Conflict of interest
Dear Minister and the Department of Education,
In relation to this article
https://australianewstoday.com/federal-p...
I am requesting all documents relating to the Minister being informed of Mr Vale's relationship with Ms Smethurst including sms, messaging service messages (eg whatsapp and others), diary notes, emails or letters.
This includes notifications to AGSVA made by Mr Vale of his relationship.
Yours faithfully,
P Johns
You have contacted the Freedom of Information Team at the Commonwealth
Department of Education. If your email relates to an FOI application made
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), the department will
respond as soon as possible.
This email address is only for applications for documents under the FOI
Act. The department is unable to respond to non-FOI related enquiries
sent to this email address, and accordingly, emails sent to this email
address which are not FOI related will not be responded to or forwarded.
If you have a non-FOI related enquiry for the department, you can contact
the department by using the [1]online enquiry form.
Regards,
Freedom of Information Team
Commonwealth Department of Education and Training
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.education.gov.au/node/2600
Dear P Johns
We refer to your request to the Department of Education, through the Right
to Know website, seeking access to documents about an identified
individual under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act).
The Right to Know website states as follows:
“Requests made using Right To Know are publicly visible so cannot help you
find information about yourself or another private individual. If you'd
like to request personal information you can do so privately by asking the
public authority directly...”
The Right to Know website goes on to indicate that requests for personal
information will be removed. Further information is available here:
[1]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/requ...
Accordingly, if you wish to proceed with your request, please provide us
with an alternative email address so that we can continue to correspond
with you. You can send your alternative email address to
[2][email address].
Regards,
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education
-----Original Message-----
From: P Johns <[FOI #5553 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 1 August 2019 2:38 PM
To: Education - FOI <[Department of Education request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Conflict of interest
Dear Minister and the Department of Education,
In relation to this article
[3]https://australianewstoday.com/federal-p...
I am requesting all documents relating to the Minister being informed of
Mr Vale's relationship with Ms Smethurst including sms, messaging service
messages (eg whatsapp and others), diary notes, emails or letters.
This includes notifications to AGSVA made by Mr Vale of his relationship.
Yours faithfully,
P Johns
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[4][FOI #5553 email]
Is [5][Department of Education request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Education? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[6]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[7]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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 566 046 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.righttoknow.org.au/help/requ...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://australianewstoday.com/federal-p...
4. mailto:[FOI #5553 email]
5. mailto:[Department of Education request email]
6. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
7. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Dear Education - FOI,
I am unable to view the email address you sent on this website. Id like to clarify my request regardless though to keep it visible on this site.
1. The time and date Minister Tehan was made aware of the relationship between Mr Byron Vale and Annika Smethurst?
2. The time and date Byron Vale submitted notification to AGSVA of the relationship with Ms Smethurst?
3. Did the Minister or Mr Vale recieve a briefing or a copy of the document leaked thats referenced in the article linked in the first request?
Yours sincerely,
P Johns
You have contacted the Freedom of Information Team at the Commonwealth
Department of Education. If your email relates to an FOI application made
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), the department will
respond as soon as possible.
This email address is only for applications for documents under the FOI
Act. The department is unable to respond to non-FOI related enquiries
sent to this email address, and accordingly, emails sent to this email
address which are not FOI related will not be responded to or forwarded.
If you have a non-FOI related enquiry for the department, you can contact
the department by using the [1]online enquiry form.
Regards,
Freedom of Information Team
Commonwealth Department of Education
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.education.gov.au/node/2600
James Polley left an annotation ()
Admin note - the RTK team has reviewed this request, and we do not believe that it is a request for personal information as discussed at https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/requ.... Rather, this seems to us to be a valid request for information provided to a minister in an official capacity.
We will not be removing this request.
Dear P Johns
We refer to your email below in response to our email dated 9 August 2019.
Since the clarification you have provided changes the scope of your
request, we propose to treat your FOI request dated 1 August 2019 as
having been withdrawn and we will treat your email dated 17 August 2019 as
a new request unless you tell us otherwise by 21 August 2019. However,
your new request is a request for information rather than documents. The
FOI Act provides a right to access ‘documents’ rather than ‘information’
and accordingly, your new request is currently invalid. To make a valid
FOI request, please rephrase your request to specify the documents you are
seeking to access.
Please note that ministers and entities such as AGSVA are separate
agencies for the purposes of the FOI Act and, if you make a valid request
to the Department of Education, your request will only capture documents
within the department’s possession.
Regards,
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education
-----Original Message-----
From: P Johns <[1][FOI #5553 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 17 August 2019 7:57 AM
To: Education - FOI <[2][Department of Education request email]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Conflict of interest
[SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Dear Education - FOI,
I am unable to view the email address you sent on this website. Id like to
clarify my request regardless though to keep it visible on this site.
1. The time and date Minister Tehan was made aware of the relationship
between Mr Byron Vale and Annika Smethurst?
2. The time and date Byron Vale submitted notification to AGSVA of the
relationship with Ms Smethurst?
3. Did the Minister or Mr Vale recieve a briefing or a copy of the
document leaked thats referenced in the article linked in the first
request?
Yours sincerely,
P Johns
-----Original Message-----
Dear P Johns
We refer to your request to the Department of Education, through the
Right to Know website, seeking access to documents about an identified
individual under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act).
The Right to Know website states as follows:
“Requests made using Right To Know are publicly visible so cannot help
you find information about yourself or another private individual. If
you'd like to request personal information you can do so privately by
asking the public authority directly...”
The Right to Know website goes on to indicate that requests for personal
information will be removed. Further information is available here:
[1][3]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/requ...
Accordingly, if you wish to proceed with your request, please provide us
with an alternative email address so that we can continue to correspond
with you. You can send your alternative email address to [2][email
address].
Regards,
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[4][FOI #5553 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[5]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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 566 046 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #5553 email]
2. mailto:[Department of Education request email]
3. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/requ...
4. mailto:[FOI #5553 email]
5. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Dear Education - FOI,
Sorry I do not believe that my last message was going to change the scope of the request so much that you would consider it a new request and you would withdraw it.
I am now not changing or withdrawing the original request. The original request is not a request for personal information. It is a valid request for information provided to a minister in an official capacity.
For clarity im still requesting all documents relating to the Minister being informed of Mr Vale's relationship with Ms Smethurst including sms, messaging service messages (eg whatsapp and others), diary notes, emails or letters.
This includes notifications to AGSVA made by Mr Vale of his relationship.
Yours sincerely,
P Johns
Dear Education - FOI,
Good morning, I havnt had a response since my last message. Are you processing the request?
Yours sincerely,
P Johns
Dear P Johns
The Department of Education is processing your request dated 1 August 2019 in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
Regards,
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education
-----Original Message-----
From: P Johns <[FOI #5553 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 27 August 2019 8:08 PM
To: Education - FOI <[Department of Education request email]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Conflict of interest [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Dear Education - FOI,
Good morning, I havnt had a response since my last message. Are you processing the request?
Yours sincerely,
P Johns
-----Original Message-----
Dear P Johns
We refer to your email below in response to our email dated 9 August 2019.
Since the clarification you have provided changes the scope of your request, we propose to treat your FOI request dated 1 August 2019 as having been withdrawn and we will treat your email dated 17 August 2019 as a new request unless you tell us otherwise by 21 August 2019. However, your new request is a request for information rather than documents. The FOI Act provides a right to access ‘documents’ rather than ‘information’
and accordingly, your new request is currently invalid. To make a valid FOI request, please rephrase your request to specify the documents you are seeking to access.
Please note that ministers and entities such as AGSVA are separate agencies for the purposes of the FOI Act and, if you make a valid request to the Department of Education, your request will only capture documents within the department’s possession.
Regards,
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #5553 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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 566 046 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
Dear P Johns
Please see the correspondence attached.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education
[1][Department of Education request email]
Opportunity through learning
[2]www.education.gov.au
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 566 046 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Department of Education request email]
2. http://www.education.gov.au/
James Polley left an annotation ()
"Accordingly, if you wish to proceed with your request, please provide us with an alternative email address so that we can continue to correspond with you. You can send your alternative email address to [2][email address]."
The email address provided here is the email address listed on https://docs.education.gov.au/pages/how-... - foi at education dot gov do au