OFFICIAL
FOI Request: LEX 11569

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your email dated 10 September 2024 to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the department). seeking access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

Scope of request:
You have sought access to:

‘….copy of document recording the Governor-General's approval of the Articles of Agreement for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which Australia signed and ratified in 2015; and copy of accompanying documents submitted to the Governor-General in seeking the Governor-General's approval of the Articles’

Transfer of request:
The purpose of this email is to advise you that your request has been transferred to Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C).

Under section 16(1) of the FOI Act, where the subject-matter of the document is more closely connected with the functions of another agency than with those of the agency to which the request was made, the agency to which the request is made, may with the agreement of the other agency, transfer the request to the other agency. The department has therefore transferred your request to PM&C as the subject matter of the request is more closely connected with PM&C.

Accordingly, on 24 September 2024, the department transferred your request to PM&C.

We received your request on 10 September 2024 and the 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date. The transfer of your request does not affect the due date for completion of your request. You should therefore expect a decision from PM&C by 10 October 2024. However, the statutory period of 30 days may be extended if PM&C needs to consult third parties or for other reasons. PM&C will advise you if this happens.

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us by return e-mail at [DFAT request 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
dfat.gov.au | X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

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.

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OFFICIAL

Reference: FOI/2024/313

Dear Tyler

By way of transfer from the Department of Foreign Affairs, thank you for
your email dated 10 September 2024 in which you made a request under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).  The Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department) confirms acceptance of your
request.

You set out the terms of the request as follows:

Is it possible to provide copy of document recording the
Governor-General's approval of the Articles of Agreement for the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank, which Australia signed and ratified in
2015; and copy of accompanying documents submitted to the Governor-General
in seeking the Governor-General's approval of the Articles ?

Timeframe for receiving your decision

The 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the
day after the Department received your request, you should therefore
expect a decision from us by 10 October 2024 .  The processing period of
30 days may be extended in certain circumstances and we will write to you
separately regarding any extension of time.

Charges

Agencies may decide that an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect
of a request for access to documents. If the Department decides that you
are liable to pay a charge, we will send you a preliminary assessment of
the charge as soon as possible.

Publication of documents

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log at
[1]https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...,
subject to certain exceptions. If you think you might wish to raise any
objections to the publication of any of the information which may be
released to you please contact us by email at [2][email address].  If you
do wish to object to the publication of information, you would need to
provide supporting reasons.

Exclusion of officers’ names and contact details

For documents that fall within scope of the request, it is the
Department’s policy to withhold:

·         any person’s signature;

·         the names and contact details of Australian Public Service
officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);

·         the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers;

·         the names and contact details of Ministerial staff at a level
below Chief of Staff.

If you consider that the information categorised above is relevant to the
terms of your request please let us know at [3][email address], otherwise
we will take it that you agree to that information being excluded from the
scope of your request (that is, the information will be treated as
irrelevant and deleted from any documents for release). The names and
other details of SES officers will not be withheld unless there is some
reason for that information to be exempt from release.

Further information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

Kind regards

Coordinator | FOI Section

[ ]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country | One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [5][email address]  w. [6]pmc.gov.au

[7]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. https://www.pmc.gov.au/

OFFICIAL

FOI Reference: 2024/313

Dear Tyler

We refer to your request, made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(the FOI Act) and received by the Department of the Prime Minister and
Cabinet (the Department) on 10 September 2024. The request is seeking
access to:

...copy of document recording the Governor-General's approval of the
Articles of Agreement for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which
Australia signed and ratified in 2015; and copy of accompanying documents
submitted to the Governor-General in seeking the Governor-General's
approval of the Articles

The current due date for a decision on your FOI request is 10 October
2024. Unfortunately, we continue to search for all relevant records given
the passage of time, and thus are unable to make this timeframe.

The Department would like to work with applicants in managing the
timeframes of its requests, and the FOI Act has built-in provisions that
facilitate extensions in consultation with applicants, this enables
agencies to manage their FOI requests and keep them within time. Given
this, we seek your agreement to an extension of 14 days under section 15AA
of the FOI Act, this would extend the due date to 24 October 2024.

We would be grateful for your response indicating whether you agree to
this extension by 9 October 2024.

Yours sincerely

Coordinator | FOI Section
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. (02) 6271 5849
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au 

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. https://[email address]/
2. https://pmc.gov.au/

OFFICIAL
Dear Tyler,

Thank you for your email to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Freedom of Information section. As this request was transferred to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) in accordance with section 16 of the FOI Act, DFAT cannot provide the update you are requesting. Pleas contact PM&C for updates regarding their processing of your request.

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

(c) 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.

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OFFICIAL

Dear Tyler

Work on your request is underway. Document searches have been completed
and the FOI team is awaiting consultation responses from external
stakeholders that will enable us to complete the assessment and finalise
the decision on access.

The Department is currently experiencing a period of high demand, and we
are working to finalise your request as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

Adviser | Freedom of Information
Government Division
Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet

02 6271 5849│ [1][email address]

[2]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

show quoted sections

OFFICIAL

Reference: FOI/2024/313

Dear Tyler,

The Department is still awaiting consultation responses from external
stakeholders which are required to complete the complete the assessment
and finalise the decision on access regarding your FOI request. The FOI
team is actively following up with the relevant external stakeholders for
their responses.

While we cannot provide you with a specific deadline we anticipate we will
require an additional few weeks to finalise your request.

We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience with us in
this matter.

Kind regards

Adviser

FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country | One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [1][email address] w. [2]pmc.gov.au

[3]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

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

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Our reference:           RQ24/05215

Agency reference:    FOI/2024/313

Agency name              Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
By Email:                        [email address]

Name                              Tyler
By Email:                       
[FOI #12043 email]

Extension of time under s 15AC

Dear Parties,

Please find attached an extension of time decision relating to the above
referenced FOI request.

Regards,

[1][IMG]   Andriana DeIeso

Review Adviser

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Adelaide | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001

E [2][email address]
 
I am available Monday to Wednesday; Tuesday and Wednesday alternate
weeks.   

Please note: The OAIC has revised its IC review procedures from 1 July
2024. For more information about these revised procedures, including new
resources to assist applicants and respondents, see our webpage:
[3]Information Commissioner reviews | OAIC
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people,
cultures and Elders past and present.  

[4]Subscribe to Information Matters

Notice:

The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/n...

OFFICIAL

Dear Tyler

RE: DFAT FOI reference - LEX 11610

As your request made to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
was transferred to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in
accordance with section 16 of the FOI Act, DFAT is unable to provide you
with any updates or further information on the status of your request.

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.

show quoted sections

OFFICIAL

Dear Tyler

RE: DFAT FOI reference - LEX 11610

As your request made to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
was transferred to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in
accordance with section 16 of the FOI Act, DFAT is unable to provide you
with any updates or further information on the status of your request.

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.

show quoted sections

Our reference: RQ24/05215
Agency reference: FOI/2024/313

Agency name : Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
By Email: [DPMC request email]

Name: Tyler
By Email: [FOI #12043 email]

Dear Tyler,

Thank you for your email. Apologies for the delay in responding to your questions.

With regards to your questions:

One- Has my request been determined (one way or another) such that I am not in a position to wait for substantive reply for my present request, but may consider seeking judicial review or making a fresh request to the Department?

A decision on your Freedom of Information (FOI) request was due by 24 October 2024. As the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Agency) did not provide you with a decision by 24 October 2024, the Agency is considered to have made a deemed access refusal decision on 24 October 2024, in accordance with s 15AC of the FOI Act.

It is open to you to seek Information Commissioner review (IC review) of the Agency’s deemed access refusal decision of 24 October 2024. Any application for IC review would need to be made by within 60 days of the deemed decision of 24 October 2024 i.e. by 23 December 2024. As such you may be able to wait for a substantive reply. However, if you are not provided a substantive decision by 23 December 2024, any IC review application you make will be in relation to the deemed access refusal decision of 24 October 2024 and will be out of time

With regards to seeking a judicial review, this would only become available after the merits review avenues (IC review and ART review) have been exhausted.

Two- Regardless of what the answer to Question One is, can the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet please indicate the estimated deadline by which it can provide the information sought in my present request? (for instance, 14 December 2024? 24 December 2024? or other dates?)

The Agency is best placed to provide you with an estimated deadline by which they can provide you with a decision. I have copied the Agency into this email for responding to your question about an estimated deadline.

Lakshmi Gopinath (she/her)
A/g Assistant Director | Freedom of Information Branch
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
P 1300 363 992  E [email address]

Please note: The OAIC has revised its IC review procedures from 1 July 2024. For more information about these revised procedures, including new resources to assist applicants and respondents, see our webpage: Information Commissioner reviews | OAIC
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people, cultures and Elders past and present.
Subscribe to Information Matters

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