2016-17 Most Expensive Trip
Dear Department of Education,
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
Dear Mr Gothe-Snape
I refer to your request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, received by the Department of Education and Training (the department) on 8 August 2017. Your request is for:
“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"
As the department is not responsible for arranging and paying for all the travel of the Minister for Education and Training or the Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, the department only has a limited number of travel related documents in its possession. It is not possible for the department to ascertain “the most expensive trip” from those documents.
As you may be aware, the Department of Finance reports on Parliamentarians’ expenditure at six monthly intervals and these reports are available on the Department of Finance website. Details of expenditure for Ministers in the Education and Training portfolio, for the period 1 July 2016 to 31 December 2016, can be found at:
Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, Minister for Education and Training
http://www.finance.gov.au/sites/default/...
The Hon Karen Andrews MP, Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills http://www.finance.gov.au/sites/default/...
From 3 April 2017, the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) was established as the independent body with functional responsibility for overseeing parliamentarian work and travel related expenses. I understand the IPEA is currently compiling the reports for the period of 1 January 2017 to 30 June 2017
The department is not responsible for arranging travel for Ministers in the Education and Training Portfolio nor is it responsible for reporting on Ministerial travel expenditure. I suggest you review the publicly available information and if necessary, resubmit your request to the IPEA after consideration of the above and the publicly available information.
As indicated above, the department is unable to process this request and will consider it to be withdrawn unless you advise otherwise by COB Friday 18 August 2017.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education and Training
Hello,
Can you please amend my request:
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
Dear Mr Gothe-Snape
Please find attached correspondence about your request.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education and Training