OFFICIAL

Dear Alex,

I refer to your correspondence of 19 February 2024, where you have sought
access to the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act):

I request access to the Style Guides/Brand Guides/Writing Guides currently
used for the Department of Defence

Unfortunately, in its current form your request is not considered valid
under section 15(2)(b) [Requests for access] of the FOI Act as you have
not provided such specific information concerning the documents as is
reasonably necessary to enable a responsible officer of the agency to
identify them. 

Section 24(1) of the FOI Act provides that:

(1) If an agency or Minister is satisfied, when dealing with a request for
a document that a practical refusal reason exists in relation to the
request (see section 24AA), the agency or Minister:

(a) must undertake a request consultation process (see section 24AB); and

(b) if, after the request consultation process, the agency or Minister is
satisfied that the practical refusal reason still exists—the agency or
Minister may refuse to give access to the document in accordance with the
request.

Section 24AA(1) of the FOI Act provides that:

(1) For the purposes of section 24, a practical refusal reason exists in
relation to a request for a document if either (or both) of the following
applies:

(a) the work involved in processing the request:

(i) in the case of an agency – would substantially and unreasonably divert
the resources of the agency from its other operations; or

(b) the request does not satisfy the requirement in paragraph 15(2)(b)
(identification of documents).

In accordance with section 24AB of the FOI Act, Defence is required to
consult with you advising of the intention to refuse access to your
request in its current form.

In accordance with paragraph 24AB(2)(c) of the FOI Act, I am the nominated
person with whom you should contact with a view to agreeing to one of the
following options:

    a.    withdraw your request

    b.    revise your request; or

    c.    indicate that you do not wish to revise your request.

In accordance with section 24AB(9) of the FOI Act, Defence is only
required to undertake this consultation process once, and you must contact
me within 14 days to discuss.

In particular, I seek clarification as to, but not limited to:

·         The specific Style Guide, Brand Guide or Writing Guide you are
seeking access to,

·         The Group/s or Service/s within Defence who hold the documents
you are seeking access to.

I encourage you to contact me so I can assist you in moving forward with
your inquiry.

Kind regards,

Erin
Freedom of Infomation
Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division

Department of Defence

[1]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...

OFFICIAL

Dear Alex,

Acknowledgement

I refer to your correspondence of 19 February 2024, seeking access to
documents held by the Department of Defence (Defence), under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). This email is to advise you that your
request has been received and allocated for Case Management.

The scope of your request is:

I request access to the Style Guides/Brand Guides/Writing Guides currently
used for the Department of Defence

Disclaimer

Where staff details are captured in documents within the scope of your FOI
request, this information will be redacted; this includes private email
addresses, signatures, personnel (PMKeyS) numbers and mobile telephone
numbers, unless you specifically request such details. Defence excludes
duplicates of documents and any documents sent to or from you.
Furthermore, Defence only considers final versions of documents.

Charges

Defence may impose a charge for the work involved in providing access to
the documents in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations 2019. We will notify you if your request attracts a charge.
Please note that there is no charge for documents that contain the
personal information of the applicant.

Timeframe

The statutory timeframe to provide you with a decision on your request
ends on 20 March 2024. This period may be extended if we need to consult
with third parties, or for other reasons. We will advise you if this
happens.

Please note that where the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public
holiday, the timeframe will expire on the next working day. This is in
accordance with the FOI Guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act.

Disclosure Log

Documents released under the FOI Act may be published on Defence’s
disclosure log, located on our website.

Contact Details

We will contact you via the email address you have provided. Please advise
if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.

Should you have any questions relating to your request, please do not
hesitate to contact me via email: [1][email address].

Kind regards

Erin
Freedom of Infomation
Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division

Department of Defence

[2]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...

OFFICIAL

Dear Alex

Please find attached the Decision and document relating to Defence FOI
695/23/24.

In accordance with the requirements of section 11C of the FOI Act, Defence
is required to publish details of information released under the FOI Act.
Defence publishes identified documents relating to finalised requests
within ten working days of receipt by the applicant. Defence will also
publish the statement of reasons with privacy deletions. 

Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you are entitled to request a review of
this decision. Your review rights are attached.

Please contact this office should you require any further information.

Regards

Erin
Freedom of Infomation
Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division

Department of Defence

[1]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...