Dear Mr Rajen,

 

Re: Freedom of Information (FOI) Request

 

Thank you for your email below in which you seek access under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 to:

 

All the correspondence between Prime Minister John Howard and Minister for
Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer in regards to the 9/11 terrorist attack.

I also wish to request documents of correspondence between the Foreign
Affairs Minister Alexander Downer and Embassy of Australia in Washington
regarding the 41 Australians killed in the attack.

 

Searches are now being undertaken in relevant areas of the Department for
documents relevant to your request.  I will contact you again once the
searches have been completed.

 

Timeframe for receiving your decision:

We received your request on 5 October and the 30 day statutory period for
processing your request commenced from the day after that date.  You
should therefore expect a decision from us by 5 November.  The period of
30 days may be extended in certain circumstances.  We will advise you if
there is any extension of time.

 

Scope of request:

If it emerges that the scope of your request is unclear or is too large
for processing, the Department will contact you to discuss re-scoping the
request.

 

Exclusion of officials’ names and contact details:

It is the Department’s policy to withhold the mobile numbers of all
government officials, and the names and contact details of government
officials not in the Senior Executive Service (SES).  If you require the
mobile numbers of all government officials, or the names and contact
details of non-SES officials, please let us know at [DFAT request email] so the
decision-maker may consider; otherwise we will take it that you agree to
that information being excluded from the scope of your request.

 

Charges:

Please note that the Department issues charges for processing FOI
requests.  We will advise you of these charges when we are in a position
to estimate the resources required to process your request.

 

Timing of release:

As the subject matter of your request will require DFAT to upload any
documents released to you to the Department’s FOI Disclosure Log, I take
this opportunity to advise you that the Department’s policy is to upload
documents to the disclosure log on the same day as the documents are
released to you. 

 

Personal Information:

Your personal information has been collected by the Department as a result
of your correspondence, and will be used in order to process your FOI
request.  Your personal information is protected by law, including the
Privacy Act 1988.  The Department’s privacy policy is available at
dfat.gov.au/privacy.html and contains information about access to or
correction of your personal information, and how you may complain about a
breach of your privacy.

 

Please note that if we need to consult with other people regarding release
of the documents you have requested, we may need to disclose your personal
information. When we consult with other people about a request you have
made, it may be apparent to those people that you have made a request,
even if we do not disclose your identity. If you have concerns about the
Department consulting with other people about your request, please let us
know your concerns.

 

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact me on (02) 6261 3470, or by return email.

 

Please note a copy of this email has been sent to Ms Marie-Charlotte
McKenna, Director, Freedom of Information and Privacy Law Section, for her
information.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Ada Cheung | |
| |  |
|Assistant Director | |
|Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Freedom of Information & Privacy Law Section|     E |  | |
| |[1][email address]| |
|--------------------------------------------+---------------------------|
|Corporate Legal Branch |     T |  +61 2 6261 3470 |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Legal Division |W |  [2]www.dfat.gov.au|  |
|---------------------------------------------+-----------------------+--|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

 

 

 

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Dear Mr Rajen,

 

Please find attached the charges letter in relation to this FOI request.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Ada Cheung | |
| |  |
|Assistant Director | |
|Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Freedom of Information & Privacy Law Section|     E |  | |
| |[1][email address]| |
|--------------------------------------------+---------------------------|
|Corporate Legal Branch |     T |  +61 2 6261 3470 |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Legal Division |W |  [2]www.dfat.gov.au|  |
|---------------------------------------------+-----------------------+--|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

 

 

 

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Dear Mr Rajen,

 

As you have not responded to the Department’s letter of 23 October
advising you of the processing charges applicable to this FOI request,
your request has been deemed to be withdrawn, in accordance with section
29(2) of the FOI Act.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Ada Cheung | |
| |  |
|Assistant Director | |
|Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Freedom of Information & Privacy Law Section|     E |  | |
| |[1][email address]| |
|--------------------------------------------+---------------------------|
|Corporate Legal Branch |     T |  +61 2 6261 3470 |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Legal Division |W |  [2]www.dfat.gov.au|  |
|---------------------------------------------+-----------------------+--|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

 

 

 

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