OFFICIAL

PM&C Reference: FOI/2021/199

Dear Jessica

Thank you for your email dated 28 August 2021, received by the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department), in which you made a
request as follows:

IT IS MY WILL that you provide me with evidence that the corporation
registered in the United States of America as the Commonwealth of
Australia ([1]https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=80...) is the same
organisation as the Commonwealth of Australia, which is authorized in the
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution by the Queen of England and her
successors.

IT IS MY WILL that you provide me with evidence that shows where the
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution authorizes the Commonwealth of
Australia to become a corporation registered in the United States of
America.

IT IS MY Will that a referendum be held that gives the electors of
Australia the opportunity to vote for or against the Commonwealth of
Australia being a registered corporation in the United States of America.
This request only applies if the Commonwealth of Australia, registered in
the United States of America as a corporation, is the same organisation as
the Commonwealth of Australia that is our Government.

Validity of your request under the FOI Act

Section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) sets out the
requirements for a valid request under the FOI Act, including that the
request provide such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the
agency to identify the documents sought. Your request, as currently
framed, does not provide sufficient information as is reasonably necessary
to enable the Department to identify the documents sought, and your
request is therefore not valid under the FOI Act.

If you still wish to continue with your request to the Department, then we
will require further information from you to enable the Department to
identify the documents that you are seeking to access.

Please be aware that the FOI Act contains a right of access to documents,
not information. You may therefore wish to consider framing your request
to describe the document you are seeking in order to enable the Department
to identify and search for it. For example, it is not clear what would
prove that the Commonwealth of Australia registered in the United States
is the same as the Commonwealth of Australia which is authorised in the
Commonwealth Constitution by the Queen of England and her successors.

Furthermore, the Constitution is [2]publicly available on the Federal
Register of Legislation. While copies of the Constitution are kept by the
Department, these copies are kept for reference purposes. The FOI Act
provides at section 4 that material maintained for reference purposes that
is otherwise publicly available is not a “document” that can be accessed
under the FOI Act.

As your request is currently not valid under the FOI Act, the statutory
processing period for responding to your request has not commenced and we
will take no further action on this request in its current form.

Yours sincerely

FOI Adviser[]

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. [3][DPMC request email]  w. [4]pmc.gov.au

[5]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[6]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[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.

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=80...
2. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C...
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
5. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
6. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...