OFFICIAL

Good morning Ben,

Thank you for contacting Freedom of Information at the Department of
Defence.

We have received your email and you will be advised of the status of your
inquiry by an FOI team member soon.

Kind regards,

Gregory Chambers|Freedom of Information

Department of Defence

e [1][email address]

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]

OFFICIAL

Good afternoon,

I refer to your correspondence of 17 November 2021 seeking access under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to documents held by the
Department of Defence (Defence). This email is to advise you that your
request has been received and allocated to a Case Manager.

The scope of your request is:

“In 2017 a senior NCO and an officer told me about an internal document in
which the number of EKIA due to Australian operations in Afghanistan had
been collated. They said this number was 11,000.  Recently a former
officer Heston Russell cited the same number of EKIA. I would like to view
this document or know where that number has come from. If there is similar
documentation about civilian and collateral deaths, I would like to know
that number also.”

Please note that Defence does not release information that is considered
‘personal information’ of individuals other than the applicant; 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.

If you are seeking personal details of other individuals, please advise
this office by 29 November 2021 so that the decision maker can consider
your request.

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

The statutory deadline for you to receive a response to your request is 17
December 2021.

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.

I am the Case Manager for this request. Should you have any questions
relating to your request, please do not hesitate to contact me via email
to [1][email address].

Regards,

Emma| Freedom of Information | Department of Defence
E [2][email address]

I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, and recognise their continuing
connection to traditional lands and waters and pay my respects to their
Elders both past and present.

I also pay respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and
women who have contributed to the defence of Australia in times of peace
and war.

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. mailto:[email address]

OFFICIAL

Dear McKelvey,

Please find attached the decision relating to Defence FOI 261/21/22.

Rights of Review

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

Should you have any questions in regard to this matter please contact this
office.

Kind regards,

Jo

Jo Groves | Assistant Director Freedom of Information Media & Sensitive
Enterprise Transformation Branch | Enterprise Transformation and
Governance Division | Department of Defence
CP1-6-008 Campbell Park Offices ACT 2600
m 0417 058 385

[1]http://www.defence.gov.au/FOI/privacy.asp

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. http://www.defence.gov.au/FOI/privacy.asp
file:///tmp/blocked::http:/www.defence.gov.au/FOI/privacy.asp