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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