OFFICIAL
Freedom of Information (FOI) request
Notice of Decision
Reference: FOI/2025/035
Tyler
By email:  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear Tyler,
I refer to your request dated 12 February 2025 to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
(the Department), under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your request for access under the
FOI Act.
Scope of request
You set out your request in the fol owing terms:
Is it possible to provide, with necessary redactions if you need any, documents [copies of
which are in the possession of your Department,] that have been provided to the
Governor-General for the Australian Government’s recommendation to appoint or
award Professor James Richard CRAWFORD as Companion in the General Division, in
the Order of Australia, in the Queen's Birthday 2013 Honours List?
Authorised decision-maker
I am authorised to make this decision in accordance with arrangements approved by the
Department’s Secretary under section 23 of the FOI Act.
Material taken into account
In reaching my decision I have had regard to the fol owing:
•  the terms of your request
•  searches and inquires undertaken by the Department
•  the FOI Act
•  the FOI Guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act
(the Guidelines)
Postal Address: PO Box 6500, CANBERRA ACT 2600
Telephone: +61 2 6271 5849   Fax: +61 2 6271 5776   www.pmc.gov.au ABN: 18 108 001 191

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Decision
I have decided to refuse your request under section 24A(1) of the FOI Act, on the grounds the
documents do not exist.
Reason for decision
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding to refuse your request for access are set out below.
1.  Documents cannot be found or do not exist
Section 24A(1) of the FOI Act provides that:
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.
In determining what the FOI Act means with respect to ‘al  reasonable steps’, I have had regard to the
Guidelines which discuss the meaning of ‘reasonable’ in section 24A(1)(a). It is not designed to go
beyond the limit assigned by reason, not to be extravagant or excessive, rather to be moderate and of
such an effort to be appropriate or suitable to the circumstances1.
You have requested access to records provided to the Governor-General in relation to
recommendations to appoint or award an individual within the Order of Australia. Recommendations
made to the Governor-General in relation to the award of the Order of Australia, in the General
Division, and where the recommended appointees are Australian Permanent Residents or Citizens, are
made by the Council for the Order of Australia. The council is supported by the Office of the Official
Secretary to the Governor-General, which is separate from the Department.
This is separate to honorary appointments to the Order of Australia (General Division) – which applies
to nominations for individuals who are not Australian Permanent Residents or Citizens (i.e. those who
are citizens of a foreign country). Nominations for honorary appointments in the General Division of
the Order of Australia are usual y processed by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Accordingly, searches of the Department’s record repositories have not identified any responsive
documents to your request. Therefore, based on my knowledge of the subject matter connected to
your FOI request and in my role as Assistant Secretary if the Parliamentary and Government Branch, I
am satisfied the Department does not hold the documents you have requested.

1 Paragraph 3.88 of the Guidelines
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I am satisfied the measures taken by the Department to locate documents in response to your request
under the FOI Act, as outlined above, are appropriate and suitable given the circumstances.
I am therefore refusing your request for access under section 24A(1) of the FOI Act as the documents
do not exist.
Additional Information
For nominees who are Australian citizens or permanent residents, decisions regarding the award of
the Order of Australia are based on recommendations made by the Council for the Order of Australia,
an independent body. The government plays no role in deciding who is awarded the Order of
Australia.
For more information please refer to: Order of Australia Handbook2
Review rights
If you disagree with my decision, you may apply for internal review or Information Commissioner
review of the decision.
Internal review
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to the Department for an internal review of
my decision. The internal review application must be made within 30 days after the date of this letter,
please attach the reasons why you disagree with the decision.
Applications for review should be sent to xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Information Commissioner review
Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Australian Information Commissioner to
review my decision. An application for review by the Information Commissioner must be made in
writing within 60 days after the date of this letter. You can apply using the OAIC Web Form.3
FOI Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your FOI request, please let us know what we could
have done better. We may be able to rectify the problem. If you are not satisfied with our response,
you can make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner. A complaint to the

2 https://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-08/Order%20of%20Australia%20Booklet_16th%20edition_0.pdf
3 https://webform.oaic.gov.au/prod?entitytype=ICReview&layoutcode=ICReviewWF
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Information Commissioner must be made in writing. You can make a complaint using the
OAIC Web Form.4

If you wish to discuss any aspect of your requests, you can contact the FOI Section by email at
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely,

David Belgrove
Assistant Secretary
Parliamentary and Government Branch
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
4 March 2025

4 https://webform.oaic.gov.au/prod?entitytype=Complaint&layoutcode=FOIComplaintWF
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