OFFICIAL

Dear Trent

Freedom of information request no. 397/23/24

I refer to your email dated 31 October 2023 in which you requested under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) access to:

All active Memorandum of Understanding, Heads of Agreement, Data Sharing
Agreements, and Service Contracts that result in the sharing of veteran
data, even if de-identified. I am looking for similar documents for
programs and agreements that ceased within the last 10 years or are still
active.

I am writing to inform you that the scope of your request has been
considered and that the work involved in processing your request in its
current form would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of
this agency from its other operations due to its size. This is called a
‘practical refusal reason’ (section 24AA).

On this basis, the intention is to refuse access to the documents you
requested. However, before the final decision is made, you have an
opportunity to revise your request. This is called a ‘request consultation
process’ as set out under section 24AB of the FOI Act. You have 14 days to
respond to this notice in one of the ways set out below.

Why the intention to refuse your request

In your request you have sought all active and ceased Memorandum of
Understanding, Heads of Agreement, Data Sharing Agreements, and Service
Contracts over a 10 year period. Please be advised that the initial
searches have revealed 89 documents covered by the scope of your request,
however searches are continuing and this number is likely to increase. Of
the 89 documents there is a total of 2305 pages within the scope of your
request which will require third party consultation as well as
consultation with other government agencies.

Taking this into consideration, under section 24AA of the FOI Act and for
the purposes of section 24 of the FOI Act, Defence considers that a
'practical refusal reason' exists in relation to your FOI request.
Specifically, Defence considers that the work involved in processing the
request in its current form would substantially and unreasonably divert
the resources of the Defence from its other operations. In particular, a
very significant amount of resources would have to be diverted to arrange
for the required searches to be undertaken, to then review any documents
that were identified as being possibly relevant to your request. And
finally, to undertake the decision making process on any documents that
did meet the parameters of your request.

This diversion would constitute a significant drain on the resources of
the agency, and would have an unreasonable, substantial and adverse effect
in the ability of areas to conduct their normal business.

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.

Request consultation process

You now have an opportunity to revise your request to enable it to
proceed.

Revising your request can mean narrowing the scope of the request to make
it more manageable or explaining in more detail the documents you wish to
access. For example, by providing more specific information about exactly
what documents you are interested in and a narrowed timeframe, our agency
will be able to pinpoint the documents more quickly and avoid using
excessive resources to process documents you are not interested in. You
may like to consider including what function mechanism of the service
contracts you are particularly interested in.

Before the end of the consultation period, you must do one of the
following, in writing:

·                     withdraw your request

·                     make a revised request

·                     tell us that you do not wish to revise your request.

The consultation period runs for 14 days and starts on the day after you
receive this notice. If you do not do one of the three things listed above
during the consultation period, your request will be taken to have been
withdrawn.

During this period, you are welcome to seek assistance from the contact
person listed below to revise your request. If you revise your request in
a way that adequately addresses the practical refusal grounds outlined
above, we will recommence processing it.

Thank you and regards,

Kathryn

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

Tel: 02 6132 7927 

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 Trent

Thank you for your email earlier today clarifying the scope of your
request. I have understood the scope of your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for access to the following documents:

In relation to the DVA veterans mates programme [I seek] All active
Memorandum of Understanding, Heads of Agreement, Data Sharing Agreements,
and Service Contracts that result in the sharing of veteran data, even if
de-identified. I am looking for similar documents for programs and
agreements that ceased within the last 10 years or are still active.

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.

Timeframe

The statutory timeframe to provide you with a decision on your request
ends on 4 November 2023. This period may be extended if we need to consult
with third parties, or for other reasons. We will advise you if this
happens.

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

Kathryn

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

Tel: 02 6132 7927 

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...

Good morning Trent

I refer to your Freedom of Information request for access to the
following:

In relation to the DVA veterans mates programme [I seek] All active
Memorandum of Understanding, Heads of Agreement, Data Sharing Agreements,
and Service Contracts that result in the sharing of veteran data, even if
de-identified. I am looking for similar documents for programs and
agreements that ceased within the last 10 years or are still active.

The current statutory deadline for you to receive a response to your
Defence FOI request is 4 December 2023.

Due to competing priorities our office is seeking your agreement to a 16
day extension of the statutory deadline under section 15AA [extension with
agreement] of the Freedom of Information Act 1982. We will endeavour to
process your request as soon as we can.

Should you agree, the statutory deadline for you to receive a response to
your request will expire on 20 December 2023.

It would be much appreciated if you could confirm your agreement to this
extension of time via e-mail today, 4 December 2023.

Should you have any questions regarding this matter please do not hesitate
to contact me.

Thank you and regards

Kathryn

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

Tel: 02 6132 7927 

References

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

OFFICIAL

Dear Trent

Please find attached the Decision and documents relating to Defence FOI
397/23/24.

In accordance with the requirements of section 11C of the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), the Department of Defence (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. 

Review Rights

If you disagree with the decision made by Defence under the FOI Act you
can ask for the decision to be reviewed. You may want to seek review if
you sought certain documents and were not given full access.

You must apply in writing and should include a copy of the notice of the
decision provided and the points to which you are objecting and why. You
may apply directly to the Information Commissioner, within 60 days of
receiving your decision.

Further information about the external review process or how to make a
complaint to the Information Commissioner is available:

Online: [1]www.oaic.gov.au

Post: GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2000

Email: [2][email address]

Kind regards

Kathryn
Freedom of Information
Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division

Department of Defence

Tel: 02 6132 7927 

[3]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. http://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...

OFFICIAL

Good morning Trent,

Thank you for your email below.

As the decision was provided outside the statutory timeframe, we are
unable to conduct an internal review under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act).

You are however able to seek review of your decision with the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

You can submit a request to the OAIC by clicking [1]here or by submitting
your request via email to [2][email address].

You can find more information on the OAIC website, available [3]here.

Kind regards,

FOI Review Team

FOI Review Directorate

Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division
Department of Defence
[4][email address]

PO Box 7910
R1-05-A
Canberra BC ACT 2610

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