2016-17 Most Expensive Event
Dear Department of Employment,
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
Good afternoon Mr Gothe-Snape
Please see attached notice under section 24AB of the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth).
Kind regards
James Ramsay
Information Law Team
Corporate Legal
Australian Government Department of Employment
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Hi James,
Thanks for this notice.
Can I please make a revised request.
Can you please provide the budgets, menus, expenses, invoices, receipts, credit card statements and reimbursements for the most expensive event budgeted by the Department in 2016-17.
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
Good afternoon Mr Gothe-Snape
I refer to your email correspondence dated 22 August 2017 (below), and to
the Department’s notice under section 24AB of the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth)(FOI Act), dated the same day.
You have asked for:
…the budgets, menus, expenses, invoices, receipts, credit card statements
and reimbursements for the most expensive event budgeted by the Department
in 2016-17.
The Department requires further information in order to identify the
documents to which you are seeking access and considers that you have
still not satisfied the requirements of paragraph 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act.
Firstly, it is not clear what is meant by ‘event’. ‘Event’ may involve
events organised by the Department attended by the Minister (which would
show up in the Department’s budget), as well as events organised
externally attended by departmental staff (which would also appear in the
Department’s budget). ‘Event’ may also encompass routine events which
would appear in the Department’s budget (for example, working lunches,
large staff meetings).
Further, your amended scope does not make it clear whether you are still
seeking documents related to events attended by the Minister.
In order for the Department to be able to process your request, it would
assist us if you would:
· Set out in full the scope of your request; and
· Provide further information on the nature of the ‘event’ to
which you are seeking access.
In providing further information, you may wish to consider specifying a
particular event.
Please note that the request consultation period initiated by our section
24AB notice expires 14 days after the date of the notice (i.e. 5 September
2017).
Kind regards
James Ramsay
Information Law Team
Information Law, Practice Management and Corporate Advising Branch
Australian Government Department of Employment
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Hello,
To assist this request, could you describe how are events, launches, functions and occasions of this type classified internally?
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
UNCLASSIFIED
Good afternoon Mr Gothe-Snape
I refer to your email, dated 31 August 2017 (below), requesting
information on how ‘events, launches, functions and occasions of this type
are classified internally’.
The Department does not have standard definitions for the each of the
terms above. However, the Department has previously considered ‘function’
to be a major event hosted by the Department with non-Government attendees
and with official hospitality, outside of the Department’s standard
engagement with stakeholders in delivering its programs.
It is a matter for you how you define the scope of your request.
The request consultation period for your request expires tomorrow 5
September 2017. The Department is happy to agree to an extension of the
consultation period until Thursday 7 September 2017, pursuant to
subsection 24AB(5) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), in order
for you to further consider the scope of your request. Would you please
indicate whether you agree to this extension by COB tomorrow 5 September
2017?
Kind regards
James Ramsay
Government Lawyer
Information Law Team
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Locutus Sum left an annotation ()
Mostly I classify a response like this one to say "clarification requested" because the agency has told the applicant that some more information is needed before the request will be processed, or even before it is considered to be valid. This time, I have put the response in the category of "refused" because it is two months when the agency has responded and the applicant has not made a follow-up. This does not mean that the agency will refuse the request when an application is made in the correct (required) way and although I have made the classification of "refused", the applicant can use this same request page if he wishes to pursue the request.
Even if the request were valid, there is no decision from the agency so it would be deemed to have been refused under s 15A.