Our ref: LEX 75697
Brendon
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Brendon
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)– Notice of intention to refuse.
I refer to your 27 August 2024 request, to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (the
department), to seek access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act) to:
“Under the FOI Act I request a copy of all meeting invites sent or received by the FOI EL2, Pip Fairbairn,
between the period of 1 March to 31 March 2024.
I also request a copy of all emails sent or received by the above mentioned which contains the following
words between the period of 1 March to 31 March 2024:“Meeting” “decision maker” “clearance””
Under subsection 24(1) of the FOI Act, I am satisfied that a practical refusal reason exists in relation to
this request. The practical refusal reason is that the work involved in processing the request would
substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the department from its other operations.
Consistent with the objects of the FOI Act and the FOI Guidelines 3.54, your request has been
interpreted as extending to any document that might reasonably be taken to be included within the
description you have provided. However, we were not able to determine the exact number of
documents and pages relevant to this request due to the broad search criteria you have provided in the
scope of your request.
In accordance with section 24(1)(a) and 24AB of the FOI Act, I am writing to provide you with written
notice that I intend to refuse your request on the grounds that a practical refusal reason exists and to
initiate a request consultation process in accordance with section 24AB of the FOI Act.
Request consultation process
Before I make a decision to refuse your request under section 24(1)(b) of the FOI Act, I would like to
provide you with the opportunity to revise the scope of your request so that a ‘practical refusal reason’
no longer exists.
Although it is your responsibility to provide ways that your request may be revised and narrowed, you
may wish to consider the following suggestions to revise the scope of your FOI request (please note that
these are suggestions only and do not guarantee the practical refusal reason/s will no longer exist):
• limiting your request to particular topics or correspondence between Ms Fairbairn and a
particular decision maker in the department
• reducing the timeframe.
LEX 75697
Should you wish to revise your request, you must do so
within 14 days after the day you are given this
notice (unless extended by agreement with the department). If you are unable to meet this deadline
and wish to arrange an extension of time in which to consider this matter, or would like to discuss how
you could best revise the scope of the request, please contact the FOI team by email at
xxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Under subsection 24AB (6) of the FOI Act, you must, before the end of the 14-day consultation period,
do one of the following by written notice to the department:
a) withdraw the request; or
b) make a revised request; or
c) indicate that you do not wish to revise the request.
Please note that under subsection 24AB (7), the request is taken to have been withdrawn at the end of
the 14-day consultation period if:
(a) the applicant does not consult the contact person during the consultation period in accordance
with this notice; or
(b) the applicant does not do one of the things mentioned in subsection (6) before the end of the
consultation period.
In accordance with subsection 24AB (8) of the FOI Act, the 14-day consultation period is to be
disregarded in calculating the processing period for the request.
Your written response should be addressed to:
FOI Coordinator
Department of Industry, Science and Resources
GPO Box 2013
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Or by email to
: xxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Should you wish to discuss this matter further, please contact the FOI team by email at
xxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx.xx. Yours sincerely
Deborah Miliszewski
General Counsel
Legal Branch
20 September 2024
industry.gov.au Industry House - 10 Binara Street, Canberra City, ACT 2601
2
GPO Box 2013 Canberra ACT 2601 ABN: 74 599 608 295
