet at this
address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/number_of_hosms_awarded_to_ge_co
Authorised decision-maker
Under section 54(2) of the FOI Act, an applicant is entitled to apply for a review of a decision refusing
to give access to a document in accordance with a request. Section 54C(2) of the FOI Act provides
that an agency must arrange for a person (other than the person who made the original decision) to
undertake a review of that decision.
I am authorised to make this decision in accordance with arrangements approved by the
Department’s Secretary under section 23 of the FOI Act.
Internal review decision
I have decided to affirm the primary decision to refuse access to the requested document under
section 24A(1) of the FOI Act on the grounds that the requested document does not exist.
The reasons for my decision on internal review is set out below.
Background
On 22 July 2024, you made the below request under the FOI Act:
Please provide a document recording the number of Humanitarian Overseas Service Medals awarded to
the General Electric contingent to Bandah Aceh.  Public interest factors favouring access to inform
debate on a matter of public importance include to:
"al ow or assist inquiry into possible deficiencies in the conduct or administration or an agency or
official"
Disclosing the requested document is in the public interest and is necessary for Commonwealth agencies
external to the PM&C to audit the quality of the Departmetn's advice.
You have requested an internal review of the Primary Decision. The Primary Decision for your request
was to refuse access under section 24A(1) of the FOI Act on the grounds that the requested document
does not exist.
Reasons for Internal Review decision
In reaching my decision, I have had regard to:

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•  the terms of your request of 22 July 2024,
•  the Primary Decision of 21 August 2024,
•  your request for internal review of 21 August 2024,
•  the FOI Act, and
•  the ‘Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of the
FOI Act’ (the FOI Guidelines).
Section 24A(1) – Documents cannot be found, do not exist or have not been received
As outlined in the Primary Decision, section 24A(1) of the FOI Act provides that an agency may refuse
access to a document if all reasonable steps have been taken to find a document, and the agency is
satisfied that documents do not exist.
The FOI Guidelines note that ‘reasonable’ is not designed to be constructed so as to go beyond the
limit assigned by reason, not to be extravagant or excessive, rather to be moderate and of such an
effort as is judged to be appropriate or suitable to the circumstances.
You make reference to section 17(1) of the FOI Act, where it requires an agency to produce a written
document containing the information in discrete form by the use of a computer or other equipment
that is ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information.
The Department undertook searches of records and IT systems, and no information or documents
falling in the scope of your FOI request were identified. I am satisfied that the Department does not
hold the information you seek, either in an existing discrete document form, or in a computer system
ordinarily available for the production of such information.
The Department reiterates that the process of deciding and awarding these medals is undertaken by
the Governor-General.
In light of the above, I am satisfied documents do not exist, that reasonable searches have been
undertaken, and I thus refuse access on grounds section 24A applies.
Additional information – Process of awarding Humanitarian Overseas Service Medals
The Governor-General approves the awarding of the HOSM and the relevant clasp (upon the
recommendation of the Secretary of the Department, or their delegate). As such, the Register of
Awards is held and maintained by the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General
(OOSGG). Publications relating to the HOSM, including declarations made under the HOSM
Regulations are available on the Governor-General’s website.
Review rights
Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Australian Information Commissioner to
review my decision. An application for review by the Information Commissioner must be made in
writing within 60 days after the date of this letter.
More information about Information Commissioner reviews are available here.

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FOI Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your FOI request, please let us know what we could
have done better. We may be able to rectify the problem. If you are not satisfied with our response,
you can make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner. A complaint to the
Information Commissioner must be made in writing.
More information about complaints is available here.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request, you can contact the FOI Section by email at
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Walter
First Assistant Secretary
Government Division
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

20 September 2024

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Document Outline