Documents relied upon by the Secretary in declaring compliance with the PGPA Act
Dear Department of Industry, Innovation and Science,
For context, I'm noting this FOI request regarding a declaration made by Secretary Dr Heather Smith on 18/Sep/2019 ( https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/d... ).
I'm requesting all documents provided by the Assurance and Audit Committee and the Fraud Control Section to Dr Heather Smith to inform her PGPA compliance and risk assessments certification on 19/Sep/2018.
Thanks,
Alby P.
Dear Alby
I refer to your correspondence received 11 November 2020 (below).
It appears you have requested the same documents as requested in the link
you have provided regarding a different FOI request.
As the department is already processing the request you have linked to, I
invite you to withdraw your request and upon the other FOI request being
completed, any documents released to the other applicant under the FOI
Act, can be released to you under Administrative Access.
Alternatively, if you would like to proceed with your FOI request, the FOI
team will be in touch shortly to notify you of timeframes and any charges
applicable to the processing of the request.
If the department does not receive a response from you by 20 November
2020, we will process your request under the FOI Act.
Regards
FOI Team
Legal, Audit and Assurance | Corporate & Digital
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[5][FOI #6888 email]
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requests to Department of Industry, Innovation and Science? If so, please
contact us using this form:
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This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
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OFFICIAL
References
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4. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/d...
5. mailto:[FOI #6888 email]
6. mailto:[Department of Industry, Science, Energy & Resources request email]
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Dear Freedom of Information,
I believe Mr. Witherspoon requested documents about the Secretary's declaration on 18/Sep/2019.
I'm referring to her declaration on 19/Sep/2018 (a year prior).
Thanks,
Alby P.
Dear Alby
The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (the department)
has received your Freedom of Information request of 11 November 2020
(attached).
For documents that fall within the scope of the request, it is the
department’s policy to withhold:
· 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.
The names and other details of SES officers will be released unless the
information is exempt from disclosure.
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 a 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.
We look forward to your response at your earliest convenience but no later
than 27 November 2020.
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 Alby
The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (the Department)
is currently in the process of making a decision in relation to the
release of documents for your FOI request, reference 67452.
Upon consideration of your request, the department is of the view that
your request will take longer than 30 days to process. This is due to an
unusually high volume of FOI requests relating to this subject matter, and
the resulting limited capacity of subject matter experts to assist with
the review of the information. Therefore it will not be possible to advise
you of a decision by 11 December 2020.
I would be grateful if you could please consider agreeing to an extension
of time (under section 15AA of the FOI Act) of 13 days for the processing
of your request. The Department will have a shutdown period from 25
December 2020, returning 4 January 2021 however, we anticipate we will be
able to provide you a decision or before 24 December 2020.
I apologise for the delay and any inconvenience this may cause you and the
department will endeavour to provide you with a decision as soon as
possible.
Could you please respond advising whether you agree to this extension of
time at your earliest convenience but no later than 10 December 2020.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter. If you have any
questions, please contact the FOI team.
FOI Team
Legal, Audit and Assurance Branch | Corporate Division
Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601
Legal In Confidence - This transmission is intended only for the use of
the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged
information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that
any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If
you have received this transmission in error, please notify me immediately
by telephone and delete copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
OFFICIAL
Dear FOI team,
I'm inclined to agree to the extension if the department can also agree not to redact the names of divisions near risk assessments and any relevant dates ( with the aim to avoid similar redactions under appeal here - https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/d... ).
Basically, I'm looking to avoid redactions of division names or words to do with "risk assessment/s" specifically. As per Harry's appeal, I understand that actual risks should be redacted.
If possible, please advise if you can commit to this (and whether the extension has been applied).
Thanks,
Alby P.
Dear Alby,
Thank you for your prompt response. Though the statutory deadline rests
with the FOI team, the decision on documents and exemptions rests with the
decision-maker. At this stage, we have forwarded your concerns to the
decision-maker for their consideration.
As per our reasons in our previous correspondence, could you please advise
whether you agree to this extension of time at your earliest convenience
but no later than 10 December 2020.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter. If you have any
questions, please contact the FOI team.
FOI Team
Legal, Audit and Assurance Branch | Corporate Division
Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601
Legal In Confidence - This transmission is intended only for the use of
the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged
information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that
any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If
you have received this transmission in error, please notify me
immediately by telephone and delete copies of this transmission together
with any attachments.
Dear Alby
I refer to your FOI request of 11 November 2020 (attached) to the
Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (the department) for
access to fraud and audit committee reports.
As you are aware, the department sought an extension under section 15AA of
the FOI Act from you however, we have not received confirmation of your
agreement to an extension.
As such, your request has been deemed refused, as the department has not
provided you a decision within the statutory timeframe.
Current status of your FOI request
As discussed with you on 5 March 2020, the department is experiencing an
unusually high volume of FOI requests relating to this subject matter,
and the resulting limited capacity of subject matter experts to assist
with the review of the information.
The department still intends to issue you a decision in relation to your
FOI request. At this time, I anticipate this will be on or before 24
December 2020.
I will keep you updated as the matter progresses.
If you have any questions, please contact the FOI team.
FOI Team
Legal, Audit and Assurance Branch | Corporate Division
Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601
Legal In Confidence - This transmission is intended only for the use of
the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged
information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that
any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If
you have received this transmission in error, please notify me immediately
by telephone and delete copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
OFFICIAL
Our reference: RQ20/04168
Agency reference: 67452
Alby P
Sent by email: [1][FOI #6888 email]
Extension of time under s 15AC
Dear Alby
Please find attached a decision of today’s date.
Kind regards,
[2][IMG] Avanithah Selvarajah | Review and
Investigations Adviser (Legal)
(A/g)
Freedom of information
Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 |
[3]oaic.gov.au
+61 2 9284 9625 |
[4][email address]
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Dear Alby
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request of 11
November 2020.
Should you have any queries regarding this matter, please contact the FOI
team.
Regards
FOI Team
Legal, Audit and Assurance | Corporate & Digital
GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601