OFFICIAL

Dear BE

I write in relation to your email dated 20 January 2023, making a request
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

The purpose of this email is to seek clarification on the terms of your
request. You set out the terms in two parts, to seek access to (numbered
for reference purposes):

1.       I seek access to documents held by the Department of Prime
Minister and Cabinet that relate to the charging, or potential charging,
of fees by the Prime Minister's office to FOI applicants. I am willing to
limit my search to documents from 1 December until today.

2.       I am seeking access to any general advice as well as
communication and advice in relation to individual FOIs (including FOIs I
have submitted as well as those which have been the subject of public
reporting).  Where the communication or advice relates to an individual
FOI matter, information which would identify the applicant is irrelevant
to my request. 

Currently part 2 is extremely broad and may require the Department to
consider if the request satisfies s 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act, which
requires an applicant to provide sufficient information to enable
documents to be identified. The Department seeks your further
clarification about what information you seek to access within the term
‘general advice’, ‘communication and advice’, and possibly include a
timeframe.

Alternatively, was it your intent that part 2 be read as a sub-set of part
1 and therefore the request would be interpreted as follows:

1.       I seek access to documents held by the Department of Prime
Minister and Cabinet that relate to the charging, or potential charging,
of fees by the Prime Minister's office to FOI applicants. I am willing to
limit my search to documents from 1 December until today.

a.       …any general advice as well as communication and advice in
relation to individual FOIs (including FOIs I have submitted as well as
those which have been the subject of public reporting).  Where the
communication or advice relates to an individual FOI matter, information
which would identify the applicant is irrelevant to my request. 

Further, it would assist if you could confirm if you intend to capture any
external correspondence with individual FOI applicants or if these would
fall outside your terms.

Your advice on the interpretation and scope of your request would be
appreciated. Please provide your advice by Wednesday 25 January 2023.

Yours sincerely

Janelle

Janelle | Senior Adviser

FOI and Privacy Section | Legal Policy Branch

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5950

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:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[5]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/2023/025

Dear BE

Thank you for your email of 20 January 2023 in which you made a request
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department).   You set out the
terms of your original request as follows:

I seek access to documents held by the Department of Prime Minister and
Cabinet that relate to the charging, or potential charging, of fees by the
Prime Minister's office to FOI applicants. I am willing to limit my search
to documents from 1 December until today.

I am seeking access to any general advice as well as communication and
advice in relation to individual FOIs (including FOIs I have submitted as
well as those which have been the subject of public reporting).  Where the
communication or advice relates to an individual FOI matter, information
which would identify the applicant is irrelevant to my request. 

You subsequently revised the scope of your request on 23 January 2023  in
the following terms:

Confirming that the request for 'any general advice as well as
communication and advice in relation to individual FOIs (including FOIs I
have submitted as well as

those which have been the subject of public reporting) ' - is limited to
advice and communication from PMC to PMO in relation to the charging or
potential charging of fees to FOI applicants.  This relates to general
advice about charging of fees as well as advice about the charging of fees
in a particular FOI or categories of FOI. 

I do not seek access to correspondence between PMC and FOI applicants. 

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 20 February 2023.  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][DPMC request email].  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][DPMC request email], 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

Leisha

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:[DPMC request email]
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. https://www.pmc.gov.au/

OFFICIAL

FOI/2023/025

Dear BE

I refer to your request of 20 January 2023, made to the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, in
which you sought access to:

I seek access to documents held by the Department of Prime Minister and
Cabinet that relate to the charging, or potential charging, of fees by the
Prime Minister's office to FOI applicants. I am willing to limit my search
to documents from 1 December until today.

I am seeking access to any general advice as well as communication and
advice in relation to individual FOIs (including FOIs I have submitted as
well as those which have been the subject of public reporting). Where the
communication or advice relates to an individual FOI matter, information
which would identify the applicant is irrelevant to my request.

Personal information of PMC employees below the SES level can be treated
as irrelevant information.

On 23 January 2023, you clarified the terms of your request to:

Confirming that the request for 'any general advice as well as
communication and advice in relation to individual FOIs (including FOIs I
have submitted as well as those which have been the subject of public
reporting) ' - is limited to advice and communication from PMC to PMO in
relation to the charging or potential charging of fees to FOI applicants.
This relates to general advice about charging of fees as well as advice
about the charging of fees in a particular FOI or categories of FOI.

I do not seek access to correspondence between PMC and FOI applicants.

The current due date for a decision on this request is 20 February 2023.
Regrettably, the Department is not currently in a position to finalise the
decision by this date. Accordingly, we are seeking your agreement to a
14-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. We will
endeavour to notify you of the decision prior to this extended date
wherever possible.

The Department is currently reviewing a large number of documents to
identify those that fall within the scope of your request. Further work is
required, to prepare those documents, and complete the assessment under
the FOI Act before the delegate is able to make their decision. If the
Department is in a position to finalise a decision prior to the extension
it will do so.

If you agree to this request for a 14-day extension of time, we ask that
you please confirm this in writing via return email by COB, Friday 17
February 2023.

We will keep you updated on the progress of this request if circumstances
change. If we do not hear from you, we may make an application to the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner seeking to extend the
timeframe under section 15AB of the FOI Act.

Thank you for considering our request.

Kind regards

Tina

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:image001.jpg@01D94076.09C19360[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D94076.09C19360

______________________________________________________________________ 
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. mailto:[email address]
2. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
3. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
4. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

OFFICIAL
Dear BE

Many thanks for the extension of time.

Yours sincerely
Tina

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. [email address]  w. pmc.gov.au

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-2023-025

Dear BE

We write in relation to your request of 20 January 2023 for access to
documents made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

The Department has located documents that are potentially covered by the
scope of your request. There is duplication of the documents in the form
of email chains and draft charge notices. We invite you to consider
excluding duplicate copies of the same document from your request. Should
you agree, we ask that you confirm in writing by Friday 17 February 2023.

Yours sincerely

Tina

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:image001.jpg@01D888E5.6B56D250 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. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/

OFFICIAL

FOI/2023/025

Dear BE

I refer to your request of 20 January 2023, made to the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, in
which you sought access to:

'any general advice as well as communication and advice in relation to
individual FOIs (including FOIs I have submitted as well as those which
have been the subject of public reporting) ' - is limited to advice and
communication from PMC to PMO in relation to the charging or potential
charging of fees to FOI applicants. This relates to general advice about
charging of fees as well as advice about the charging of fees in a
particular FOI or categories of FOI.

Seeking further extension of time to process

Thank you for agreeing to a 15 day extension of time on 15 February 2023.
We seek your agreement to a further 7-day extension of time under section
15AA of the FOI Act. This extension of time will allow us to complete
ongoing consultations and finalise a decision on access within time.

The current due date for a decision on your request is 7 March 2023. If
you agree to this extension of time the revised due date for your request
will be 14 March 2023. We will endeavour to complete the processing of
your request prior to the extended due date if possible, and will contact
you again if any other issues arise.

It would assist if you could please confirm your agreement via return
email by COB Monday 6 March, 2023.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need any further
information about the FOI process.

Kind regards

Tina

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

______________________________________________________________________ 
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. mailto:[email address]
2. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

OFFICIAL
Dear BE

Thank you for agreeing to the extension of time. Unfortunately, as decision was due yesterday, I cannot extend the processing period under s 15AA of the FOI Act. However I have written to the OAIC seeking an extension under s 15AC of the FOI Act until 14 March 2023 noting your agreement.

I will keep you updated should any issues arise.

Kind regards
Tina

Adviser
Freedom of Information (FOI) | Legal Policy Branch
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. [DPMC request email]  w. pmc.gov.au

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

Our reference: RQ23/00986

Agency reference: FOI-2023-025

BE

By email: [FOI #9808 email]

Cc: [DPMC request email]

Extension of time under s 15AC

Dear BE

Please find attached an extension of time decision relating to your FOI
request with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. A copy of
this decision has been provided to the Department today.

Kind regards

Noah Harris

[1][IMG]   Intake and Early Resolution Team

Freedom of Information Regulatory Group

Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner

GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001  |
 [2]oaic.gov.au

1300 363 992 [3][email address]
[4][IMG] | [5][IMG] | [6][IMG] |   [7]Subscribe to OAICnet newsletter

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://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
2. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
5. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
6. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
7. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

OFFICIAL

Dear BE

Please see the attached correspondence regarding your Freedom of
Information request.

Yours sincerely

Tina

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:image001.jpg@01D888E5.6B56D250 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. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/