2016-17 Most Expensive Event
Dear Department of Education,
This is a request under the FOI Act.
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.
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
Dear Mr Gothe-Snape
I refer to your request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 received by the Department of Education and Training (the department) on 8 August 2017. Your request is for:
“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.”
It is not clear from your request whether you refer to events attended and hosted by the Minister/Assistant Minister; events attended by the Minister/Assistant Minister and organised by the department; or events attended by the Minister/Assistant Minister and organised by a third party. In any event, the department is not responsible for the costs associated with all events attended by the Minister or Assistant Minister. Therefore, it is not possible for the department to determine the “most expensive event” attended by either the Minister or Assistant Minister.
As you may be aware, the Department of Finance has published information on its website regarding parliamentarian expenses for the period 1 July 2016 to 31 December 2016. This information is available at: http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/p.... From 3 April 2017, the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) was established as the independent body with functional responsibility for overseeing parliamentarian work and travel related expenses. The reporting for the period of 1 January to 30 June 2017 is currently being compiled by the IPEA.
The department is not responsible for the costs associated with all events attended by Ministers in the Education and Training Portfolio nor is it responsible for reporting on associated expenditure. I suggest you review the publicly available information and if necessary, resubmit your request to the IPEA after consideration of the above and the publicly available information.
On this basis, the department considers your request to be withdrawn, unless you advise otherwise, by COB Friday 18 August 2017.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education and Training
Hello,
Please amend the request to the following:
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. 'Most expensive event' shall be determined only by expenses paid - directly or through reimbursement - by the Department.
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
Dear Mr Gothe-Snape
I refer to your email correspondence dated 22 August 2017, seeking the following:
‘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. 'Most expensive event' shall be determined only by expenses paid - directly or through reimbursement - by the Department.’
The department is not able to process your request in its current form. As we indicated in our response to your request dated 8 August 2017, it is unclear whether you are referring to events attended and hosted by the Minister/Assistant Minister; events attended by the Minister/Assistant Minister and organised by the department; or events attended by the Minister/Assistant Minister and organised by a third party. Further, it is unclear whether you are referring to the portion of the event costs applicable to the Minister or Assistant Minister’s attendance, or whether you are referring to the total cost of the event to the extent that the department was responsible for “expenses paid”.
As previously advised, the department holds limited information on events attended by the Minister or Assistant Minister and these matters are for the Department of Finance and/or the IPEA, which report regularly on these types of expenditure. As the department advised in our previous response dated 17 August 2017, you may wish to consider this publicly available information or approach the IPEA in the first instance.
The department intends to consider your request to be withdrawn unless you advise otherwise by COB Friday 1 September 2017.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education and Training
Hello,
Thanks for getting back to me.
To assist with my request, how does your financial management system record events, launches, functions and occasions of this type?
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
Dear Mr Gothe-Snape
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education and Training