UNCLASSIFIED

PM&C Ref: FOI/2017/135

Dear Mr Gothe-Snape

Thank you for your email dated 8 August 2017, received by the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department), in which you made a
request to the Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the
FOI Act) in the following terms:

Can you please provide the budgets, menus, expenses, invoices, receipts,
credit card statements and reimbursements for the most expensive event
attended by a Minister or Assistant Minister in your Department's
portfolio area in 2016-17.

I request that any fees arising in relation to this request be waived as
the information is in the public interest, as it helps inform the public
about how the government is spending public revenue.

Timeframe for receiving your decision

We received your request on 8 August 2017 and the 30 day statutory period
for processing your request commenced from the day after that date. You
should therefore expect a decision from us by 7 September 2017. The period
of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances. We will advise you if
there is any extension of time.

Charges

Agencies may decide that an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect
of a request for access to documents. If the Department decides that you
are liable to pay a charge, we will send you a preliminary assessment of
the charge as soon as possible.

Publication of documents

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log at
[1]http://www.dpmc.gov.au/pmc/accountabilit...,
subject to certain exceptions. If you think you might wish to raise any
objections to the publication of any of the information which may be
released to you please contact us by email at [2][DPMC request email].  If you
do wish to object to the publication of information, you would need to
provide supporting reasons.

Exclusion of officers’ names and contact details

For documents that fall within scope of the request, it is the
Department’s policy to withhold:

·         any person’s signature;

·         the names and contact details of Australian Public Service
officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);

·         the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers;

·         the names and contact details of Ministerial staff at a level
below Chief of Staff.

The names and other details of SES officers will not be withheld unless
there is some reason for that information to be exempt from release. If
you require signatures, the names and contact details of non-SES officers
or Ministerial staff below the level of Chief of Staff, or the mobile or
direct numbers of SES officers please let us know at [3][DPMC request email] so
the decision-maker may consider; otherwise we will take it that you agree
to that information being excluded from the scope of your request (that
is, the information will be treated as irrelevant and redacted from any
documents for release).

We will write again when the Department has more information. Further
information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner at
[4]http://www.oaic.gov.au/foi-portal/about_....

Yours sincerely

FOI Adviser

Access and Administrative Review | Honours, Symbols and Legal Policy
Branch

Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. +61 2 6271 5849

e. | [5][DPMC request email] | [6]www.dpmc.gov.au

PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600

[7]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dpmc.gov.au/pmc/accountabilit...
2. mailto:[DPMC request email]
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. http://www.oaic.gov.au/foi-portal/about_...
5. mailto:[DPMC request email]
6. http://www.dpmc.gov.au/

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Mr Gothe-Snape

We write to consult you about whether you would wish to revise your FOI
request in the light of the following information.

In order to reduce the resources required to process your request and
ensure a relatively quicker response to your FOI request, we propose the
following arrangement:

·         You agree to revise your FOI request to seek access to ‘menu and
overall costs for the most expensive event attended by a Minister or
Assistant Minister in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s
portfolio area in 2016 – 17’.

·         If you agree to revise your request in this way, we would waive
any processing and access charges.  

Please let me know how you wish to proceed.

Kind regards

FOI Adviser

Access and Administrative Review | Honours, Symbols and Legal Policy
Branch

Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. +61 2 6271 5849

e. | [1][DPMC request email] | [2]www.dpmc.gov.au

PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600

[3]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[DPMC request email]
2. http://www.dpmc.gov.au/

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Mr Gothe-Snape

I refer to your FOI request with the Department of the Prime Minister and
Cabinet – ref: FOI/2017/135.

By email dated 22 August 2017, you agreed to revise your request to
seeking access to ‘menu and overall costs for the most expensive event
attended by a Minister or Assistant Minister in the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet’s  portfolio area in 2016 – 17’.

We have undertaken searches to find documents meeting the terms of your
request. As a result of the searches, one document has been identified and
is publicly available.

We refer you to the document titled ‘Senate Finance and Public
Administration Legislation Committee – Answers to Questions on Notice’,
which was tabled at the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee
Estimates hearings on 22 May 2017. The document is published on the
following website:
[1]http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Busi....
Once the link is opened you will have to scroll down to QoN No.125 and
open the PDF document.

[2]cid:image002.png@01D31D8F.5E68C650

The specific menu and costings can be found on pages 35 and 36 of the PDF
document.

In the light of the above information, could you please advise us if you
would like to continue with your request?

Kind regards

FOI Adviser

Access and Administrative Review | Honours, Symbols and Legal Policy
Branch

Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. +61 2 6271 5849

e. | [3][DPMC request email] | [4]www.dpmc.gov.au

PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600

[5]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Busi...
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. http://www.dpmc.gov.au/

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Mr Gothe-Snape

I write to follow up the email below, dated 25 August 2017.

As mentioned in the email, could you please advise if you would like to
continue with your request? Grateful if you could let us know by cob
today.

Kind regards

FOI Adviser

Access and Administrative Review | Honours, Symbols and Legal Policy
Branch

Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. +61 2 6271 5849

e. | [1][DPMC request email] | [2]www.dpmc.gov.au

PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600

[3]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

From: FOI
Sent: Friday, 25 August 2017 2:58 PM
To: Jackson Gothe-Snape
Cc: FOI
Subject: PM&C FOI Request(FOI/2017/135) [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Mr Gothe-Snape

I refer to your FOI request with the Department of the Prime Minister and
Cabinet – ref: FOI/2017/135.

By email dated 22 August 2017, you agreed to revise your request to
seeking access to ‘menu and overall costs for the most expensive event
attended by a Minister or Assistant Minister in the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet’s  portfolio area in 2016 – 17’.

We have undertaken searches to find documents meeting the terms of your
request. As a result of the searches, one document has been identified and
is publicly available.

We refer you to the document titled ‘Senate Finance and Public
Administration Legislation Committee – Answers to Questions on Notice’,
which was tabled at the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee
Estimates hearings on 22 May 2017. The document is published on the
following website:
[4]http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Busi....
Once the link is opened you will have to scroll down to QoN No.125 and
open the PDF document.

[5]cid:image002.png@01D31D8F.5E68C650

The specific menu and costings can be found on pages 35 and 36 of the PDF
document.

In the light of the above information, could you please advise us if you
would like to continue with your request?

Kind regards

FOI Adviser

Access and Administrative Review | Honours, Symbols and Legal Policy
Branch

Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. +61 2 6271 5849

e. | [6][DPMC request email] | [7]www.dpmc.gov.au

PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600

[8]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[DPMC request email]
2. http://www.dpmc.gov.au/
4. http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Busi...
6. mailto:[DPMC request email]
7. http://www.dpmc.gov.au/