OFFICIAL

Dear Deborah-May,

Acknowledgement

I refer to your correspondence of 24 July 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 documents and reports under the FOI Act 1982, that relate to
experiments and the use of Direct Energy Weapons (DEW) in Australia.

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 23 August 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 the FOI team via email:
[1][email address].

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Team

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 Deborah-May,

I refer to your correspondence of 24 July 2024 seeking access to documents
held by the Department of Defence (Defence), under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

The scope of your request is:

…I request documents and reports under the FOI Act 1982, that relate to
experiments and the use of Direct Energy Weapons (DEW) in Australia.

Preliminary searches have indicated that to process your request in its
current form may result in a unreasonable diversion of resources. This is
because the scope of your request is broad and therefore Defence is
seeking additional information to assist in the processing of your
request. For example, an initial search of Defence’s Records Management
System by one area of Defence using the keywords ‘Directed’ and ‘Energy’
and ‘Weapon’ and ‘Experiment’ returned over 1000 results. To assist us in
processing your request, you may wish to focus on one particular area of
the department or a specific event or point in time.

I would be grateful for your response by 31 July 2024.

Thank you and regards

Freedom of Information Team

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 Deborah-May,

I refer to my email below seeking clarification of the scope of your
request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

In order to assist us, I would be grateful for your response by 14 August
2024.

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Team

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.

From: FOI Case Management
Sent: Tuesday, 30 July 2024 10:01 AM
To: '[FOI #11750 email]'
<[FOI #11750 email]>
Subject: 20240730 10:01 - [FOI Case
Management]-['[FOI #11750 email]'] Defence FOI
074/24/25 - Clarification of Scope

OFFICIAL

Dear Deborah-May,

I refer to your correspondence of 24 July 2024 seeking access to documents
held by the Department of Defence (Defence), under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

The scope of your request is:

…I request documents and reports under the FOI Act 1982, that relate to
experiments and the use of Direct Energy Weapons (DEW) in Australia.

Preliminary searches have indicated that to process your request in its
current form may result in a unreasonable diversion of resources. This is
because the scope of your request is broad and therefore Defence is
seeking additional information to assist in the processing of your
request. For example, an initial search of Defence’s Records Management
System by one area of Defence using the keywords ‘Directed’ and ‘Energy’
and ‘Weapon’ and ‘Experiment’ returned over 1000 results. To assist us in
processing your request, you may wish to focus on one particular area of
the department or a specific event or point in time.

I would be grateful for your response by 31 July 2024.

Thank you and regards

Freedom of Information Team

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. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...
2. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...

OFFICIAL

Dear Deborah-May,

Please find attached a letter in relation to Defence FOI 074/24/25.

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information Team

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...