Good afternoon,

Thank you for your email.

After careful review of this request, the scope has been determined to be broad in nature.

Can I please confirm a ‘from’ and ‘to’ date range for when you were requesting the documents (including correspondence) for? I would also appreciate your assistance to narrow the scope of the request itself, potentially to a particular area.

This will aid the Memorial in the delivery of an appropriate decision in regards to your FOI request within the required timeframes.

Regards,

Daniel Martynow
Governance and Assurance Officer | Corporate Services
[email address] | t 02 6243 4290
Australian War Memorial | GPO Box 345 Canberra ACT 2601

show quoted sections

Dear Simon,

Your Freedom of Information Request

I refer to your email on Tuesday, 28 November 2023 seeking access to
documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). I
understand you seek:

·         I request any documents, including correspondence (including
without limitation correspondence authored by the following persons: Dr
Craig Stockings, Dr Steven Bullard, Dr Rhys Crawley, Dr David Stevens, Dr
William Westerman, and Dr Andrew Richardson) regarding delaying or
withholding the release of the Afghanistan volumes of the text or
excluding topics from those volumes. The scope can be further narrowed
(where applicable) to events in Afghanistan which occurred from 2008 to
2014.

Timeframe for receiving your decision

The statutory timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the date
upon which your application was received by the Memorial. The decision
date of your request is Thursday 28 December 2023.

This timeframe may be extended where: 

·         charges are levied as prescribed by the Freedom of Information
(Fees and Charges) Regulations 1982 (the FOI Regulations);

·         consultation with third parties is necessary (see consultation
with third parties below). 

Charges

Agencies may decide that an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect
of a request for access to documents. These charges are set by the FOI
Regulations and are for search and retrieval of documents, decision making
and provision of access (for example, copying and postage). 

If the Memorial decides to charge you in respect of this FOI request, we
will send you a preliminary assessment of the charges as soon as possible
following retrieval of any documents that may be relevant to your
request. 

Consultation with third parties

The Memorial may be required under the FOI Act to consult other parties
(third parties) where information relating to third parties arises in
documents sought by your request.  The FOI Act prescribes a further 30
days processing time for the Memorial to undertake this consultation. You
will be advised as soon as possible of any requirement to consult with a
third party.

If you require clarification of any of the matters discussed in this
email, or have any queries throughout the process, please contact me via
email at [1][email address].

Kind regards,

Daniel Martynow

Governance and Assurance Officer | Corporate Services

[2][email address] | t 02 6243 4290

Australian War Memorial | GPO Box 345 Canberra ACT 2601

[3]AWM Logo not displayed in text email

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]

Dear Simon,

Request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 for access to documents

1.      I refer to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act), in which you sought access to the following:

·        I request any documents, including correspondence (including
without limitation correspondence authored by the following persons: Dr
Craig Stockings, Dr Steven Bullard, Dr Rhys Crawley, Dr David Stevens, Dr
William Westerman, and Dr Andrew Richardson) regarding delaying or
withholding the release of the Afghanistan volumes of the text or
excluding topics from those volumes. The scope can be further narrowed
(where applicable) to events in Afghanistan which occurred from 2008 to
2014.  

Authority to make this decision

2.      I am the authorised decision-maker for the purposes of section 23
of the FOI Act and this letter gives notice of my decision.

Material taken into account

3.      I have taken the following material into account in making my
decision:

                    I.            the terms of your request.

                  II.            the documents relevant to the request

                III.            the FOI Act.

               IV.            the Guidelines published by the Office of
the Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act (the FOI
Guidelines).

Searches

4.      Having regard to your request and the types of documents that may
fall within the scope of your request, I am satisfied that the searches
conducted were thorough and all reasonable steps have been taken to locate
the documents relevant to your request.

5.      In processing your request, I requested the relevant staff to
search our corporate information systems and records to identify the
documents related to your request. As a result of the searches undertaken,
no documents could be found that fell within the scope of your request.

Decision

6.      Section 24A(1) of the FOI Act provides that the Department may
refuse a request for access to a document if all reasonable steps have
been taken to find the document and the Department is satisfied that the
document does not exist.

7.      I am satisfied that the Department has undertaken reasonable
searches in relation to your request and that no documents were in
possession of the Department as of the date of this decision 21 December
2023.

Charges

8.      Section 29 of the FOI Act allows for the imposition of charges for
providing access to a document. These charges may be applied or waived at
the discretion of the agency.

I have exercised my delegation to waive all charges associated with this
request.

Review Rights

9.      Under the FOI Act you may seek a review of my decision through:

               I.            an internal review that is conducted by the
Australian War Memorial – see Part VI of the FOI Act; or

             II.             a review by the Information Commissioner -
see Part VII of the FOI Act.

Internal Review

10.  If you wish to seek an internal review, you must apply to the
Australian War Memorial within 30 days after the day you are notified of
this decision.

11.  An application for internal review of the decision made must be made
in writing.  No particular form is required but it is helpful if you set
out in the application the grounds on which you consider that the decision
should be reviewed. Your application for internal review should be sent
to:

[1][email address]

Attn:  Ms Leanne Patterson

Assistant Director, Branch Head Corporate Services

Review by the Information Commissioner

12.  Alternatively, you may seek a review of my decision by the
Information Commissioner.

13.  The option to seek an internal review (see above) does not prevent
you from seeking a review by the Information Commissioner at a later stage
- this is because the Information Commissioner can also review an internal
review.

14.  If you wish to seek a review of my decision by the Information
Commissioner you must apply within 60 days after the day on which notice
of this decision was given to you or after the day on which notice of the
internal review decision was given.

15.  Your application must be in writing and must provide details of how
notices may be sent to you and include a copy of this decision letter. 
The Information Commissioner also suggests that your application sets out
why you are objecting to the decision. Your application can be lodged in
one of the following ways:

Online:       [2]www.oaic.gov.au
Post:            GPO 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

Email:          [3][email address]

Complaints

16.  You may also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner if you
have concerns about how the Australian War Memorial has handled this part
(or any part) or your request under the FOI Act.

Further assistance

I can be contacted on 02 6243 4290 or by email at [4][email address] for
any assistance with your request.

Kind regards,

Daniel Martynow

Governance and Assurance Officer | Corporate Services

[5][email address] | t 02 6243 4290

Australian War Memorial | GPO Box 345 Canberra ACT 2601

From: foi
Sent: Thursday, 30 November 2023 1:13 PM
To: 'Simon Harris' <[FOI #10916 email]>
Subject: 2023-24-05 FOI Acknowledgement

Dear Simon,

Your Freedom of Information Request

I refer to your email on Tuesday, 28 November 2023 seeking access to
documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). I
understand you seek:

·       I request any documents, including correspondence (including
without limitation correspondence authored by the following persons: Dr
Craig Stockings, Dr Steven Bullard, Dr Rhys Crawley, Dr David Stevens, Dr
William Westerman, and Dr Andrew Richardson) regarding delaying or
withholding the release of the Afghanistan volumes of the text or
excluding topics from those volumes. The scope can be further narrowed
(where applicable) to events in Afghanistan which occurred from 2008 to
2014.

Timeframe for receiving your decision

The statutory timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the date
upon which your application was received by the Memorial. The decision
date of your request is Thursday 28 December 2023.

This timeframe may be extended where: 

·       charges are levied as prescribed by the Freedom of Information
(Fees and Charges) Regulations 1982 (the FOI Regulations);

·       consultation with third parties is necessary (see consultation
with third parties below). 

Charges

Agencies may decide that an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect
of a request for access to documents. These charges are set by the FOI
Regulations and are for search and retrieval of documents, decision making
and provision of access (for example, copying and postage). 

If the Memorial decides to charge you in respect of this FOI request, we
will send you a preliminary assessment of the charges as soon as possible
following retrieval of any documents that may be relevant to your
request. 

Consultation with third parties

The Memorial may be required under the FOI Act to consult other parties
(third parties) where information relating to third parties arises in
documents sought by your request.  The FOI Act prescribes a further 30
days processing time for the Memorial to undertake this consultation. You
will be advised as soon as possible of any requirement to consult with a
third party.

If you require clarification of any of the matters discussed in this
email, or have any queries throughout the process, please contact me via
email at [6][email address].

Kind regards,

Daniel Martynow

Governance and Assurance Officer | Corporate Services

[7][email address] | t 02 6243 4290

Australian War Memorial | GPO Box 345 Canberra ACT 2601

[8]AWM Logo not displayed in text email

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.oaic.gov.au/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. mailto:[email address]
7. mailto:[email address]