UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your attached FOI inquiry, dated 12 June 2020.

I note that your request is seeking access to 'all emails, minutes and
conversations”'.  Please be advised that a request for any/all documents
concerning a particular subject will likely attract refusal under section
24AA of the FOI Act because, with few exceptions, it would simply not be
possible for the decision maker to certify that he or she has identified
every copy of every document in the Department's possession. To do so
would require a search of every hard copy file and the electronic
communication and records management systems used by Defence.  It is
considered that the workload involved in conscientiously attempting to do
so would involve a substantial and unreasonable diversion of the resources
of the agency.

Taking the above into consideration, under section 24AA of the FOI Act and
for the purposes of section 24 of the FOI Act, Defence considers that a
'practical refusal reason' exists in relation to your FOI request. 
Specifically, Defence considers that the work involved in processing the
request in its current form would substantially and unreasonably divert
the resources of the Defence from its other operations.  In particular, a
very significant amount of resources would have to be diverted to arrange
for the required searches to be undertaken, to then review any documents
that were identified as being possibly relevant to your request.  And
finally, to undertake the decision making process on any documents that
did meet the parameters of your request.

This diversion would constitute a significant drain on the resources of
the agency, and would have an unreasonable, substantial and adverse effect
in the ability of areas to conduct their normal business.

In accordance with section 24AB of the FOI Act, Defence is required to
consult with you advising of the intention to refuse access to your
request in its current form.

In accordance with paragraph 24AB(2)(c) of the FOI Act, I am the nominated
person with whom you should contact with a view to agreeing to one of the
following options:

    a.    withdraw your request

    b.    revise your request; or

    c.    indicate that you do not wish to revise your request.

In accordance with section 24AB(9) of the FOI Act, Defence is only
required to undertake this consultation process once, and you must contact
me within 14 days to discuss.

Potential revision of your scope: I would suggest you provide a date range
for the request and specify the area and/or individuals or positions who
may hold documents. As it stands we are unable to conduct searches for the
documents matching your scope.

I encourage you to contact me so I can assist you in moving forward with
your inquiry.

Kind regards,

Case Manager | Freedom of Information
Enterprise Reform Branch | Governance and Reform Division | Department of
Defence
a CP1-6-002 Campbell Park Offices ACT 2600

e[1][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.

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]

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon Scott,

Can you please contact me on the phone number below, pertaining to the scope of your FOI inquiry?

Kind Regards,

Chris

Chris Simon | Freedom of Information
Enterprise Reform Branch | Governance and Reform Division | Department of Defence
a CP1-6-005 Campbell Park Offices ACT 2600
t (02) 6266 3532| e [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.

show quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Good morning Scott,

Can you please provide your contact number, I would like to discuss your FOI request?

Unfortunately I have not received your message.

Regards,
Chris

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.

show quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon Scott,

Your current scope for FOI inquiry 596/19/20 is as follows:

"I request all ADHREC and Defence meeting minutes relating to the consideration of and the use of Chloroquine on COVID-19 infected service personnel from the 14th of February 2020 to the 11th of June 2020."

Please clarify if you are specifically interested in information pertaining to the use of Chloroquine on COVID-19 infected service personnel?

I have discussed your inquiry with the subject matter experts and would like to know if you are happy for the below revised scope?

"I request Australian Defence Human Research Ethics Committee (ADHREC) and Defence meeting minutes relating to the consideration of and the use of Chloroquine as a preventative for COVID 19, on service personnel from the 14th of February 2020 to the 11th of June 2020."

If you would like to discuss further please contact me on 02 62663532.

Kind Regards

Chris Simon | Freedom of Information
Enterprise Reform Branch | Governance and Reform Division | Department of Defence
a CP1-6-005 Campbell Park Offices ACT 2600
t (02) 6266 3532| e [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.

show quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon Mr McCormick,

I refer to your FOI request:

"I request all ADHREC and Defence meeting minutes relating to the
consideration of and the use of Chloroquine on COVID-19 infected service
personnel from the 14th of February 2020 to the 11th of June 2020."

The documents you have requested are still in draft and Defence only deals
with final versions of documents.  I am seeking your agreement to place
your request on hold until Thursday 25 June 2020 when we anticipate the
document will be finalised. I will then recommence the processing your
request.

Please inform this office by COB 22 Jun 2020, if you agree to the above
request.

Should you have any questions relating to your request, please do not
hesitate to contact me on 02 6266 3532.

Regards,

Chris Simon | Freedom of Information
Enterprise Reform Branch | Governance and Reform Division | Department of
Defence
a CP1-6-005 Campbell Park Offices ACT 2600
t (02) 6266 3532| e [1][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]

UNCLASSIFIED

Good morning Mr McCormick,

I refer to your Freedom Of Information (FOI) request submitted on the 12
June 2020, current scope for FOI inquiry is as follows:

"I request Australian Defence Human Research Ethics Committee (ADHREC) and
Defence meeting minutes relating to the consideration of and the use of
Chloroquine as a preventative for COVID 19, on service personnel from the
14th of February 2020 to the 11th of June 2020."

The documents you have requested were still in draft during the above date
range and Defence only deals with final versions of documents.  Can you
please consider the below revised scope for your FOI inquiry?

"I request Australian Defence Human Research Ethics Committee (ADHREC) and
Defence meeting minutes relating to the consideration of and the use of
Chloroquine as a preventative for COVID 19, on service personnel from the
14th of February 2020 to the 25th of June 2020."

Please inform this office by COB 26 Jun 2020, if you agree to the above
request. I will then recommence the processing your request.

Do not hesitate to contact me on the phone number below should the need
arise.

Regards,

Chris Simon | Freedom of Information
Enterprise Reform Branch | Governance and Reform Division | Department of
Defence
a CP1-6-005 Campbell Park Offices ACT 2600
t (02) 6266 2577| e [1][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]

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon Mr McCormick

I refer to your correspondence dated 12 Jun 20, in which you sought
access, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), to:

“ I would like to view all emails, minutes and conversations, internally
within the ADF and also externally (foreign governments and those in
consultant roles) relating to the decision to approve the antimalarial
Chloroquine for trial use on service personnel infected with Covid-19. I
also request that all fees for this request be waived, as the request is
in the public interest and Chloroquine has never been used in this
particular manner. ”

Revised scope

On 25 Jun 20, following further discussion you agreed to proceed with the
following revised scope:

"I request Australian Defence Human Research Ethics Committee (ADHREC) and
Defence meeting minutes relating to the consideration of and the use of
Chloroquine as a preventative for COVID 19, on service personnel from the
14th of February 2020 to the 25th of June 2020."

The Department of Defence does not release private email addresses,
signatures, personnel (PMKeyS) numbers and mobile telephone numbers
contained in documents that fall within the scope of a FOI request unless
you specifically request such details. Defence also excludes duplicates of
documents and documents sent to or from you. Furthermore, Defence only
considers final versions of documents.

If you are seeking personal details, please inform this office by 30 June
2020 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 in writing 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:
25 July 2020.

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 Australian Information
Commissioner.

Due to the impacts of  the COVID-19 pandemic on Defence’s ability to
process FOI requests, we may seek your agreement for an extension of time
under section 15AA of the FOI Act. I am the case manager will liaise with
you in relation to this.

Should you have any questions relating to your request, please do not
hesitate to contact our office via email to
[1][email address].

Regards

Chris Simon | Freedom of Information
Enterprise Reform Branch | Governance and Reform Division | Department of
Defence
a CP1-6-005 Campbell Park Offices ACT 2600
t (02) 6266 2577| 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]

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon Mr McCormick,

As per the acknowledgement below.

The statutory deadline for you to receive a response to your request is:
25 July 2020.

Regards,

Chris Simon | Freedom of Information
Enterprise Reform Branch | Governance and Reform Division | Department of Defence
a CP1-6-005 Campbell Park Offices ACT 2600
t (02) 6266 2577| e [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.

show quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

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.

Dear Mr McCormick

Please find attached the Decision and documents relating to Defence FOI
596/19/20. 

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 five 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.  This request
will be published on 03 August 2020 or immediately following publication.

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

Case Management

Freedom of Information

Information Management and Access

Governance and Reform Division

Department of Defence

PO Box 7910 Canberra ACT 2610

email: [1][email address]

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]