OFFICE OF THE OFFICIAL SECRETARY
TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL
11 March 2025
Via email: foi+request-12819-f733cc8d@right oknow.org.au
Dear Trav S,
Re: Application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
Ref: FOI2025014
I refer to your email of 8 February 2025 in which you make a request under the
Commonwealth
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act):
“I seek to obtain a document that records the number of Humanitarian
Overseas Service Medals awarded to members of the Australian
contingent to the humanitarian relief operation of GE Infrastructure, Water
& Process Technologies.
If the Office can provide this information pursuant with the Act, then the
information following may help your search:
On 3 July 2010, the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister
and Cabinet wrote to the Honours and Awards Secretariat recommending
that the Governor-General approve the award of HOSMs to members of
the contingent. The letter was registered by the Office of the Governor-
General on 4 August 2010;
On 22 June 2014, the Secretary wrote again making further
recommendations to the Secretariat.
Please let me know if you would like me to email a copy of those letters
as they include the relevant schedule provided to the Secretariat.
I wil be happy to engage in consultations and to amend my request if that
helps.”
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;
GOVERNMENT HOUSE CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
TELEPHONE (02) 6283 3533 FACSIMILE (02) 6281 3760 WEBSITE
WWW.GG.GOV.AU
• the relevant provisions of the FOI Act; and
• the Commonwealth’s guidelines on FOI.
Application of the FOI Act
The FOI Act has a limited application to the Official Secretary to the Governor-
General. Section 6A provides that the Act does not apply to any request for
access to a document of the Of icial 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 Of ice 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.
Information provided outside the Office’s FOI Obligations
The Of ice does not possess a document that satisfies the terms of your
request. Noting a change in database since the relevant period means that
figures cannot be generated with a high degree of certainty, to the best of our
ability to accurately determine this information we believe that two HOSMs with
the Indian Ocean clasp were awarded to the members of the 'Australian
Contingent to GE water humanitarian operation'.
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.
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. The OAIC recommend
that complaints be made via the FOI Complaint Form available on the OAIC
website.
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.
