FOI Reference: 11842
File Reference: 24/42782
Jan 2025
Glenn Hamiltonshire
Right to Know
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Glenn Hamiltonshire
Re: Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request received by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the
department) on 2 December 2024 for access to documents under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
I am writing to provide you with a decision about your request.
I have identified documents relevant to your request. After careful consideration, I have
decided to grant you access to an edited copy of the documents with irrelevant material
removed.
Your request
On 13 December 2024, you made the fol owing request:
'. .the Style Guides/Brand Guides/Writing Guides currently used for the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade'.
Authority
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to
FOI requests.
Reasons
In making my decision I have taken into account:
• the terms of your request;
• the documents within the scope of your request;
• the FOI Act; and
• the guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A
of the FOI Act (FOI Guidelines).
R G Casey Building John McEwen Cres Barton 0221
DFAT.GOV.AU
T
+61 2 6261 1111
@DFAT
The reasons for my decision and for the application of exemptions under the FOI Act to the
document are set out below. Where I refer to sections of the FOI Act, these are available at
www.legislation.gov.au. Where I refer to parts of the FOI Guidelines, these are available at
OAIC | FOI Guidelines.
Irrelevant material (section 22(1)(a)(i ) of the FOI Act)
Some of the material excluded from the documents released to you is outside the scope or
could reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to your request (section 22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI
Act).
In determining what is relevant to your request, I have taken into account the terms of your
request and the email which you received from the department on 2 December 2024, in
which you were invited to respond if you required the personal information of junior staff
from ministerial offices and government officials not in the Senior Executive Service (SES) or
equivalent, including their email addresses and contact numbers, together with al
signatures, mobile phone numbers, departmental inboxes and technical transmission details
including reference numbers. As you have not stated that you require this information, I
have decided to remove it from the documents being released to you.
Review rights
Information about your review rights is set out in the
Attachment for your reference.
Contact
Should you have any queries regarding this matter please contact the Freedom of
Information Section by email
(xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx).
Yours sincerely
Brett Mason
Assistant Secretary
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
REVIEW AND COMPLAINT OPTIONS
Further information on applying for an IC
review is available on Office of the
If you consider the department made the
Australian Information Commissioners
wrong decision, please request a review.
(OAIC) website. I
If you are dissatisfied with the way your
Third party review rights
request was processed, please make a
complaint.
Third parties who were consulted by the
department are entitled to seek an
REVIEW
internal review of the department’s
How to seek a review of this decision
decision to grant access to a document.
Internal review by the department
Further information about third party
review rights is available on OAICs
You may apply for internal review of the
website. I
decision (section 54 of the FOI Act). The
internal review application must be made
You may also apply for an external review
within 30 calendar days from the day you
by the IC (section54L of the FOI Act). To
receive this notice. Where possible, please
do this, you must make your application
attach reasons why you believe review of
within 30 calendar days from the day you
the decision is necessary.
receive this notice.
A new decision maker, who was not
COMPLAINT
involved in the initial decision, will review
How to make a complaint about process
your request, and make a new decision
within 30 calendar days.
Complaint to the department
Any request for internal review should be
If you wish to make a complaint about
directed via email to
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx or
how your FOI request was processed by
addressed to:
the department, we welcome you sending
an email with the details of your
Freedom of Information Section
complaint to the department in the first
Department of Foreign Affairs and
instance vi
a xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Trade
R G Casey Building
Complaint to the IC
John McEwen Crescent
Barton ACT 0221
You may also make a complaint to the IC
about the Departments actions in relation
External review by the Information
to this decision (section 70 of the FOI Act).
Commissioner (IC)
Further information about how to make a
You may apply to the Australian
complaint is available on OAICs website.iii
Information Commissioner to review this
decision (section54L of the FOI Act). To do
this, you must contact the IC within 60
calendar days from the day you receive
this notice.
