Advice to government on disposal of MRH-90 Helicopters
Dear Department of Defence,
I request under FOI copies of advice to government on the disposal of MRH-90 Helicopters, including considerations:
-for offering these, or nor offering these airframes, to Ukraine (as aid or sale),
-offering these airframes in whole or as parts to New Zealand or one of the other ten operators of the similar NH-90 airframes, either by sale or gifting,
-the rationale for burying these airframes.
By advice to government, I seek copies of briefs, ministerial submission, emails, files note of phone calls, to any of the Ministers in the defence portfolio and their offices.
The search for records can be limited to the calendar year 2023.
I also seek a copy of any correspondence from the Ukrainian government and Ambassador to the Australian government regarding the MRH-90 Helicopters.
Yours faithfully,
J Paul
OFFICIAL
Dear J Paul
Acknowledgement
I refer to your correspondence of 27 February 2025 seeking access to
documents held by the Department of Defence (Defence), under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). This email is to advise you that your
request has been received and allocated for Case Management.
The scope of your request is:
I request under FOI copies of advice to government on the disposal of
MRH-90 Helicopters, including considerations:
-for offering these, or nor offering these airframes, to Ukraine (as aid
or sale), -offering these airframes in whole or as parts to New Zealand or
one of the other ten operators of the similar NH-90 airframes, either by
sale or gifting, -the rationale for burying these airframes.
By advice to government, I seek copies of briefs, ministerial submission,
emails, files note of phone calls, to any of the Ministers in the defence
portfolio and their offices.
The search for records can be limited to the calendar year 2023.
I also seek a copy of any correspondence from the Ukrainian government and
Ambassador to the Australian government regarding the MRH-90 Helicopters.
Disclaimer
Where staff details are captured in documents within the scope of your FOI
request, this information will be redacted; this includes private email
addresses, signatures, personnel (PMKeyS) numbers and mobile telephone
numbers, unless you specifically request such details. Defence excludes
duplicates of documents and any documents sent to or from you.
Furthermore, Defence only considers final versions of documents.
Charges
Defence may impose a charge for the work involved in providing access to
the documents in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations 2019. We will notify you if your request attracts a charge.
Please note that there is no charge for documents that contain the
personal information of the applicant.
Timeframe
The statutory timeframe to provide you with a decision on your request
ends on 29 March 2025. This period may be extended if we need to consult
with third parties, or for other reasons. We will advise you if this
happens.
Please note that where the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public
holiday, the timeframe will expire on the next working day. This is in
accordance with the FOI Guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act.
Disclosure Log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published on Defence’s
disclosure log, located on our website.
Contact Details
We will contact you via the email address you have provided. Please advise
if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.
Should you have any questions relating to your request, please do not
hesitate to contact me via email: [1][email address].
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Team
Media and Information Disclosure Branch
Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division
Department of Defence
[2]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence
IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...
OFFICIAL
Dear J Paul
I refer to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request seeking access to the
following:
…copies of advice to government on the disposal of MRH-90 Helicopters,
including considerations:
-for offering these, or nor offering these airframes, to Ukraine (as aid
or sale), -offering these airframes in whole or as parts to New Zealand or
one of the other ten operators of the similar NH-90 airframes, either by
sale or gifting, -the rationale for burying these airframes.
By advice to government, I seek copies of briefs, ministerial submission,
emails, files note of phone calls, to any of the Ministers in the defence
portfolio and their offices.
The search for records can be limited to the calendar year 2023.
I also seek a copy of any correspondence from the Ukrainian government and
Ambassador to the Australian government regarding the MRH-90 Helicopters.
The current statutory deadline for you to receive a response to your
request is 29 March 2025.
Due to ongoing considerations of the potentially in scope material and
competing priorities of the line area, additional time is required to
process your request. For this reason, our office is seeking a 30 day
extension of the statutory deadline under section 15AA [extension with
agreement] of the FOI Act. This additional time will allow Defence to
ensure that we have considered all aspects of your request, and to make a
robust business decision on access. Should you agree, the statutory
deadline for you to receive a response to your request will expire on 28
April 2025.
It would be much appreciated if you could confirm your agreement to this
extension of time via e-mail by 5:00pm 17 March 2025. Thank you for your
patience.
Should you have any questions regarding this matter please do not hesitate
to contact the FOI team.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Team
Media and Information Disclosure Branch
Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division
Department of Defence
[1]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence
IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...
Dear FOI Team, Department of Defence,
I agree to your request for a 30 day extension of the statutory deadline under section 15AA [extension with
agreement] of the FOI Act.
Yours sincerely,
J Paul
Dear J Paul
Please find attached the Decision relating to Defence FOI 695/24/25.
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you are entitled to request a review of
this decision. Your review rights are attached.
Please contact this office should you require any further information.
Regards
Freedom of Information Team
Media and Information Disclosure Branch
Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division
Department of Defence
[1]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence
References
Visible links
1. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...
Dear Department of Defence,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Defence's handling of my FOI request 'Advice to government on disposal of MRH-90 Helicopters'.
I note the decision maker’s use of section 33 exemption, which I suggest does not apply in this instance as the subject pertains to retired equipment and hence no longer pertaining to defence or security. This could not be construed as causing damage to security or defence. In terms of possible damage to international relations, it is unlikely that any further damage could arise from release of these documents (i.e. the damage was done in the decision to bury the helicopters).
If the material does include information pertaining to current or future capability (such as the replacement Blackhawk helicopters), it would be more appropriate to redact those parts of the documents rather than refuse release.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/a...
Yours faithfully,
J Paul
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Paul,
This response is to acknowledge receipt of your email below or attached
In that email you requested an internal review under section 54 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) of the decision issued by Defence on 26/03/2025.
The review you are seeking is in relation to the scope of your original FOI request:
“I request under FOI copies of advice to government on the disposal of MRH-90
Helicopters, including considerations:
-for offering these, or nor offering these airframes, to Ukraine (as aid or sale), -
offering these airframes in whole or as parts to New Zealand or one of the other ten
operators of the similar NH-90 airframes, either by sale or gifting, -the rationale for
burying these airframes.
By advice to government, I seek copies of briefs, ministerial submission, emails, files
note of phone calls, to any of the Ministers in the defence portfolio and their offices.
The search for records can be limited to the calendar year 2023.
I also seek a copy of any correspondence from the Ukrainian government and
Ambassador to the Australian government regarding the MRH-90 Helicopters.”
The statutory deadline for Defence to issue an internal review decision is 30 days from the date we received the request. Consequently, you will receive a decision in regard to your review by Thursday 01 May 2025.
In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Regards
FOI Review Team
FOI Review Directorate
Media and Information Disclosure Branch
Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division
Department of Defence
PO Box 7910
R1-05-A
Canberra BC ACT 2610
IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence. Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email immediately.