2016-17 Most Expensive Event
Dear Department of Finance,
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
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
________________________________
Finance Australian Business Number (ABN): 61 970 632 495
Finance Web Site: www.finance.gov.au
IMPORTANT:
This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on 61-2-6215-2222 and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
If responding to this email, please send to the appropriate person using the suffix .gov.au.
________________________________
Thank you for your email to the Freedom of Information Team at the
Department of Finance. An officer will respond to your email shortly. In
the meantime, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact
the FOI Team on (02) 6215 1783.
Regards,
FOI Officer, Legal Services Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
T: 02 6215 1783 E: [1][Finance request email]
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
References
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1. mailto:[Finance request email]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Gothe-Snape
Thank you for your email to the Department of Finance (Finance) requesting
access to the following under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (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.
Finance has undertaken some preliminary discussions with relevant business
areas and it is not clear what you mean by an ‘event’. For example, does
this refer to where the Finance Minister has travelled to an event? For
travel-related queries, we reiterate that this is handled by IPEA.
Alternatively, can you define ‘event’ or provide a specific occasion you
would like to revise this request to include.
At this stage, we do not consider that sufficient information has been
provided to enable Finance to process this request, as required by
paragraph 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act. Given this, we require further
information from you before we can commence processing your request.
Subject to your clarification, we will be able to further consult with the
relevant business areas to determine if we hold any documents in scope of
your request. Finance notes that we would only hold the documents in
relation to the events paid for and hosted by the Department of Finance,
if any.
Please contact the FOI Team on the below contact details if you wish to
discuss your request.
Kind regards
FOI Officer
[1]cid:image001.jpg@01D20F6A.7457D930
FOI Officer, Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
T: 02 6215 1783 E: [2][Finance request email]
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
UNCLASSIFIED
________________________________
Finance Australian Business Number (ABN): 61 970 632 495
Finance Web Site: www.finance.gov.au
IMPORTANT:
This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on 61-2-6215-2222 and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
If responding to this email, please send to the appropriate person using the suffix .gov.au.
________________________________
References
Visible links
2. mailto:[Finance request email]
Hello,
Can you please tell me how the Department classifies events, functions, launches and occasions of this type to help me narrow the scope of this request?
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
________________________________
Finance Australian Business Number (ABN): 61 970 632 495
Finance Web Site: www.finance.gov.au
IMPORTANT:
This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on 61-2-6215-2222 and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
If responding to this email, please send to the appropriate person using the suffix .gov.au.
________________________________
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Gothe-Snape
As indicated below, the lack of clarity with the request is not around the term 'event' but the context of how Finance is involved. For example, does attendance at an event refer to where a Minister has travelled to an event? As previously mentioned, travel-related requests would be handled by IPEA.
Are you querying events that are organised and paid for by Finance and where a Minister in the Finance portfolio has been invited to attend? We note that Ministers are likely to attend events where Finance has no involvement.
Alternatively, please advise if there is a specific event or function that you are querying.
Kind regards
FOI Officer, Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
T: 02 6215 1783
E: [Finance request email]
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
-----Original Message-----
From: Jackson Gothe-Snape [mailto:[FOI #3800 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 31 August 2017 12:01 PM
To: FOI Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: FOI 17/111 - Scope of Request [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Hello,
Can you please tell me how the Department classifies events, functions, launches and occasions of this type to help me narrow the scope of this request?
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
-----Original Message-----
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Gothe-Snape
Thank you for your email to the Department of Finance (Finance) requesting access to the following under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (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.
Finance has undertaken some preliminary discussions with relevant business areas and it is not clear what you mean by an ‘event’. For example, does this refer to where the Finance Minister has travelled to an event? For travel-related queries, we reiterate that this is handled by IPEA.
Alternatively, can you define ‘event’ or provide a specific occasion you would like to revise this request to include.
At this stage, we do not consider that sufficient information has been provided to enable Finance to process this request, as required by paragraph 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act. Given this, we require further information from you before we can commence processing your request.
Subject to your clarification, we will be able to further consult with the relevant business areas to determine if we hold any documents in scope of your request. Finance notes that we would only hold the documents in relation to the events paid for and hosted by the Department of Finance, if any.
Please contact the FOI Team on the below contact details if you wish to discuss your request.
Kind regards
FOI Officer
[1]cid:image001.jpg@01D20F6A.7457D930
FOI Officer, Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
T: 02 6215 1783 E: [2][Finance request email]
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
UNCLASSIFIED
References
Visible links
2. mailto:[Finance request email]
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UNCLASSIFIED
________________________________
Finance Australian Business Number (ABN): 61 970 632 495
Finance Web Site: www.finance.gov.au
IMPORTANT:
This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on 61-2-6215-2222 and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
If responding to this email, please send to the appropriate person using the suffix .gov.au.
________________________________
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. In this case it is information that is required for the agency to understand exactly which documents are requested.
However, 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.