2016-17 Most Expensive Event
Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
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
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Gothe-Snape,
We refer to your email dated 8 August 2017 in which you sought “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”.
Portfolio ministers attend many official events, functions, receptions, and gatherings to advance Australia’s foreign, trade and investment and development interests, both throughout Australia and overseas. These services are managed by all areas across the Department, including over 100 Australian Government posts overseas and the Department’s State and Territory offices, as well as directly by the office of each Minister and Assistant Minister. The Department does not have visibility of all events attended by each of its portfolio Ministers and Assistant Ministers, as it is not involved in many of them. Moreover, we would note the Commonwealth would not hold any information regarding the cost (and associated information you are seeking) of events hosted by other governments or organisations that a portfolio Minister or Assistant Minister has attended. It would therefore not be possible for the Department to determine the “most expensive event” attended.
In view of the above, this Department does not hold the information you have requested. We also note the Department is a separate entity from the offices of its portfolio Ministers and Assistant Ministers for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act.
Further, in light of the above, we do not consider your request as it presently stands is a valid request for the purposes of s15(2) of the FOI Act as we are unable to reasonably determine what documents you are seeking to access.
In future, you may wish to amend the scope of what you are seeking to obtain information or documents on and also consider re-framing your request such that it comprises a valid request for the purposes of s15(2) of the FOI Act, including such information to enable a responsible officer of this Department to reasonably determine what you are seeking to access. You should also consider the most appropriate entity for the purposes of the FOI Act to which any future request should be addressed.
DFAT FOI Team
Hello,
Thank for you the email.
Can you please amend the request:
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
