OFFICE OF THE OFFICIAL SECRETARY
TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL
30 January 2025
Via email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Tyler,
Re: Application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
Ref: FOI2025001
I refer to your email of 2 January 2025 to the FOI Coordinator of the Office of
Parliamentary Counsel (OPC), in which you make a request under the
Commonwealth
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act):
“Is it possible to provide the following on Act No. 12 of 2013, the
Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Act 2013?
I am looking for:
1. A copy of the Act as passed with signature of the Royal Assent.
2. Documents submitted to the Governor-General for royal assent to
the Act (including the certificate from either the House of
Representatives or the Senate, and the certificate signed by the
Attorney-General recommending assent).”
As OPC’s FOI Coordinator has advised you, point 2 of your request (in bold
above) was transferred to the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-
General on 9 January 2025, as the requested documents were not in the
possession of OPC. This response relates ONLY to point 2 of your request,
OPC wil provide a separate response to the remainder of the request.
I am the authorised decision maker under section 23 of the FOI Act and this
letter sets out my decision on your request for access.
Material taken into account
In making my decision, I have had regard to the following:
• the terms of your request;
• advice from Agency officers with responsibility for matters relating to the
documents to which you sought access;
• the relevant provisions of the FOI Act; and
• the Commonwealth’s guidelines on FOI.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
TELEPHONE (02) 6283 3533 FACSIMILE (02) 6281 3760 WEBSITE
WWW.GG.GOV.AU
Application of the FOI Act
The FOI Act has a limited application to the Of icial Secretary to the Governor-
General. Section 6A provides that the Act does not apply to any request for
access to a document of the Official Secretary unless the document relates to
matters of an administrative nature. In Kline v Official Secretary to the Governor
General [2013] HCA 52 the High Court said:
‘the exception of a class of document which relates to "matters of an
administrative nature" connotes documents which concern the
management and administration of office resources.’
Further, the High Court held the phrase does not apply to documents that relate
to the discharge of the Governor-General's 'substantive powers and functions'.
24A - Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or
have not been received
Document lost or non‑existent
(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
(i ) does not exist.
Decision
The Office has been unable to identify any documents within the scope of your
request.
Accordingly, I advise that I must reject your request under section 24A of the
FOI Act on the basis that the document(s) sought cannot be found, do not exist
or have not been received.
Further information provided outside the Office’s FOI obligations
Copies of a Bil are received from the originating House. The Bil copies are
received under cover of a letter from the Clerk and Speaker of the House of
Representatives, or the President of the Senate, together with a copy of the
Second Reading Speech relating to the Bil , and the Attorney-General’s
certificate. The second reading speech is available on the Parliament of
Australia website, at:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bil s_Legislation/Bil s_Search_
Results/Result?bId=r4937. The other documents are subject to record keeping
normal administrative practice, which involves destruction after their retention
period has expired.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
TELEPHONE (02) 6283 3533 FACSIMILE (02) 6281 3760 WEBSITE
WWW.GG.GOV.AU
Review rights
You are entitled to seek review of this decision. Your rights are set out at
Attachment A to this letter.
Yours sincerely
Jeff Barnes
Deputy Official Secretary to the Governor-General
GOVERNMENT HOUSE CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
TELEPHONE (02) 6283 3533 FACSIMILE (02) 6281 3760 WEBSITE
WWW.GG.GOV.AU
ATTACHMENT A — INFORMATION ON RIGHTS OF REVIEW
1. APPLICATION FOR INTERNAL REVIEW OF DECISION
You can request internal review within 30 days of you receiving this decision. An
internal review wil be conducted by a different officer from the original decision-
maker.
No particular form is required but it would assist the decision-maker if you could
set out in the application the grounds on which you consider that the decision
should be reviewed. Applications for internal review can be made:
• via email to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxx.xx
• by mail to The Official Secretary to the Governor-General, Government
House, CANBERRA ACT 2600
If you choose to seek an internal review, you wil afterward have a right to apply
for Information Commissioner review (IC review) of the internal review decision.
OR
2. INFORMATION COMMISSIONER REVIEW OR COMPLAINT
You also have the right to seek IC review of this decision. For FOI applicants, an
application for IC review must be made in writing within 60 days of the decision.
For third parties who object to disclosure of their information, an application for
IC review must be made in writing within 30 days of the decision.
If you are not satisfied with the way we have handled your FOI request, you
can lodge a complaint with the OAIC. However, the OAIC suggests that
complaints are made to the agency in the first instance.
While there is no particular form required to make a complaint to the OAIC, the
complaint should be in writing and set out the reasons for why you are
dissatisfied with the way your request was processed. It should also identify this
office as the agency about which you are complaining.
You can make an IC review application or make an FOI complaint in one of the
following ways:
• online at https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-
complaints/
• via email t
o xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
• by mail to GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001, or
• by fax to 02 9284 9666.
More information about the Information Commissioner reviews and complaints is
available at its website:
www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-review-
process.
