OFFICIAL

 

 

FOI Request: LEX 12017

  

Dear James Smith 

  

Thank you for your email dated 31 January 2024 seeking access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).  

  

This email sets out some information about how your request will be
processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the
department).  

  

Scope of request:  

You have sought access to: 

  

‘…….any documents relating to the appointment of General (Rtd) Angus
Campbell AO as Australia's Ambassador to Belgium, the European Union (EU),
the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and Luxembourg.’

  

If it emerges that the scope of your request is unclear or is too large
for processing, the department will contact you to discuss re-scoping the
request.  

  

Timeframe for receiving our decision:  

We received your request on 31 January 2025, and the 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date.
A decision is currently due to you by 3 March 2025. The period of 30 days
may be extended in certain circumstances.    

    

Charges:   

Please note that the department may issue charges for processing FOI
requests.  If applicable, we will advise you of any relevant charges when
we are in a position to estimate the resources required to process your
request.   

   

Disclosure log:   

Please note that, with some exceptions (such as personal information),
documents released under the FOI Act may later be published on the
department’s [1]disclosure log.   

  

Exclusion of officials’ names and contact details:  

It is the department’s policy to withhold the personal information of
junior staff from ministerial offices and government officials not in the
Senior Executive Service (SES) or equivalent, including their email
addresses and contact numbers, together with all signatures, mobile phone
numbers, departmental inboxes and technical transmission details including
reference numbers.  

   

Duplicate documents and incomplete email chains:  

Your request will be processed on the basis that you did not intend to
capture duplicate documents or duplicate emails within email chains.  

 

If you require the excluded information or documents, please let us know
at [2][DFAT request email] so the decision-maker may consider; otherwise, we
will take it that you agree to the information and documents being
excluded from the scope of your request.  

  

Personal Information:  

If we need to consult with other people or organisations regarding your
FOI request, we may need to disclose your personal information (e.g. your
name). When we consult it may be apparent that you have made a request,
even if we do not disclose your identity. Please let us know if you have
any concerns in this regard. Further information on the way the department
handles personal information is accessible via our [3]privacy policy.  

  

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact us by reply email.  

  

Kind regards  

  

Aaron

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[4]dfat.gov.au | [5]X | [6]Facebook | [7]Instagram  | [8]LinkedIn

 

© Brooke Rigney-Lively (2024)

 We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed. Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in your handling of
the advice, you avoid waiving privilege. Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: James Smith <[FOI #12795 email]>
Sent: Friday, 31 January 2025 8:40 PM
To: FOI FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Freedom of Information request - Ambassador to Belgium

 

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

 

Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,

 

Please provide copies of any documents relating to the appointment of
General (Rtd) Angus Campbell AO as Australia's Ambassador to Belgium, the
European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and
Luxembourg.

 

This may include:

- briefing memos

- recommendation documents

- approval documents

- emails, letters, or other correspondence

 

Yours faithfully,

 

James Smith

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[9][FOI #12795 email]

 

Is [10][DFAT request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade? If so, please contact
us using this form:

[11]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:

[12]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

 

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

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2. mailto:[DFAT request email]
3. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/corpora...
4. https://www.dfat.gov.au/
https://www.dfat.gov.au/
5. https://x.com/dfat
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11. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
12. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

OFFICIAL

 

FOI Request: LEX 12017

  

Dear James Smith 

 

Please see attached correspondence regarding your FOI request.

 

Kind regards

Aaron

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]X | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

 

© Brooke Rigney-Lively (2024)

 We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed. Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in your handling of
the advice, you avoid waiving privilege. Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

  

 

 

From: FOI FOI
Sent: Monday, 3 February 2025 3:51 PM
To: James Smith <[FOI #12795 email]>
Subject: Your FOI Request - Acknowledgement and extension of time request
(LEX 12017)  [SEC=OFFICIAL]

 

OFFICIAL

 

 

FOI Request: LEX 12017

  

Dear James Smith 

  

Thank you for your email dated 31 January 2024 seeking access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).  

  

This email sets out some information about how your request will be
processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the
department).  

  

Scope of request:  

You have sought access to: 

  

‘…….any documents relating to the appointment of General (Rtd) Angus
Campbell AO as Australia's Ambassador to Belgium, the European Union (EU),
the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and Luxembourg.’

  

If it emerges that the scope of your request is unclear or is too large
for processing, the department will contact you to discuss re-scoping the
request.  

  

Timeframe for receiving our decision:  

We received your request on 31 January 2025, and the 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date.
A decision is currently due to you by 3 March 2025. The period of 30 days
may be extended in certain circumstances.    

    

Charges:   

Please note that the department may issue charges for processing FOI
requests.  If applicable, we will advise you of any relevant charges when
we are in a position to estimate the resources required to process your
request.   

   

Disclosure log:   

Please note that, with some exceptions (such as personal information),
documents released under the FOI Act may later be published on the
department’s [6]disclosure log.   

  

Exclusion of officials’ names and contact details:  

It is the department’s policy to withhold the personal information of
junior staff from ministerial offices and government officials not in the
Senior Executive Service (SES) or equivalent, including their email
addresses and contact numbers, together with all signatures, mobile phone
numbers, departmental inboxes and technical transmission details including
reference numbers.  

   

Duplicate documents and incomplete email chains:  

Your request will be processed on the basis that you did not intend to
capture duplicate documents or duplicate emails within email chains.  

 

If you require the excluded information or documents, please let us know
at [7][DFAT request email] so the decision-maker may consider; otherwise, we
will take it that you agree to the information and documents being
excluded from the scope of your request.  

  

Personal Information:  

If we need to consult with other people or organisations regarding your
FOI request, we may need to disclose your personal information (e.g. your
name). When we consult it may be apparent that you have made a request,
even if we do not disclose your identity. Please let us know if you have
any concerns in this regard. Further information on the way the department
handles personal information is accessible via our [8]privacy policy.  

  

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact us by reply email.  

  

Kind regards  

  

Aaron

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[9]dfat.gov.au | [10]X | [11]Facebook | [12]Instagram  | [13]LinkedIn

 

© Brooke Rigney-Lively (2024)

 We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed. Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in your handling of
the advice, you avoid waiving privilege. Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: James Smith < >
Sent: Friday, 31 January 2025 8:40 PM
To: FOI FOI <[14][DFAT request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Freedom of Information request - Ambassador to Belgium

 

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

 

Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,

 

Please provide copies of any documents relating to the appointment of
General (Rtd) Angus Campbell AO as Australia's Ambassador to Belgium, the
European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and
Luxembourg.

 

This may include:

- briefing memos

- recommendation documents

- approval documents

- emails, letters, or other correspondence

 

Yours faithfully,

 

James Smith

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[15][FOI #12795 email]

 

Is [16][DFAT request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade? If so, please contact
us using this form:

[17]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:

[18]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

 

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://www.dfat.gov.au/
https://www.dfat.gov.au/
2. https://x.com/dfat
https://x.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au/
https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au/
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/dfat/?hl=en
5. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/corpora...
7. mailto:[DFAT request email]
8. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/corpora...
9. https://www.dfat.gov.au/
https://www.dfat.gov.au/
10. https://x.com/dfat
https://x.com/DFAT
11. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au/
https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au/
12. https://www.instagram.com/dfat/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/dfat/?hl=en
13. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
14. mailto:[DFAT request email]
15. mailto:[FOI #12795 email]
16. mailto:[DFAT request email]
17. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
18. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

OFFICIAL

 

Good afternoon James Smith

 

Thank you for your email.

 

The purpose of the 24AB notice is for the department to provide you an
opportunity to revise your request so that a practical refusal reason no
longer exists. As such, we have offered the following suggestions to
assist you in narrowing the scope of your request:

 

·       Specifying the documents you are seeking, for example, the final
signed appointment document package,

·       Limit your request to exclude media releases or documents relating
to media releases,

·       Limiting your request to exclude emails.

 

At present the statutory timeframe has been ‘paused’ and will re-commence
should you choose to:

 

a. withdraw your request,

b. revise the scope of your request, or

c. inform the department that you do not wish to revise your request.

If you would like to revise the scope of your request, withdraw your
request or choose not to revise your request, grateful if you could please
advise by COB Friday, 28 February 2025.

 

Kind regards,

Aaron

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]X | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

 

© Brooke Rigney-Lively (2024)

 We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed. Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in your handling of
the advice, you avoid waiving privilege. Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: James Smith <[FOI #12795 email]>
Sent: Friday, 14 February 2025 8:51 PM
To: FOI FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Your FOI Request - Section 24AB notice - LEX 12017
[SEC=OFFICIAL]

 

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

 

Dear FOI,

 

 

 

Your 40 hour guestimate is unrealistic.

 

 

 

You haven't identified any categories or classes of documents or the basis
for the alleged "3 minutes per page". If a document is irrelevant it may
be many pages and take 15 seconds to exclude it from the response.

 

 

 

The "40 hours" also appears to very conveniently be an 'upper end' number
that is variously quoted in FOI guidelines, but is not a determinative
figure, especially when it is a bald allegation without a shred of
substantiation.

 

 

 

The appointment of Angus Campbell as Ambassador to Belgium is a matter of
public interest and as such further time and resources should be allocated
to the release of the materials.

 

 

 

[6]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

 

 

[7]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

 

 

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

 

 

[9]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

 

 

DFAT has a staff of 6,000 and a budget of $6.9bn. It is absurd to suggest
that looking at a few documents will cripple the department's resources.
DFAT needs to allocate sufficient funding and personnel to address FOI
requests and cannot deliberately under-resource its FOI function in order
to manufacture excuses for providing information. The base premise is that
a department should disclose materials, not create excuses to hide
information.

 

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

James Smith

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----

 

 

 

OFFICIAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOI Request: LEX 12017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear James Smith

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please see attached correspondence regarding your FOI request.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kind regards

 

 

 

Aaron

 

 

 

Freedom of Information Section

 

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

 

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

 

 

 

[9]dfat.gov.au | [10]X | [11]Facebook | [12]Instagram  | [13]LinkedIn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Brooke Rigney-Lively (2024)

 

 

 

  We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

 

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

 

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

 

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or

 

legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed. Such

 

privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in your handling of

 

the advice, you avoid waiving privilege. Please consult the author of the

 

advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

 

[10][FOI #12795 email]

 

 

 

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:

 

[11]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

 

 

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

 

 

 

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

 

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

References

Visible links
1. https://www.dfat.gov.au/
https://www.dfat.gov.au/
2. https://x.com/dfat
https://x.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au/
https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au/
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/dfat/?hl=en
5. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
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6. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/...
7. https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8...
8. https://www.4bc.com.au/podcast/absolutel...
9. https://www.themandarin.com.au/284899-an...
10. mailto:[FOI #12795 email]
11. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

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