Official
Freedom of Information (FOI) request
Internal Review decision and reasons under section 54 of the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982
Reference: FOI/2024/260IR
To: Jil ian
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
cc: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Jil ian
I refer to your email requesting an internal review of an access refusal decision made under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
(the Department) dated 18 September 2024.
Section 54(2) of the FOI Act allows an applicant to apply for internal review of a decision refusing to
give access to a document in accordance with the request.
Scope of internal review
On 22 November 2024 you set out your request for review in the fol owing terms (extract):
“I am writing to request an internal review of Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's handling
of my FOI request 'Instrument to establish King of Australia'.
We asked for clarification as the Proclamation we have viewed is inconsistent with the document agents
of the department described.”
Authorised decision-maker
The FOI Act provides an agency must arrange for a person (other than the person who made the
original decision) to review the decision.
1 I am authorised to make this review decision in accordance with arrangements approved by the
Department’s Secretary under section 23 of the FOI Act.
1 s 54C(2) of the FOI Act.
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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Internal review decision
I have decided to affirm the original decision. I am satisfied that the documents within the scope of
your request were provided to you within the original decision, via links to the relevant public-facing
websites, reproduced below:
• Document 1 – the signed Proclamation by His Excellency, General the Honourable David John
Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the
Honourable Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister of Australia, of King Charles the Third, the
King of Australia. Document 1 is publicly available on our website.
• Document 2 – The Constitution of Australia, which is publicly available on the Parliament of
Australia’s website.
• Document 3 – Australian Symbols Booklet (specifically pages 21 and 22 – the Great Seal) which
is publicly available on our website.
For clarity, I have attached the above documents to this decision.
In reaching my decision I referred to the fol owing:
• the terms of your request for internal review;
• the original FOI request;
• a review of document searches undertaken by the Department in the original FOI request;
• the FOI Act; and
• the Guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner
2 (the FOI Guidelines).
Background
Original FOI request
On 7 August 2024 you made a request under the FOI Act to the Department to seek access to the
fol owing:
1. I request the instrument for the establishment of the proclaimed King of Australia for which
the title relies on,
2. In the occasion that the instrument for the proclaimed King of Australia exists, I request the
head of power that the title relies on,
3. I request the information that demonstrates the proclaimed King of Australia conforms to the
meaning of, "in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom", expressed in the second clause
prefacing the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution proper
Summary of original decision
Access to the requested documents was granted in full and the advice provided to you in the notice
of that decision was that the documents held by the Department were all available online.
2 s 93A of the FOI Act.
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Reasons for Internal Review Decision
Your original request specifical y sought the instrument for the establishment of the proclaimed King
of Australia, the head of power on which it relies and information that demonstrates the proclaimed
King of Australia conforms to the meaning in the Constitution.
I am satisfied that the Department has undertaken reasonable steps to identify documents held by the
Department within the scope of the terms of your request. Further, I am satisfied that the documents
identified within scope of your request are al publicly available.
Other information
Your request for internal review refers to another version of the Proclamation, where you state the
‘Proclamation we have viewed is inconsistent with the document agents of the department described’.
Please be advised, the Proclamation document referred to in the original access decision is the only
official instrument for the establishment of the King of Australia and is the document held by the
Department which meets the terms of your request.
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Review rights
If you disagree with my review decision, you may apply for Information Commissioner review of the
decision.
Information Commissioner review
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 review is available at
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/information-commissioner-
review/.
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 on the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner at https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/make-an-
foi-complaint/.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your requests, 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
30 January 2025
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