Documents related to the decision to host the Australian Space Agency web presence on Department of Industry website
Richard Smith made this Freedom of Information request to Department of Industry, Science, Energy & Resources
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Department of Industry, Science, Energy & Resources,
The Australian Space Agency's presence on the web is limited to a few pages on the website of the Department of Industry, Science, Energy & Resources.
This is the case, even though the Commonwealth has reserved and can use the domain SPACE.GOV.AU, as demonstrated by the extract below of a WHOIS query on the ownership of the SPACE.GOV.AU domain:
Domain Name: SPACE.GOV.AU
Registry Domain ID: D407400000002794421-AU
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.auda.org.au
Registrar URL: https://www.domainname.gov.au/
Last Modified: 2021-09-24T05:00:35Z
Registrar Name: Department of Finance
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: [email address]
Registrant Contact ID: AUSGOV-REG-8913
Registrant Contact Name: Manager, Information Management, ICT Strategy and
Departmental Systems Branch
Registrant Contact Email: [email address]
Tech Contact ID: AUSGOV-TEC-4571
Tech Contact Name: Manager, Digital Experience and Engagement, Communications
Branch
Tech Contact Email: [email address]
Registrant: Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER)
>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2021-11-17T06:29:24Z <<<
The promotion of a national space agency is very important in the age of renewed interest and activity in commercial and government rocket development and space exploration.
It is also important to younger Australians to develop an interest in being involved and pursuing space and technology based education, research & development and careers.
Other space agencies have their own websites, i.e. NASA (www.nasa.gov), ESA (www.esa.int), Japanese Space Agency JAXA (global.jaxa.jp), which is in sharp contrast to the situation with Australia's government space agency.
The hiding away of the Australian Space Agency's presence on the web in an obscure part of the Department of Industry, Science, Energy & Resources website appears to be a strange decision and is an issue that I consider to be of significant public interest.
I therefore request the following Government Information:
Documents related to the decision making process which led to the decision to not create and host the website of the Australian Space Agency on the separate and more recognisable domain "www.space.gov.au" which is registered to the Commonwealth, including meeting agendas, meeting minutes and emails.
If this can be answered as informal request, please do so.
Otherwise, please proceed with this as a formal request under the Freedom of Information principles & framework, i.e. the Freedom of Information Act 1982 & other associated guidelines and regulations.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Smith
Dear Richard
I refer to your FOI request received by the Department of Industry,
Science, Energy and Resources (the department) on 17 November 2021
(attached).
I am writing to seek clarification regarding the scope of your request.
To be more specific about the documents you are requesting, you may wish
to consider submitting the following scope:
Meeting agendas, meeting minutes and emails related to the decision making
process to not create and host the website of the Australian Space Agency
on the separate domain of "[1]www.space.gov.au".
Please note that at this early stage, the scope is a sample only, and the
department is unable to advise on how many documents (if any) would be
returned if a search and retrieval was conducted.
Please clarify your request at your earliest convenience but no later than
Friday 19 November 2021.
Until clarification is received, the department is unable to process your
request and your request will be placed on hold until further notice.
If you have any questions, please contact the FOI team.
Regards
FOI Team
Legal Branch | Corporate & Digital
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601
Dear FOI Team,
Thank you for your reply to my request for government information.
I appreciate your prompt offer to provide me assistance to clarify the scope of my request.
This is a good example of best practice from the department and contributes to satisfying the objectives of the Act, namely "The Parliament also intends that functions and powers given by this Act are to be performed and exercised, as far as possible, to facilitate and promote public access to information, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost".
This is a credit to you and your organisation.
I have considered your helpful suggestion and have agreed to modify the scope of my request for government information of 17 November to the following:
Meeting agendas, meeting minutes and emails related to the decision making process to create and host the website of the Australian Space Agency on the Department of Industry's website and not the separate domain of "www.space.gov.au".
Yours sincerely,
Richard Smith
Dear Richard
Thank you for your feedback.
The department has received your correspondence of 18 November 2021
(attached) in which you submitted a revised request.
Currently, a decision is due to you on 17 December 2021.
If you have any questions, please contact the FOI team.
Kind Regards
Sadia Sheikh
FOI Officer
FOI Team
Legal Branch | Corporate & Digital
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601
Dear Richard
I refer to your FOI request received by the Department of Industry,
Science, Energy and Resources (the department) on 17 November 2021, and
subsequent correspondence on 18 November 2021 (attached).
Preliminary search results indicate, in its current form, the scope may be
too voluminous for the department to process. The request is particularly
broad as it does not specify a date range for the documents sought.
After consultation with the responsible program area you may wish to
consider submitting the following scope:
Meeting agendas, meeting minutes and emails in the period 2018 and 2019
related to the decision making process to create and host the website of
the Australian Space Agency on the Department of Industry's website and
not the separate domain of "[1]www.space.gov.au".
Please note that at this early stage, the scope is a sample only, and the
department is unable to advise on how many documents (if any) would be
returned if a search and retrieval was conducted.
Please clarify your request at your earliest convenience but no later than
Monday 29 November 2021.
Until clarification is received, the department is unable to process your
request. If no response is received by the above mentioned date, the
department will issue a notice of intention to refuse in accordance with
section 24AB of the FOI Act.
If you have any questions, please contact the FOI team.
Regards
FOI Team
Legal Branch | Corporate & Digital
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601
Dear Freedom of Information Team,
Thank you for your reply of 25 November 2021.
I have reviewed the points raised in your email regarding the department's suggestions for revising the scope to reduce the administrative burden involved with processing my request.
Accordingly, I am happy to revise my request for government information to the following:
Meeting agendas, meeting minutes and emails in the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019
related to the decision making process to create and host the website of the Australian Space Agency on the Department of Industry's website and not as a stand-alone website at the separate domain of "www.space.gov.au".
I look forward to receiving the requested information from the department in due course.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Smith
Dear Richard
The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (the department)
has received your Freedom of Information request of 17 November 2021, and
subsequent correspondence to refine the scope of your request (attached).
This email is to acknowledge receipt of your request. Your reference is
LEX 70126. Currently a decision is due to you by 17 December 2021.
However, this timeline may be affected by the requirement to undertake
consultation with affected third parties or if the department determines
you are liable to pay a charge in relation to your request. You will be
notified by the department if charges are liable or if third party
consultation is required.
Processing Your Request
To assist us to streamline the processing of your request we ask you to
consider the following:
1. Requesting Personal Information:
Confirmation from you that you are not seeking ‘personal information’ (ie.
the names and contact details of any individuals, or any information that
could reasonably identify an individual) may enable a more timely and cost
effective processing of your request.
Therefore, could you please clarify if you are seeking access to personal
information in the documents relating to:
· third parties; and
· Commonwealth staff.
If you are not seeking access to any personal information, you can simply
reply to this email with ‘no personal information requested’.
If you are seeking access to specific types of personal information, could
you please specify.
If you specify you are seeking the personal information of Commonwealth
staff, please be advised the following is unlikely to be released:
· the names, signatures and contact details of junior staff; That
is:
o Commonwealth staff who are not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);
and
o Ministerial staff below the level of Chief of Staff; and
· the mobile phone numbers of SES officers.
2. Duplicate Documents:
Under section 4(1) of the FOI Act, the definition of a document includes
‘any copy, including an part of any copy, of a reproduction or duplicate’.
Confirmation that you are not seeking duplicate documents may enable more
timely and less costly processing of your request.
If you are not seeking access to duplicate documents, you can simply
respond: ‘no duplicates requested’.
We look forward to your response at your earliest convenience but no later
than Wednesday 1 December 2021.
If you have any questions, please contact the FOI team.
Regards
FOI Team
Legal, Audit and Assurance | Corporate & Digital
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601
Dear Freedom of Information Team,
Thank you for your email confirmation of 30 November 2021.
1. Personal Information
Regarding the department's request to clarify whether I am seeking "personal information" of people, I can confirm that my request does not have as one of it's aims the identification of personal information. Any "personal information" appearing in any documents can be redacted leaving position titles and job descriptions to be released.
I will however raise an objection, if the reason for not releasing any documents identified to be in the scope of my request for Government Information solely rests on the fact that they contain names and contact details of junior departmental staff.
2. Duplicate Documents
In regards to Duplicate Documents, I can also confirm that any duplicate documents that fall within the scope of my request can be disregarded from the department's actions in processing my request.
I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Smith
Dear Richard
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request of 17
November 2021, and subsequent correspondence to clarify the scope, in
which you sought access to:
Meeting agendas, meeting minutes and emails in the period 1 January 2018
to 31 December 2019 related to the decision making process to create and
host the website of the Australian Space Agency on the Department of
Industry's website and not as a stand-alone website at the separate domain
of "[1]www.space.gov.au".
Should you have any queries regarding this matter, please contact the FOI
team.
FOI Team
Legal, Audit and Assurance | Corporate & Digital
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601
Dear Ms Sheikh,
Ref: FOI LEX 70126
Thank you for your reply of 2 December 2021 in regards to my request for government information.
In order to decide which option the department has presented best suits the circumstances, I require additional information in regards to the estimate of charges provided by the department.
Accordingly, please provide a breakdown of the proportion of specific tasks that make up the estimated 18.98 hours of decision making time.
I am specifically interested in what proportion of the estimated number of hours (18.98) is related to decision making relating to identifying which parts of the documents fall within the scope of my request and what proportion is related to decision making relating to identifying the extent to which parts of the documents the department would be seeking to limit release as per Part IV of the Act.
Provision of this requested information regarding your estimate of charges will better allow me to determine upon which of the options A, B and C provided by the department I would prefer to choose.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Smith
Dear Richard
In calculating processing charges for FOI applications, the Department
applies the relevant provisions of the FOI Act, the Regulations and the
Guidelines in relation to the amounts it is permitted to charge. The
Department calculates the amount it may charge based on:
· the time taken to search and retrieve files containing the
documents falling within the scope of the request;
· the number and size (number of pages) of the documents that have
been identified as falling within the scope of the request and the time
taken for decision-making in relation to each page of each document (less
the first five hours of decision-making time, which are free of charge);
and
· the number of pages requiring redaction (and therefore potentially
requiring additional decision-making time).
The Department enters the information concerning the number and nature of
the documents into a calculator provided by the Australian Government
Solicitor. While use of this calculator is not mandated, it is widely used
by agencies to assist with the calculation of processing charges under the
FOI Act.
The decision maker then applies his or her own experience to evaluate the
reasonableness of the amount calculated.
If you would like the department to continue processing your request, you
must notify the department in writing within 30 days of receiving the
notice (by 1 January 2022) that you:
A. agree to pay the charge;
B. wish to contend that the charge:
(i) has been wrongly assessed; or
(ii) should be reduced or not imposed; or
(iii) both
C. withdraw the request for access.
Further information regarding each option is contained in the notice of
charges sent to you on 2 December 2021.
Kind Regards
FOI Team
Legal Branch | Corporate & Digital
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #8099 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:
[4]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
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If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
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References
Visible links
1. http://www.industry.gov.au/
2. http://www.space.gov.au/
3. mailto:[FOI #8099 email]
4. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Dear Richard
I refer to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request received by the
Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (the department) on
17 November 2021.
Request for extension of time
I note that the department shuts down from 25 December 2021 to 3 January
2022.
I note you have not yet responded regarding the notice of charges we
issued on 2 December 2021, however, to assist the department in processing
your request should you decide to proceed, we seek your agreement to a 30
day extension under section 15AA of the FOI Act. If you agree to this
extension, the department will notify the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner of the extension of time.
Could you please confirm your agreement to this extension at your earliest
convenience but no later than Friday 17 December 2021.
Regards
Sadia
FOI Team
Legal, Audit and Assurance | Corporate & Digital
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601
Dear Sadia,
Thank you for your email of 15 December.
I consent to the department's request for additional time in processing my request.
Merry Christmas.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Smith