AUSTRALIAN MILITARY FORCES RELIEF TRUST FUND
STATEMENT OF REASONS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
1.
I refer to the request by Glenn Hamiltonshire (the applicant), dated and received on 26
November 2024 by the Australian Military Forces Relief Trust Fund (AMFRTF) for access
to the following documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act):
Style Guides/Brand Guides/Writing Guides currently used for the Australian Military
Forces Relief Trust Fund
FOI decision maker
2.
I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23 of the FOI Act to make a decision on this
FOI request.
Documents identified
3.
I have identified no documents falling within the scope of the request.
Decision
4.
I have decided to refuse the request under section 24A of the FOI Act.
Material taken into account
5.
In making my decision, I have had regard to:
a.
the terms of the request;
b.
relevant provisions of the FOI Act; and
c.
the Guidelines published by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act (the Guidelines).
REASONS FOR DECISION
Section 24A – Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or have
not been received
6.
Section 24A(1) of the FOI Act states:
(1)
An agency or Minister may refuse a request for access to a document if:
(a)
all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and
(b)
the agency or Minister is satisfied that the document:
(i)
is in the agency’s or Minister’s possession but cannot be found; or
(ii)
does not exist.
7.
Paragraph 3.94 of the Guidelines advises the detail that this statement of reasons should
include to refuse a request under section 24A(l):
…the statement of reasons given to the applicant should sufficiently identify the
document, explain why it cannot be found or is known not to exist or to be in the agency’s
possession, describe the steps the agency took to search for the document, and note the
limitations of any search…
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8.
Personnel from the AMFRTF conducted searches. Searches were conducted in the
electronic document record system ‘Objective’ for documents related to the scope of the
request. No documents were identified that matched the request.
9.
I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the documents sought by
the applicant.
10. I am satisfied that the documents in the scope of the requests do not exist, and refuse the
request under section 24A(1) of the FOI Act.
FURTHER INFORMATION
11. The AMFRTF was established under Part V of the
Services Trust Fund Act 1947. Since
2007 the AMFRTF has traded under the name Army Relief Trust Fund.
Digitally signed by
Craig
Craig DOBSON
Date: 2024.12.18
DOBSON 12:51:34 +11'00'
C.D. Dobson, AM, CSC
Major General
Decision Maker
Australian Military Forces Relief Trust Fund
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