2016-17 Most Expensive Trip
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
This is a request under the FOI Act.
Can you please provide the travel expenses, invoices, receipts, credit card statements and reimbursements for the most expensive trip taken 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 faithfully,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Gothe-Snape
Freedom of Information Request FOI17/137
On 8 August 2017 you requested access to documents, specifically the
following:
‘Can you please provide the travel expenses, invoices, receipts, credit
card statements and reimbursements for the most expensive trip taken by a
Minister or Assistant Minister in your Department's portfolio area in
2016-17.’
We note that you have requested information for the 2016-17 financial
year. Reporting for the period January to June 2017 is currently being
compiled by Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA). We
understand that reporting for the period January to March 2017 will be
available by IPEA towards the end of quarter 3 in 2017. Reporting for
April to June 2017 will be available towards the end of quarter 4 in 2017.
As the information is still being completed for the full 2016-17 financial
year, it is not possible to identify the ‘most expensive trip’.
Subsection 15(2) of the FOI Act lists requirements for a valid FOI
request. Paragraph 15(2)(b) requires a person seeking access to documents
to:
Provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably
necessary to enable a responsible officer of the agency to identify it.
Therefore, I must decide that to the extent that your request does not
constitute a valid FOI request because it does not identify the documents
to which you seek access with sufficient certainty. I also note that the
documents of the kind you have requested are typically held by the IPEA as
opposed to the department.
Questions about this decision
If you wish to discuss this decision, please contact me by telephone on
(02) 6141 6666 or by email [1][AGD request email].
Yours sincerely
Alex | FOI Case Manager
Freedom of Information and Parliamentary Section | Strategy and Delivery
Australian Government Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National
Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
T: +61 (02) 6141 6666 E: [2][AGD request email]
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References
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Hello,
Thanks for getting back to me.
Can you please vary the request to:
Please provide an itemised summary of all trips booked with your travel provider for 2016-17 in a spreadsheet format.
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape