OFFICIAL

Good morning,

Thank you for contacting Freedom of Information at the Department of
Defence.  

We have received your email and you will be advised of the status of your
inquiry by an FOI team member soon.

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information
Enterprise Transformation Branch | Enterprise Transformation and
Governance Division

Department of Defence

 e: [1][email address]

w: [2]https://defence.gov.au/foi/

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://defence.gov.au/foi/

OFFICIAL

Good afternoon

I refer to your correspondence of 30 July 2021 seeking access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to documents held by the
Department of Defence (Defence). This email is to advise you that your
request has been received and allocated to a Case Manager.

The scope of your request is:

1.       I am seeking documents given to/used by vetting coordination
officers that direct how they do their day-to-day work.

2.       The title or front page of the documents could use works like
“workbook” or “work instruction”. The contents of the documents should
contain rules/instructions on how to handle different scenarios relating
to the information given to them by clearance subjects. For example, the
documents should have rules for when a country does not issue birth
certificates, or what to do when a subject does not have a surname.

These rules may also be in a knowledge management system (I’d be surprised
if it wasn’t to be honest)

Note that I am requesting documents for the coordination officers (these
are people that ensure that information provided is accurate and
complete), NOT the decision makers of clearances.

3.       I am also seeking the policy/legal direction documents that would
inform the work instruction documents above.

4.       These documents may come from either the legal team within
Defence; or may be given AGSVA from the Attorney General’s Department, I’m
unsure. Please advise and I may cut the scope of my request.

As these documents (policy and work instructions) only relate to mundane
normal day-to-day operation of the Agency (no critical decisions are being
made with the work instruction documents, they are purely clerical in
nature), it should not fall foul of any s33 exemption.

Please note that Defence does not release information that is considered
‘personal information’ of individuals other than the applicant; 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.

If you are seeking personal details of other individuals, please advise
this office by 9 August 2021 so that the decision maker can consider your
request.

Defence may impose a charge for the work involved in providing access to
the documents in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations. You will be notified separately if your request attracts a
charge. Please note that there is no charge for documents that contain the
personal information of the applicant.

The statutory deadline for you to receive a response to your request is 29
August 2021.  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.

I am the Case Manager for this request. Should you have any questions
relating to your request, please do not hesitate to contact me via email
to [1][email address].

Regards

Rose Hatherley|A/Assistant Director Freedom of Information

Enterprise Transformation Branch |Enterprise Transformation and Governance
Division

Department of Defence

a CP1-6-009 Campbell Park Offices, Canberra

m 0407 266 376

e [2][email address]

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. mailto:[email address]

OFFICIAL

Dear Clear Pseudonym,

Please find attached the Decision and documents relating to Defence FOI
051/21/22. 

FOI Disclosure Log

In accordance with the requirements of section 11C of the FOI Act, Defence
is required to publish details of information released under the FOI Act.
Defence publishes identified documents relating to finalised requests
within ten working days of receipt by the applicant or immediately
following any publication of the released material. Defence will also
publish the statement of reasons with privacy deletions.  

Rights of Review

Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you are entitled to request a review of
this decision. Your review rights are attached.

Should you have any questions in regard to this matter please contact this
office.

Regards

Chris Simon | Case Manager Freedom of Information
Enterprise Transformation Branch | Enterprise Transformation and
Governance Division | Department of Defence
Campbell Park Offices ACT 2600

e [1][email address] w [2]https://defence.gov.au/foi/

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://defence.gov.au/foi/