Arrangement between the Government of Australia and the International Committee of the Red Cross (“ICRC”) on a regional headquarters in Australia
Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
About the Arrangement between the Government of Australia and the International Committee of the Red Cross (“ICRC”) on a regional headquarters in Australia signed in 2005, is it possible to provide any of the 3 items in the following?
(1) A copy of the Arrangement as signed in 2005.
(2) Written confirmation of any assurances or other representations from the State of New South Wales or other States in Australia to accord ICRC with certain exemptions or immunities or privileges or the like.
(3) Documents in writing, including any electronic or paper/physical documents, within DFAT or between DFAT and other Australian government entities (such as Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, or Federal Executive Council), on the conclusion of the Arrangement between the Australian Government and ICRC.
Thank you
Yours faithfully,
Tyler
OFFICIAL
FOI Request: LEX 11537
Dear Tyler
Thank you for your email dated 27 August 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:
About the Arrangement between the Government of Australia and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (“ICRC”) on a regional
headquarters in Australia signed in 2005, is it possible to provide any of
the 3 items in the following?
(1) A copy of the Arrangement as signed in 2005.
(2) Written confirmation of any assurances or other representations from
the State of New South Wales or other States in Australia to accord ICRC
with certain exemptions or immunities or privileges or the like.
(3) Documents in writing, including any electronic or paper/physical
documents, within DFAT or between DFAT and other Australian government
entities (such as Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, or Federal
Executive Council), on the conclusion of the Arrangement between the
Australian Government and ICRC.
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 27 August 2024, 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 Thursday 26 September 2024. 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. If you require this information, please let us know at
[2][DFAT request email] so the decision-maker may consider; otherwise, we will
take it that you agree to that information 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
DFAT FOI Team
_____________________________________________________
Assistant Director | 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.
OFFICIAL
FOI Request: LEX 11537
Dear Tyler
Thank you for your FOI request to the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade (the department).
The department has experienced delays in searching for and retrieving
documents potentially relevant to the scope of your request due to the age
of the documents.
We write to seek your agreement to an extension of 14 calendar days to
process your FOI request in accordance with section 15AA of the FOI Act.
This would mean that a decision would then be due to you by Thursday 10
October 2024.
The additional time will enable the department to finalise its processes
and provide you with an outcome.
Please be assured that we will continue to process your request as quickly
as possible and will provide an outcome to you as soon as it is available.
We would be grateful if you could please reply to our request reply email
by COB Thursday 19 September 2024.
If we do not hear from you, we may apply to the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner for an extension to the statutory timeframe.
Should you have any questions, please to contact us by reply email.
Kind regards
Jonathan | DFAT FOI Team
_____________________________________________________
Assistant Director | 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.
From: FOI FOI
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2024 3:32 PM
To: Tyler <[FOI #11952 email]>
Subject: Your FOI request - Acknowledgement (LEX 11537) [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
FOI Request: LEX 11537
Dear Tyler
Thank you for your email dated 27 August 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:
About the Arrangement between the Government of Australia and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (“ICRC”) on a regional
headquarters in Australia signed in 2005, is it possible to provide any of
the 3 items in the following?
(1) A copy of the Arrangement as signed in 2005.
(2) Written confirmation of any assurances or other representations from
the State of New South Wales or other States in Australia to accord ICRC
with certain exemptions or immunities or privileges or the like.
(3) Documents in writing, including any electronic or paper/physical
documents, within DFAT or between DFAT and other Australian government
entities (such as Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, or Federal
Executive Council), on the conclusion of the Arrangement between the
Australian Government and ICRC.
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 27 August 2024, 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 Thursday 26 September 2024. 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. If you require this information, please let us know at
[7][DFAT request email] so the decision-maker may consider; otherwise, we will
take it that you agree to that information 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
DFAT FOI Team
_____________________________________________________
Assistant Director | 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.
Dear FOI,
I agree to your request for an additional 14 days to process my request "Arrangement between the Government of Australia and the International Committee of the Red Cross (“ICRC”) on a regional headquarters in Australia".
Yours faithfully,
Tyler
OFFICIAL
FOI Request: LEX 11537
Dear Tyler
We are grateful for your very quick response consenting to the 14-calendar
day extension of time.
We will now notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
(OAIC) of the extension by agreement, in accordance with our reporting
obligations.
We will continue processing your request and will be in touch in due
course.
Kind regards
Jonathan | DFAT FOI Team
_____________________________________________________
Assistant Director | 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.
OFFICIAL
FOI Reference: LEX 11537
Dear Tyler
We are writing to you to seek your agreement to providing the department
with an extension of 15 calendar days to process your FOI request in
accordance with section 15AA of the FOI Act. This would mean that a
decision would be due to you by 25 October 2024.
Background
The department has experienced delays in processing your request. This is
due to the request containing a large volume of hard copy records. The
department requires additional time to review the records, determine if
they are relevant to your request and, if necessary, convert the records
into electronic form for possible release.
The additional time will enable the department to finalise its processes
and provide you with an outcome.
Please be assured that we will continue to process your request and
provide you an outcome as quickly as possible.
Timeframe
We would be grateful if you could please reply to our request by COB
Wednesday 9 October 2024.
If we do not hear from you, we may apply to the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner for an extension to the statutory timeframe.
Should you have any questions, please to contact us by reply email.
Kind regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
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.
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...
Dear FOI,
I agree to your suggestion to extend the deadline to 25 October 2024.
Yours faithfully,
Tyler
OFFICIAL
Dear Tyler,
The department is finalising your FOI request and will soon provide you with decision on your request.
The department is seeking your approval a final one-day extension with a new due date of 28 October 2024.
Grateful if you can reply by midday 24 October 2024.
Kind regards,
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
dfat.gov.au | X | Facebook | Instagram | 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.
Dear FOI,
I agree to your suggestion to extend the deadline to until 28 October 2024.
Thank you
Yours faithfully,
Tyler
OFFICIAL
FOI Request: LEX 11537
Dear Tyler,
Please find attached a letter notifying you of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s decision on your FOI request, together with the document/s released to you.
Kind regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
dfat.gov.au | X | Facebook | Instagram | 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.