OFFICIAL
Dear Eugene

We write to acknowledge receipt of your request, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), seeking the following documents:

Any documents, reports, memos, emails or other records from January 1, 2015 to the present date which discuss or relate to concerns raised by any of the following groups regarding Australia's financial markets and legal system:
Law enforcement agencies
Financial regulators, including but not limited to:

United States Securities and Exchange Commission US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Alberta Securities Commission Australian Securities and Investments Commission British Columbia Securities Commission Calgary Police Service Cayman Islands Monetary Authority Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission Mauritius Financial Services Commission Ontario Securities Commission United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority

Industry/trade groups
Foreign government officials or agencies Private citizens of foreign countries

Specifically, I am seeking records which discuss apprehensions or issues raised alleging either:

Australia's financial markets and legal system appearing to be improperly influenced by private individuals and their relationships to those in positions of power, Information provided by Australian authorities being used by foreign entities in a manner inconsistent with the ideals and values of the country exercising the coercive powers, or

Any limitations, restrictions, or reduced international involvement by Australia due to the aforementioned concerns.

If any of the requested records contain information that is exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act, such as classified national security information or trade secrets, I request that the exempt material be redacted and the remainder of the document be released.

Your request was received by the Treasury on 30 April 2024. The FOI Act provides that we have 30 days to process the request.

We will take all reasonable efforts to process your request. However, due to the current workload of the relevant branch within the Treasury and upcoming preparations for the Federal Budget we may not be able to process your request within the expected timeframe, and seek your agreement to a 21-day extension of time to process the request. Under section 15AA of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) you can agree to extensions of up to 30 days. We would be grateful for your response by 13 May 2024. We apologise for any inconvenience this delay may cause.

This period may be extended if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.

We will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request and the amount of any such charge as soon as possible.

We make the following assumptions that affect the scope of the request. These are set out below.
It is our usual practice:
• not to disclose the personal information of government employees or the personal contact details of senior government employees (including those of the Treasury). The names of senior officers will generally be released.
• not to release duplicates of any document captured within the scope of the request.
• only the final version of a document will be considered within scope.

Please inform us if you do not agree to the request being processed on the above assumptions. If we do not hear from you, your request will be processed on the basis that these documents are outside the scope of your request.
We will contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.

If you have any questions in relation to your application, please contact the FOI Team on 02 6263 2800.

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Officer
The Treasury
Ph: +61 2 6263 2800
e: [Financial Sector Advisory Council request email]

The Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) may collect your personal information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number in order to contact you about your request or privacy complaint. We hold personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6263 1384  or via e-mail [email address]. You can find further information about how the Treasury handles personal information in the Treasury’s privacy policy.

If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information contained within the email or attachments.

OFFICIAL

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