Dear CR

Thank you for your request dated 7 January 2024 seeking access to
documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

This email sets out some information about how your request will be
processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Scope of request:

You have sought access to:

 1. A list of all FOI requests received by the department relating to the
2023 Hamas-Israel Conflict. The list should include the reference
number and date of receipt for each request.

 2. All correspondence between the department and FOI applicants regarding
the above-mentioned requests.

 3. All internal correspondence exchanged within the department regarding
the above-mentioned requests.

 4. All correspondence between the department and any external parties
regarding the above-mentioned requests.

 5. All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external parties
regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, communications
with the OAIC or the AAT, if applicable.

Please include any email attachments as they form part of the scope of
this request.

Please exclude the following information:

I. Personal information of FOI applicants.
II. Personal information of departmental staff.
III. Personal information of any third parties.
IV. Duplicate content.

If consultation with a third party is deemed necessary where documents
affect privacy under s 27A of the Act, I respectfully request to be
notified first so that I may consider revising or narrowing the scope of
my request to avoid such consultation if possible.

Informal consultation:

Before we undertake searches for documents relevant to your request, you
may wish to revise the scope of your request.

In relation to part 1 of your request, the FOI Act gives a right of access
to documents that already exist, the department is not required to create
a new document to satisfy an FOI request (such as lists). You may wish to
refine your FOI request by removing the part of the request for a list of
documents or revising the wording of this request.

In relation to the remainder of your request, as currently worded may
constitute a substantial and unreasonable diversion of the department’s
resources from its other operations. Since 1 October 2023 the department
has received over 20 FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel
Conflict, capturing hundreds of emails and attachments relating to the
processing of each request. You may wish to refine your FOI request to a
particular date range or particular request.

As currently worded, your request specifies multiple forms of
correspondence, including with third parties. Whilst you have excluded
personal information of FOI applicant’s and third parties, consultations
with over 20 third parties would be required to fulfil this request. You
may wish to refine your FOI request by limiting the correspondence types
and/or limiting the amount of third parties.

Please advise us by COB Wednesday 10 January 2024 whether you wish to
revise your request. 

If we do not hear from you the department will begin processing your
request as currently worded and may be required to consult you under
section 24AB of the FOI Act.

Timeframe for receiving our decision:

We received your request on 7 January 2024 the 30-day statutory period for
processing your request commenced from the day after that date. The period
of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances. We will advise you if
any extension of time is required.

Charges:

Please note that the department may issue charges for processing FOI
requests. We will advise you of any relevant charges when we are in a
position to estimate the resources required to process your request.

Disclosure log:

Please note that, with some exceptions (such as personal information),
documents released under the FOI Act may later be published on the
department’s disclosure log:
[1]https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/corpora....

Exclusion of officials’ names and contact details:

It is the department’s policy to withhold the mobile numbers of all
government officials, and the names and contact details of government
officials not in the Senior Executive Service (SES) or equivalent. If you
require the mobile numbers of all government officials, or the names and
contact details of non-SES officials, please let us know at
[2][DFAT request email] so the decision-maker may consider; otherwise we will
take it that you agree to that information being excluded from the scope
of your request.

Personal Information:

If we need to consult with other people or organisations regarding your
FOI request, we may need to disclose your personal information (e.g. your
name). When we consult it may be apparent that you have made a request,
even if we do not disclose your identity. Please let us know if you have
any concerns in this regard. The department’s privacy policy is available
at dfat.gov.au/privacy.html.

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact us by return e-mail at [3][DFAT request email]

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[4]dfat.gov.au | [5]Twitter | [6]Facebook | [7]Instagram  | [8]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[9]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Sunday, 7 January 2024 11:27 AM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Freedom of Information request - FOI requests received
concerning the 2023 Hamas-Israel Conflict

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,

I request access to the following documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982:

1. A list of all FOI requests received by the department relating to the
2023 Hamas-Israel Conflict. The list should include the reference number
and date of receipt for each request.

2. All correspondence between the department and FOI applicants regarding
the above-mentioned requests.

3. All internal correspondence exchanged within the department regarding
the above-mentioned requests.

4. All correspondence between the department and any external parties
regarding the above-mentioned requests.

5. All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external parties
regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, communications with
the OAIC or the AAT, if applicable.

Please include any email attachments as they form part of the scope of
this request.

Please exclude the following information:

i) Personal information of FOI applicants.

ii) Personal information of departmental staff.

iii) Personal information of any third parties.

iv) Duplicate content.

If consultation with a third party is deemed necessary where documents
affect privacy under s 27A of the Act, I respectfully request to be
notified first so that I may consider revising or narrowing the scope of
my request to avoid such consultation if possible.

Please contact me if you require any clarification or have questions
regarding this request.

Yours faithfully,

CR

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[10][FOI #11005 email]

Is [11][DFAT request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade? If so, please contact
us using this form:

[12]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

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:

[13]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/corpora...
2. mailto:[DFAT request email]
3. mailto:[DFAT request email]
4. http://www.dfat.gov.au/
5. https://twitter.com/DFAT
6. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
7. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
8. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
9. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
10. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
11. mailto:[DFAT request email]
12. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
13. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Dear CR

Thank you for agreeing to remove part 1 of your FOI request.

With regard to third party consultations it is the department's standard
practice to undertake consultations. Consideration will have to be given
on a case by case basis as to whether the documents, with personal
identifiers removed, still constitutes personal information and whether
the applicants are ‘reasonably identifiable’ and whether it contains
information ‘about’ them, in that it reveals or conveys something about
them (including the fact that they put in a FOI request at all). Given you
have requested correspondence of third parties, which do not contain your
personal information, the department considers that applicant’s might
reasonably wish to make a contention that the documents do contain
personal information and are conditionally exempt on the basis that the
applicants are ‘reasonable identifiable’ and/or contains information
‘about’ them, even if their names and email addresses (for example) are
removed. 

By limiting correspondence we mean limiting it to a specific cohort, for
example, correspondence sent to/from the FOI Section only. However, noting
there are over 20 requests you may wish to consider reducing the scope of
your request further than this or provide a date range, as including all
requests would likely constitute a substantial and unreasonable diversion
of the department’s resources from it’s other operations.

Please advise us by COB Wednesday 10 January 2024 whether you wish to
further revise your request. If we do not hear from you the department
will begin processing your request, with part 1 removed, and may be
required to consult you under section 24AB of the FOI Act.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Monday, 8 January 2024 4:57 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - Acknowledgement
and Informal Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

Thank you for your prompt response to my FOI request.

I agree to remove part 1 of my FOI request.

Regarding parts 2-5 of my request, I would appreciate further
clarification on the necessity of consultation with all identified FOI
applicants, as outlined in section 3.77 of the FOI Guidelines. Given that
my request explicitly excludes all personal information, it is difficult
to understand how the disclosure of non-personal information could be
expected to affect an applicant's privacy. The mere appearance of a
person's name, without any accompanying identifying information, would not
appear to provide sufficient grounds for an exemption contention, which is
consistent with the reasoning provided by the AATA in the case of Dreyfus
and Attorney-General (Commonwealth of Australia) (Freedom of information)
[2015] AATA 995 [49]. Furthermore, the case of Attorney-General v
Honourable Mark Dreyfus [2016] FCAFC 119 [65] supports this
interpretation.

Could you please clarify what you mean by "limiting the correspondence
types" in order to refine my request? I understand all correspondence
regarding these FOI requests would have taken place via email, including
any attachments. If there are different categories or types of
correspondence I could specify, please advise.

I look forward to your response and further discussion on this matter.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if any part of this request requires
clarification.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Dear CR

Thank you for your request dated 7 January 2024 seeking access to

documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

This email sets out some information about how your request will be

processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Scope of request:

You have sought access to:

  1. A list of all FOI requests received by the department relating to the

2023 Hamas-Israel Conflict. The list should include the reference

number and date of receipt for each request.

  2. All correspondence between the department and FOI applicants
regarding

the above-mentioned requests.

  3. All internal correspondence exchanged within the department regarding

the above-mentioned requests.

  4. All correspondence between the department and any external parties

regarding the above-mentioned requests.

  5. All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external parties

regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, communications

with the OAIC or the AAT, if applicable.

Please include any email attachments as they form part of the scope of

this request.

Please exclude the following information:

I. Personal information of FOI applicants.

II. Personal information of departmental staff.

III. Personal information of any third parties.

IV. Duplicate content.

If consultation with a third party is deemed necessary where documents

affect privacy under s 27A of the Act, I respectfully request to be

notified first so that I may consider revising or narrowing the scope of

my request to avoid such consultation if possible.

Informal consultation:

Before we undertake searches for documents relevant to your request, you

may wish to revise the scope of your request.

In relation to part 1 of your request, the FOI Act gives a right of access

to documents that already exist, the department is not required to create

a new document to satisfy an FOI request (such as lists). You may wish to

refine your FOI request by removing the part of the request for a list of

documents or revising the wording of this request.

In relation to the remainder of your request, as currently worded may

constitute a substantial and unreasonable diversion of the department’s

resources from its other operations. Since 1 October 2023 the department

has received over 20 FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel

Conflict, capturing hundreds of emails and attachments relating to the

processing of each request. You may wish to refine your FOI request to a

particular date range or particular request.

As currently worded, your request specifies multiple forms of

correspondence, including with third parties. Whilst you have excluded

personal information of FOI applicant’s and third parties, consultations

with over 20 third parties would be required to fulfil this request. You

may wish to refine your FOI request by limiting the correspondence types

and/or limiting the amount of third parties.

Please advise us by COB Wednesday 10 January 2024 whether you wish to

revise your request.

If we do not hear from you the department will begin processing your

request as currently worded and may be required to consult you under

section 24AB of the FOI Act.

Timeframe for receiving our decision:

We received your request on 7 January 2024 the 30-day statutory period for

processing your request commenced from the day after that date. The period

of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances. We will advise you if

any extension of time is required.

Charges:

Please note that the department may issue charges for processing FOI

requests. We will advise you of any relevant charges when we are in a

position to estimate the resources required to process your request.

Disclosure log:

Please note that, with some exceptions (such as personal information),

documents released under the FOI Act may later be published on the

department’s disclosure log:

[1][7]https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/corpora....

Exclusion of officials’ names and contact details:

It is the department’s policy to withhold the mobile numbers of all

government officials, and the names and contact details of government

officials not in the Senior Executive Service (SES) or equivalent. If you

require the mobile numbers of all government officials, or the names and

contact details of non-SES officials, please let us know at

[2][DFAT request email] so the decision-maker may consider; otherwise we
will

take it that you agree to that information being excluded from the scope

of your request.

Personal Information:

If we need to consult with other people or organisations regarding your

FOI request, we may need to disclose your personal information (e.g. your

name). When we consult it may be apparent that you have made a request,

even if we do not disclose your identity. Please let us know if you have

any concerns in this regard. The department’s privacy policy is available

at dfat.gov.au/privacy.html.

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to

contact us by return e-mail at [3][DFAT request email]

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[4]dfat.gov.au | [5]Twitter | [6]Facebook | [7]Instagram  | [8]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[9]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[8][FOI #11005 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:

[9]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dfat.gov.au/
2. https://twitter.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
5. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/corpora...
8. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
9. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Dear CR

Thank you for your revised scope. Confirming you are seeking access to:

 1. All correspondence between the department's FOI team and FOI
applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel
Conflict
 2. All internal correspondence sent to/from the department's FOI team
regarding the above-mentioned requests.
 3. All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any external
parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.
 4. All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external parties
regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, if applicable,
correspondence between FOI applicants and third parties, where the
department's FOI team was copied.

Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in later emails. I
have also maintained my previous exclusions:

i. Personal information of FOI applicants.
ii. Personal information of departmental staff.
iii. Personal information of any third parties.
iv. Duplicate content.

The department will commence processing your revised request.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 9 January 2024 6:07 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - Acknowledgement
and Informal Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

Thank you for providing additional clarification regarding this request. I
have considered the issues raised carefully.

In relation to seeking correspondence between the department's FOI team
and FOI applicants, I still do not believe consultation with the
applicants would be required under s 27A of the FOI Act. As you noted,
this section relates to personal information. With all personal
identifying information removed as per the scope of my request, I do not
see how any residual information in the administrative correspondence
could reasonably considered personal information, given the definition in
s 4(1) of the FOI Act requires information to be about an "identified
individual" or someone who is "reasonably identifiable."

Given there were over 20 requests on this topic, and the correspondence
relates solely to the administrative FOI processes rather than any
personal details, it is highly unlikely that the identity of any
individuals could be ascertained or the information be considered "about"
them personally. Therefore consultation does not appear necessary in my
view.

If the department insists consultation is required, I respectfully request
you consider whether such consultation would be reasonably practicable,
given the significant time and resources that would be required to consult
each of the identified FOI applicants, as per s 27A(4) of the Act.

In light of this, I am willing to make the following revision to the scope
of my FOI request:

1. All correspondence between the department's FOI team and FOI applicants
regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel Conflict

2. All internal correspondence sent to/from the department's FOI team
regarding the above-mentioned requests.

3. All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any external
parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

4. All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external parties
regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, if applicable,
correspondence between FOI applicants and third parties, where the
department's FOI team was copied.

Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in later emails. I
have also maintained my previous exclusions.

I appreciate your consideration.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Dear CR

Thank you for agreeing to remove part 1 of your FOI request.

With regard to third party consultations it is the department's standard

practice to undertake consultations. Consideration will have to be given

on a case by case basis as to whether the documents, with personal

identifiers removed, still constitutes personal information and whether

the applicants are ‘reasonably identifiable’ and whether it contains

information ‘about’ them, in that it reveals or conveys something about

them (including the fact that they put in a FOI request at all). Given you

have requested correspondence of third parties, which do not contain your

personal information, the department considers that applicant’s might

reasonably wish to make a contention that the documents do contain

personal information and are conditionally exempt on the basis that the

applicants are ‘reasonable identifiable’ and/or contains information

‘about’ them, even if their names and email addresses (for example) are

removed.

By limiting correspondence we mean limiting it to a specific cohort, for

example, correspondence sent to/from the FOI Section only. However, noting

there are over 20 requests you may wish to consider reducing the scope of

your request further than this or provide a date range, as including all

requests would likely constitute a substantial and unreasonable diversion

of the department’s resources from it’s other operations.

Please advise us by COB Wednesday 10 January 2024 whether you wish to

further revise your request. If we do not hear from you the department

will begin processing your request, with part 1 removed, and may be

required to consult you under section 24AB of the FOI Act.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[7][FOI #11005 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:

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dfat.gov.au/
2. https://twitter.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
5. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
8. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Dear CR

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

From: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2024 11:35 AM
To: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - Acknowledgement
and Informal Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

Dear CR

Thank you for your revised scope. Confirming you are seeking access to:

 1. All correspondence between the department's FOI team and FOI
applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel
Conflict
 2. All internal correspondence sent to/from the department's FOI team
regarding the above-mentioned requests.
 3. All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any external
parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.
 4. All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external parties
regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, if applicable,
correspondence between FOI applicants and third parties, where the
department's FOI team was copied.

Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in later emails. I
have also maintained my previous exclusions:

i. Personal information of FOI applicants.
ii. Personal information of departmental staff.
iii. Personal information of any third parties.
iv. Duplicate content.

The department will commence processing your revised request.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[7]dfat.gov.au | [8]Twitter | [9]Facebook | [10]Instagram  |
[11]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[12]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[13][FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 9 January 2024 6:07 PM
To: FOI <[14][DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - Acknowledgement
and Informal Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

Thank you for providing additional clarification regarding this request. I
have considered the issues raised carefully.

In relation to seeking correspondence between the department's FOI team
and FOI applicants, I still do not believe consultation with the
applicants would be required under s 27A of the FOI Act. As you noted,
this section relates to personal information. With all personal
identifying information removed as per the scope of my request, I do not
see how any residual information in the administrative correspondence
could reasonably considered personal information, given the definition in
s 4(1) of the FOI Act requires information to be about an "identified
individual" or someone who is "reasonably identifiable."

Given there were over 20 requests on this topic, and the correspondence
relates solely to the administrative FOI processes rather than any
personal details, it is highly unlikely that the identity of any
individuals could be ascertained or the information be considered "about"
them personally. Therefore consultation does not appear necessary in my
view.

If the department insists consultation is required, I respectfully request
you consider whether such consultation would be reasonably practicable,
given the significant time and resources that would be required to consult
each of the identified FOI applicants, as per s 27A(4) of the Act.

In light of this, I am willing to make the following revision to the scope
of my FOI request:

1. All correspondence between the department's FOI team and FOI applicants
regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel Conflict

2. All internal correspondence sent to/from the department's FOI team
regarding the above-mentioned requests.

3. All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any external
parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

4. All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external parties
regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, if applicable,
correspondence between FOI applicants and third parties, where the
department's FOI team was copied.

Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in later emails. I
have also maintained my previous exclusions.

I appreciate your consideration.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Dear CR

Thank you for agreeing to remove part 1 of your FOI request.

With regard to third party consultations it is the department's standard

practice to undertake consultations. Consideration will have to be given

on a case by case basis as to whether the documents, with personal

identifiers removed, still constitutes personal information and whether

the applicants are ‘reasonably identifiable’ and whether it contains

information ‘about’ them, in that it reveals or conveys something about

them (including the fact that they put in a FOI request at all). Given you

have requested correspondence of third parties, which do not contain your

personal information, the department considers that applicant’s might

reasonably wish to make a contention that the documents do contain

personal information and are conditionally exempt on the basis that the

applicants are ‘reasonable identifiable’ and/or contains information

‘about’ them, even if their names and email addresses (for example) are

removed.

By limiting correspondence we mean limiting it to a specific cohort, for

example, correspondence sent to/from the FOI Section only. However, noting

there are over 20 requests you may wish to consider reducing the scope of

your request further than this or provide a date range, as including all

requests would likely constitute a substantial and unreasonable diversion

of the department’s resources from it’s other operations.

Please advise us by COB Wednesday 10 January 2024 whether you wish to

further revise your request. If we do not hear from you the department

will begin processing your request, with part 1 removed, and may be

required to consult you under section 24AB of the FOI Act.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[15][FOI #11005 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:

[16]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
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-------------------------------------------------------------------

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hide quoted sections

Dear CR

Thank you for your revised scope, being:

                1.            All correspondence between the department's
FOI team and FOI applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023
Hamas-Israel Conflict

                2.            [removed]

                3.            All correspondence between the department's
FOI team and any external parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

                4.            All correspondence between FOI applicants
and any external parties regarding the above-mentioned requests. For
example, if applicable, correspondence between FOI applicants and third
parties, where the department's FOI team was copied.

                Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in
later emails. I have also maintained my previous exclusions:

                i.              Personal information of FOI applicants.

                ii.             Personal information of departmental
staff.

                iii.            Personal information of any third parties.

                iv.            Duplicate content.

We would be grateful if you could please confirm what you mean by
“external parties”.

Following clarification we will review the documents captured by your
revised scope and consider whether the practical refusal reason has been
resolved.

As previously advised 30 previous FOI requests are captured by the scope
of your request and it may be useful to:

•                     limit your request to a particular FOI request,

•                     exclude attachments to emails,

•                     limit the date range for your request, and

•                     limit the scope of your request to a particular part
of the FOI process.

While removing internal correspondence removes a significant portion of
documents, you have still requested access to documents from 30 previous
FOI requests. Accordingly the revised scope may not resolve the practical
refusal reason, particularly in instances where there are large
attachments to emails. The volume of documents could still be very large.

Should you wish to further revise the scope of your request please let the
department know, otherwise we will process as per the revised scope and
your clarification as to external parties.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2024 8:30 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

Thank you for your email.

Upon consideration, I will revise my request by removing part 2 relating
to internal departmental correspondence.

Regarding the rest of my request, I believe there are opportunities to
streamline processing that would not amount to an unreasonable diversion
of resources. Many of the identified emails would contain direct
correspondence from the department's FOI team to the applicants, which I
estimate would not require examination for sensitivities or potential
exemptions given they are signed by 'DFAT FOI Team' as opposed to staff
details. Similarly, any email attachments sent to applicants are unlikely
to contain sensitive material.

Realistically, the key tasks involved in processing my request would be to
collect the identified emails and redact any personal information of
applicants or third parties as per my stated exclusions. I am confident
this could be achieved without an unreasonable diversion of resources.

I would also like to draw your attention to section 3.120 of the FOI
Guidelines, which states that it is expected for an agency to provide a
breakdown of the estimated time for each stage in processing a request.
Furthermore, section 3.121 of the Guidelines recommends that an agency
examine a sample of the documents to assess the complexity of the
material. This information would greatly assist me in understanding the
challenges faced in processing my request and in making a reasonable
revision.

If you still believe that a practical refusal reason exists for my revised
request, I kindly request that you provide a breakdown of the estimated
time for each step of the process, explain the difficulties the agency
will encounter in dealing with the request, and suggest what would
constitute a reasonable request in these circumstances, as outlined in
section 3.133 of the FOI Guidelines.

I look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Dear CR

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

From: FOI <[DFAT request email]>

Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2024 11:35 AM

To: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>

Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - Acknowledgement

and Informal Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

Dear CR

Thank you for your revised scope. Confirming you are seeking access to:

  1. All correspondence between the department's FOI team and FOI

applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel

Conflict

  2. All internal correspondence sent to/from the department's FOI team

regarding the above-mentioned requests.

  3. All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any external

parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

  4. All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external parties

regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, if applicable,

correspondence between FOI applicants and third parties, where the

department's FOI team was copied.

Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in later emails. I

have also maintained my previous exclusions:

i. Personal information of FOI applicants.

ii. Personal information of departmental staff.

iii. Personal information of any third parties.

iv. Duplicate content.

The department will commence processing your revised request.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[7]dfat.gov.au | [8]Twitter | [9]Facebook | [10]Instagram  |

[11]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[12]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[7][FOI #11005 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:

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
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2. https://twitter.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
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6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
8. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Hi CR

Thank you for clarifying you have not yet revised the scope of your
request.

Regarding "external parties" do you intend to capture Minister's Offices
or other Commonwealth departments?

From there we will assess the informal revised scope and come back to you
with further advice.

Note that as per your instructions the consultation period is ongoing, no
formal revised scope has been received and the statutory clock has not
been restarted.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 9:52 AM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

I would like to apologise for any confusion caused by my previous email. I
intended to informally revise my request in order to maintain the ongoing
request consultation process. I kindly request that you consider the
request consultation period to remain in effect.

When I referred to "external parties" in my previous correspondence, I
intended to denote third parties involved in the processing of the
relevant FOI requests. This may include correspondence with the OAIC for
extensions of time, third-party consultations, and communications between
an applicant and the OAIC where the department was copied.

Before formally revising the scope of my request, I am seeking your
feedback on whether this reduced scope would still be considered to
substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the department from
its other operations.

I appreciate your consideration and ongoing engagement on this matter.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any clarification
or have additional questions.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Dear CR

Thank you for your revised scope, being:

                 1.            All correspondence between the department's

FOI team and FOI applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023

Hamas-Israel Conflict

                 2.            [removed]

                 3.            All correspondence between the department's

FOI team and any external parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

                 4.            All correspondence between FOI applicants

and any external parties regarding the above-mentioned requests. For

example, if applicable, correspondence between FOI applicants and third

parties, where the department's FOI team was copied.

                 Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in

later emails. I have also maintained my previous exclusions:

                 i.              Personal information of FOI applicants.

                 ii.             Personal information of departmental

staff.

                 iii.            Personal information of any third
parties.

                 iv.            Duplicate content.

We would be grateful if you could please confirm what you mean by

“external parties”.

Following clarification we will review the documents captured by your

revised scope and consider whether the practical refusal reason has been

resolved.

As previously advised 30 previous FOI requests are captured by the scope

of your request and it may be useful to:

•                     limit your request to a particular FOI request,

•                     exclude attachments to emails,

•                     limit the date range for your request, and

•                     limit the scope of your request to a particular part

of the FOI process.

While removing internal correspondence removes a significant portion of

documents, you have still requested access to documents from 30 previous

FOI requests. Accordingly the revised scope may not resolve the practical

refusal reason, particularly in instances where there are large

attachments to emails. The volume of documents could still be very large.

Should you wish to further revise the scope of your request please let the

department know, otherwise we will process as per the revised scope and

your clarification as to external parties.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[7][FOI #11005 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:

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
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2. https://twitter.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
5. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
8. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Dear CR

Thank you for your email.

The typical nature of correspondence with a Minister's Office includes if
a request was transferred to their Office under section 16 of the FOI Act
or if a request was finalised and the Office was notified of an upcoming
release.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[7][FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 12:56 PM
To: FOI <[8][DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

I appreciate you confirming the statutory timeline remains suspended.

Regarding the term "external parties" in our prior discussion, I confirm
my reference was intended to include other Commonwealth departments where
directly involved in processing the relevant FOI requests, for example
through extensions of time requests or third party consultation.

With respect to Ministers' Offices, could you please provide some context
as to the typical nature or subject matter of correspondence with them
relating to the FOI requests? As I am unaware of the purposes for such
communication, I am uncertain if capturing it within the scope of my
request would be warranted or yield relevant information.

Kind regards,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Hi CR

Thank you for clarifying you have not yet revised the scope of your

request.

Regarding "external parties" do you intend to capture Minister's Offices

or other Commonwealth departments?

From there we will assess the informal revised scope and come back to you

with further advice.

Note that as per your instructions the consultation period is ongoing, no

formal revised scope has been received and the statutory clock has not

been restarted.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[9][FOI #11005 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:

[10]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
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2. https://twitter.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
5. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
8. mailto:[DFAT request email]
9. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
10. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Dear CR

Thank you for your patience while we undertook further searches for
documents. I have undertaken a sample of documents from 10 of the FOI
requests captured by your request those are:

 1. LEX 9204
 2. LEX 9207
 3. LEX 9262
 4. LEX 9269
 5. LEX 9295
 6. LEX 9321
 7. LEX 9326
 8. LEX 9346
 9. LEX 9368
10. LEX 9419

This process took 1.5 hours and identified 190 pages of potentially
relevant documents. With 5 third party consultations identified as being
required (duplicate applicants for some matters) and 3 courtesy
consultations required. I estimate it would take another 17.91 hours to
examine the relevant pages for decision making (6.33 hours @ 2 minutes per
page), redact the pages that are to be partially disclosed (1.58 hours @ 2
minutes per page) and undertake third party consultations (10 hours @ 5
applicants).

This estimate does not include:

o time already spent searching for documents and collating documents,
o time it will take to undertake courtesy consultations with other
agencies, and
o decision making time including preparation and notification of the
decision.

This estimate again is only on a sample of 10 of 30 identified FOI
requests (33%) and considered to be conservative. I consider it would take
another 3 hours to identify all the documents within your scope and assume
there would be at least 600 pages of emails. However I consider this to be
a conservative estimate given the outcomes of the 10 requests sampled
versus the outcomes of other requests.

In the section 24AB letter we suggested in considering your revised scope
it may be useful to:

•                     limit your request to a particular FOI request,

•                     exclude attachments to emails,

•                     limit the date range for your request, and

•                     limit the scope of your request to a particular part
of the FOI process.

In response you informally suggested the removal of internal emails. While
this has significantly reduced the amount of documents captured, on the
basis of the sample undertaken we do not consider that the proposed scope
would resolve the practical refusal reason.

In considering your final revised scope it may be useful to:

•                     exclude your previous FOI request LEX 9321, as you
already have access to all relevant emails and no external parties were
consulted during the processing of this request,

•                     exclude any requests received via Right to Know as
the correspondence to and from applicant’s is already publicly available,

•                     limit your request to particular FOI requests (based
on the above sample we recommend 5 or less), and

•                     exclude attachments to emails.  

Pursuant to section 24AB(2)(e) of the Act, you have 14 days from the day
you were given the s24AB notice to:

 a. withdraw your request,
 b. revise the scope of your request, or
 c. inform the department that you do not wish to revise your request

14 days from the day you were given notice is 6 February 2024. If you do
not take an opportunity to take one of the above steps by this date, your
request will be considered to have been withdrawn.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 1:28 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

Thank you for providing clarification.

Upon consideration of the subject matter you described, which pertains
directly to statutory functions around request transfers and releases
under the FOI Act, I wish to include Ministers' Offices within the scope
of my request as an "external party".

Kind regards,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Dear CR

Thank you for your email.

The typical nature of correspondence with a Minister's Office includes if

a request was transferred to their Office under section 16 of the FOI Act

or if a request was finalised and the Office was notified of an upcoming

release.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[7][FOI #11005 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:

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dfat.gov.au/
2. https://twitter.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
5. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
8. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Hi CR

Thank you for your further informal revised scope. We will again go back
an undertake a review of the documents and provide our advice.

In relation to parts 3 and 4 of your request, we seek your agreement to
exclude extension of time correspondence from the OAIC. This
correspondence takes the form of an acknowledgement email and two
attachments, being the acknowledgement of the extension of time
application and the form receipt. This correspondence averages 8 pages per
email. Alternatively, we seek your agreement to exclude the attachments to
those emails, as the acknowledgement email itself is only one page.

Correspondence with other department's or Minister's officers would still
be captured by parts 3 and 4, with the exclusion of documents attached
that were subsequently disclosed to the applicant.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2024 5:11 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

Thank you for providing the update and sample searches regarding my FOI
request. I appreciate the department's consideration of how to revise the
scope to reduce the processing burden.

I wish to informally revise part 1 of my request as follows:

For any FOI requests where access to documents was granted by the
department, I exclude any documents that were disclosed to the applicant
(as they would be available on the disclosure log).

I also seek to exclude FOI request LEX 9321.

Further, I propose to exclude correspondence exchanged between the
department and FOI applicants, except for:

1. Any letter attachments sent from the department's FOI team to
applicants (such as 24AB consultation letters, decision letters, internal
review letters, etc).

2. Any internal review applications received from FOI applicants.

To clarify, part 1 would now only include outgoing letters to applicants
and incoming internal review applications.

Parts 3 and 4 of my request remain unchanged.

Before formally revising the scope of my request, please advise if
processing this draft revised request would still substantially and
unreasonably divert departmental resources.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Dear CR

Thank you for your patience while we undertook further searches for

documents. I have undertaken a sample of documents from 10 of the FOI

requests captured by your request those are:

  1. LEX 9204

  2. LEX 9207

  3. LEX 9262

  4. LEX 9269

  5. LEX 9295

  6. LEX 9321

  7. LEX 9326

  8. LEX 9346

  9. LEX 9368

10. LEX 9419

This process took 1.5 hours and identified 190 pages of potentially

relevant documents. With 5 third party consultations identified as being

required (duplicate applicants for some matters) and 3 courtesy

consultations required. I estimate it would take another 17.91 hours to

examine the relevant pages for decision making (6.33 hours @ 2 minutes per

page), redact the pages that are to be partially disclosed (1.58 hours @ 2

minutes per page) and undertake third party consultations (10 hours @ 5

applicants).

This estimate does not include:

o time already spent searching for documents and collating documents,

o time it will take to undertake courtesy consultations with other

agencies, and

o decision making time including preparation and notification of the

decision.

This estimate again is only on a sample of 10 of 30 identified FOI

requests (33%) and considered to be conservative. I consider it would take

another 3 hours to identify all the documents within your scope and assume

there would be at least 600 pages of emails. However I consider this to be

a conservative estimate given the outcomes of the 10 requests sampled

versus the outcomes of other requests.

In the section 24AB letter we suggested in considering your revised scope

it may be useful to:

•                     limit your request to a particular FOI request,

•                     exclude attachments to emails,

•                     limit the date range for your request, and

•                     limit the scope of your request to a particular part

of the FOI process.

In response you informally suggested the removal of internal emails. While

this has significantly reduced the amount of documents captured, on the

basis of the sample undertaken we do not consider that the proposed scope

would resolve the practical refusal reason.

In considering your final revised scope it may be useful to:

•                     exclude your previous FOI request LEX 9321, as you

already have access to all relevant emails and no external parties were

consulted during the processing of this request,

•                     exclude any requests received via Right to Know as

the correspondence to and from applicant’s is already publicly available,

•                     limit your request to particular FOI requests (based

on the above sample we recommend 5 or less), and

•                     exclude attachments to emails.

Pursuant to section 24AB(2)(e) of the Act, you have 14 days from the day

you were given the s24AB notice to:

  a. withdraw your request,

  b. revise the scope of your request, or

  c. inform the department that you do not wish to revise your request

14 days from the day you were given notice is 6 February 2024. If you do

not take an opportunity to take one of the above steps by this date, your

request will be considered to have been withdrawn.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[7][FOI #11005 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:

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
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hide quoted sections

Hi CR

Thank you for confirming. To clarify, when there is an extension under
section 15AA of the FOI Act this is with agreement with the applicant and
there is no outcome from the OAIC, we simply notify the OAIC of the
extension and receive an acknowledgement from the OAIC.  

We will include only the application form and the outcome of the
application (if any) and exclude all other correspondence with the OAIC
concerning extensions of time.  

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----

From: CR <[7][FOI #11005 email]>

Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 11:13 AM

To: FOI <[8][DFAT request email]>

Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

Please include the completed extension of time application forms and the
outcomes of the applications. I agree to exclude all other correspondence
with the OAIC concerning extensions of time.

I appreciate you assisting me in revising my request so that a practical
refusal reason no longer exists. I look forward to your latest review.

Kind regards,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Hi CR

Thank you for your further informal revised scope. We will again go back

an undertake a review of the documents and provide our advice.

In relation to parts 3 and 4 of your request, we seek your agreement to

exclude extension of time correspondence from the OAIC. This

correspondence takes the form of an acknowledgement email and two

attachments, being the acknowledgement of the extension of time

application and the form receipt. This correspondence averages 8 pages per

email. Alternatively, we seek your agreement to exclude the attachments to

those emails, as the acknowledgement email itself is only one page.

Correspondence with other department's or Minister's officers would still

be captured by parts 3 and 4, with the exclusion of documents attached

that were subsequently disclosed to the applicant.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[9][FOI #11005 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:

[10]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
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7. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
8. mailto:[DFAT request email]
9. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
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hide quoted sections

Hi CR

Thank you for confirming. Noting you have excluded correspondence
exchanged between the department and FOI applicants, except for:

 1. Any letter attachments sent from the department's FOI team to
applicants (such as 24AB consultation letters, decision letters,
internal review letters, etc).

Grateful if you could please also confirm that this also extends to
excluding attachments of correspondence between the department and FOI
applicants, where the applicant’s correspondence was attached to an email
to another agency. For example the correspondence is attached to an email
transferring a request to that agency under section 16 of the FOI Act.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 12:04 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

Thank you for the information.

There is no need to include s15AA extension of time correspondence with
the OAIC.

Looking forward to your new review before formally revising the scope of
my request.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Hi CR

Thank you for confirming. To clarify, when there is an extension under

section 15AA of the FOI Act this is with agreement with the applicant and

there is no outcome from the OAIC, we simply notify the OAIC of the

extension and receive an acknowledgement from the OAIC.

We will include only the application form and the outcome of the

application (if any) and exclude all other correspondence with the OAIC

concerning extensions of time.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[7][FOI #11005 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:

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
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2. https://twitter.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
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6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
8. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Hi CR

Many thanks for your prompt clarification. To ensure we are on the same
page the current informally revised scope is:

1.                   Any outgoing letters to applicants and incoming
internal review applications between the department's FOI team and FOI
applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel
Conflict

o Including any letter attachments sent from the department’s FOI team
to applicants (such as 24AB consultation letters, decision letters,
internal review letters, etc) and any internal review applicants
received from FOI applicants.
o Excluding correspondence exchanged between the department and
applicants, except where attached that correspondence is captured by
documents in parts 3 or 4.

2.            [removed]

3.            All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any
external parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

o This includes other agencies, Minister’s Offices and the OAIC.

o With regard to the OAIC:

+ please include the completed extension of time application
forms and the outcomes of the applications (except for
section 15AA applications)
+ exclude all other correspondence with the OAIC concerning
extensions of time

o With regard to the Minister’s Offices:

+ Where documents that were subsequently disclosed to the
applicant are attached these are out of scope (as they would
be available on the disclosure log)

4.            All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external
parties regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, if
applicable, correspondence between FOI applicants and third parties, where
the department's FOI team was copied.

Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in later emails. As
well as the following exclusions:

i.                     FOI request LEX 9321.

ii.                   Early parts of email streams captured in later
emails.

iii.                 Any documents that were subsequently disclosed to the
applicant (as they would be available on the disclosure log).

iv.                 Personal information of FOI applicants.

ii.             Personal information of departmental staff.

iii.            Personal information of any third parties.

iv.            Duplicate content.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 1:46 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

All attachments sent to other agencies remain in scope for part 3 of my
request, including attachments of correspondence between the department
and FOI applicants.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Hi CR

Thank you for confirming. Noting you have excluded correspondence

exchanged between the department and FOI applicants, except for:

  1. Any letter attachments sent from the department's FOI team to

applicants (such as 24AB consultation letters, decision letters,

internal review letters, etc).

Grateful if you could please also confirm that this also extends to

excluding attachments of correspondence between the department and FOI

applicants, where the applicant’s correspondence was attached to an email

to another agency. For example the correspondence is attached to an email

transferring a request to that agency under section 16 of the FOI Act.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[7][FOI #11005 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:

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
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6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
8. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Hi CR

The department has only assessed 10 of 30 FOI requests captured by the
scope of the below to date, as documents had been collated yesterday and
now irrelevant documents could be easily excluded.

The department requires additional time to review the remaining 20 FOI
requests and determine if the practical refusal has been resolved. It is
open to you to formally revise now should you wish to, or we will come
back to you in the coming days with updated advice (noting the upcoming
public holiday and weekend) so this will likely be on Monday.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 2:28 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

I write to confirm we are in agreement regarding the informally revised
scope of my FOI request.

Please advise how you would like to proceed from here. Does the department
require time to undertake a review to determine whether the processing of
this revised scope would still be considered to substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of the department from its other
operations? Or should I formally submit this revision, thereby concluding
the consultation process as per s 24AB of the Act?

I look forward to your response at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Hi CR

Many thanks for your prompt clarification. To ensure we are on the same

page the current informally revised scope is:

1.                   Any outgoing letters to applicants and incoming

internal review applications between the department's FOI team and FOI

applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel

Conflict

o Including any letter attachments sent from the department’s FOI team

to applicants (such as 24AB consultation letters, decision letters,

internal review letters, etc) and any internal review applicants

received from FOI applicants.

o Excluding correspondence exchanged between the department and

applicants, except where attached that correspondence is captured by

documents in parts 3 or 4.

2.            [removed]

3.            All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any

external parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

o This includes other agencies, Minister’s Offices and the OAIC.

o With regard to the OAIC:

+ please include the completed extension of time application

forms and the outcomes of the applications (except for

section 15AA applications)

+ exclude all other correspondence with the OAIC concerning

extensions of time

o With regard to the Minister’s Offices:

+ Where documents that were subsequently disclosed to the

applicant are attached these are out of scope (as they would

be available on the disclosure log)

4.            All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external

parties regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, if

applicable, correspondence between FOI applicants and third parties, where

the department's FOI team was copied.

Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in later emails. As

well as the following exclusions:

i.                     FOI request LEX 9321.

ii.                   Early parts of email streams captured in later

emails.

iii.                 Any documents that were subsequently disclosed to the

applicant (as they would be available on the disclosure log).

iv.                 Personal information of FOI applicants.

ii.             Personal information of departmental staff.

iii.            Personal information of any third parties.

iv.            Duplicate content.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[7][FOI #11005 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:

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
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2. https://twitter.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
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6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
8. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Hi CR

Many thanks, should we need to we can seek your agreement to extend the
consultation period under section 24(5) of the FOI Act. However we
anticipate this process should be finalised by Monday.  

You too!

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 2:56 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

I am happy to wait while the department completes this review. I
understand that I must formally revise my request before the consultation
period ends on Tuesday the 30th of January.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Enjoy the long weekend.

Kind regards,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Hi CR

The department has only assessed 10 of 30 FOI requests captured by the

scope of the below to date, as documents had been collated yesterday and

now irrelevant documents could be easily excluded.

The department requires additional time to review the remaining 20 FOI

requests and determine if the practical refusal has been resolved. It is

open to you to formally revise now should you wish to, or we will come

back to you in the coming days with updated advice (noting the upcoming

public holiday and weekend) so this will likely be on Monday.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[7][FOI #11005 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:

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dfat.gov.au/
2. https://twitter.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
5. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
8. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Hi CR

Further to the below, we have finalised our review of the documents
captured by your request and confirm that the revised scope resolves the
practical refusal reason.

For your information, no applicants have sought internal review other than
yourself and no extensions of time, other than with agreement of the
applicant, were sought. There is also no correspondence falling within
part 4 of your request, so you may wish to exclude this from your request.

Note that the right of access applies to documents that exist at the time
the FOI request was made (paragraph 2.34 of the FOI Guidelines). The date
range for your request has been taken to be 9 October 2023 (the date the
department received the first FOI request relating to the 2023
Hamas-Israel Conflict) to 7 January 2024 at 11.27am (when the department
received your FOI request).

Grateful if you could please confirm that your revised request is as
follows:

1.                   Any outgoing letters to applicants and incoming
internal review applications between the department's FOI team and FOI
applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel
Conflict

o Including any letter attachments sent from the department’s FOI team
to applicants (such as 24AB consultation letters, decision letters,
internal review letters, etc) and any internal review applicants
received from FOI applicants.
o Excluding correspondence exchanged between the department and
applicants, except where attached that correspondence is captured by
documents in parts 3 or 4.

2.            [removed]

3.            All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any
external parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

o This includes other agencies, Minister’s Offices and the OAIC.

o With regard to the OAIC:

+ Please include the completed extension of time application
forms and the outcomes of the applications (except for
section 15AA applications).
+ Exclude all other correspondence with the OAIC concerning
extensions of time.

o With regard to the Minister’s Offices:

+ Where documents that were subsequently disclosed to the
applicant are attached these are out of scope (as they would
be available on the disclosure log).

4.            All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external
parties regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, if
applicable, correspondence between FOI applicants and third parties, where
the department's FOI team was copied.

Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in later emails. As
well as the following exclusions:

i.                     FOI request LEX 9321.

ii.                   Early parts of email streams captured in later
emails.

iii.                 Any documents that were subsequently disclosed to the
applicant (as they would be available on the disclosure log).

iv.                 Personal information of FOI applicants.

v.                   Personal information of departmental staff.

vi.                 Personal information of any third parties.

vii.                Duplicate content.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

From: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 2:59 PM
To: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

Hi CR

Many thanks, should we need to we can seek your agreement to extend the
consultation period under section 24(5) of the FOI Act. However we
anticipate this process should be finalised by Monday.  

You too!

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[7]dfat.gov.au | [8]Twitter | [9]Facebook | [10]Instagram  |
[11]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[12]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[13][FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 2:56 PM
To: FOI <[14][DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

I am happy to wait while the department completes this review. I
understand that I must formally revise my request before the consultation
period ends on Tuesday the 30th of January.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Enjoy the long weekend.

Kind regards,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Hi CR

The department has only assessed 10 of 30 FOI requests captured by the

scope of the below to date, as documents had been collated yesterday and

now irrelevant documents could be easily excluded.

The department requires additional time to review the remaining 20 FOI

requests and determine if the practical refusal has been resolved. It is

open to you to formally revise now should you wish to, or we will come

back to you in the coming days with updated advice (noting the upcoming

public holiday and weekend) so this will likely be on Monday.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[15][FOI #11005 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:

[16]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
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2. https://twitter.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
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6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. http://www.dfat.gov.au/
8. https://twitter.com/DFAT
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13. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
14. mailto:[DFAT request email]
15. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
16. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Hi CR

Many thanks for confirmation of your revised scope. We process your
request as per the below and confirm the consultation period has
concluded.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2024 3:07 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

Thank you for finalising your searches.

I hereby formally revise my request as follows:

The date range for my request is 9 October 2023 to 7 January 2024 at 11.27
am.

1.      Any outgoing letters from the department's FOI team to FOI
applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel
Conflict.

o Including any letter attachments sent from the department’s FOI team to
applicants (such as 24AB consultation letters, decision letters, etc).

o Excluding correspondence exchanged between the department and
applicants, except where attached that correspondence is captured by
documents in part 3.

2.      [removed]

3.      All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any
external parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

o This includes other agencies, Minister’s Offices and the OAIC.

o With regard to the OAIC:

+ Exclude correspondence with the OAIC concerning section 15AA extensions
of time.

o With regard to the Minister’s Offices:

+ Where documents that were subsequently disclosed to the applicant are
attached these are out of scope (as they would be available on the
disclosure log).

4.      [removed]

Exclusions:

i.      FOI request LEX 9321.

ii.     Early parts of email streams captured in later emails.

iii.    Any documents subsequently disclosed to the applicant (as they
would be available on the disclosure log).

iv.     Personal information of FOI applicants.

v.      Personal information of departmental staff.

vi.     Personal information of any third parties.

vii.    Duplicate content.

I look forward to receiving your decision by the due date of February 22,
2024.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Hi CR

Further to the below, we have finalised our review of the documents

captured by your request and confirm that the revised scope resolves the

practical refusal reason.

For your information, no applicants have sought internal review other than

yourself and no extensions of time, other than with agreement of the

applicant, were sought. There is also no correspondence falling within

part 4 of your request, so you may wish to exclude this from your request.

Note that the right of access applies to documents that exist at the time

the FOI request was made (paragraph 2.34 of the FOI Guidelines). The date

range for your request has been taken to be 9 October 2023 (the date the

department received the first FOI request relating to the 2023

Hamas-Israel Conflict) to 7 January 2024 at 11.27am (when the department

received your FOI request).

Grateful if you could please confirm that your revised request is as

follows:

1.                   Any outgoing letters to applicants and incoming

internal review applications between the department's FOI team and FOI

applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel

Conflict

o Including any letter attachments sent from the department’s FOI team

to applicants (such as 24AB consultation letters, decision letters,

internal review letters, etc) and any internal review applicants

received from FOI applicants.

o Excluding correspondence exchanged between the department and

applicants, except where attached that correspondence is captured by

documents in parts 3 or 4.

2.            [removed]

3.            All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any

external parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

o This includes other agencies, Minister’s Offices and the OAIC.

o With regard to the OAIC:

+ Please include the completed extension of time application

forms and the outcomes of the applications (except for

section 15AA applications).

+ Exclude all other correspondence with the OAIC concerning

extensions of time.

o With regard to the Minister’s Offices:

+ Where documents that were subsequently disclosed to the

applicant are attached these are out of scope (as they would

be available on the disclosure log).

4.            All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external

parties regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, if

applicable, correspondence between FOI applicants and third parties, where

the department's FOI team was copied.

Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in later emails. As

well as the following exclusions:

i.                     FOI request LEX 9321.

ii.                   Early parts of email streams captured in later

emails.

iii.                 Any documents that were subsequently disclosed to the

applicant (as they would be available on the disclosure log).

iv.                 Personal information of FOI applicants.

v.                   Personal information of departmental staff.

vi.                 Personal information of any third parties.

vii.                Duplicate content.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

From: FOI <[DFAT request email]>

Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 2:59 PM

To: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>

Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB

Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

Hi CR

Many thanks, should we need to we can seek your agreement to extend the

consultation period under section 24(5) of the FOI Act. However we

anticipate this process should be finalised by Monday.

You too!

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[7]dfat.gov.au | [8]Twitter | [9]Facebook | [10]Instagram  |

[11]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[12]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[7][FOI #11005 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:

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dfat.gov.au/
2. https://twitter.com/DFAT
3. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
4. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
5. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
6. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
7. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
8. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

OFFICIAL

FOI Reference: LEX 9870 

Dear CR

Thank you for your FOI request made to the Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade (the department) and your ongoing assistance throughout this
process.

 
We write to you to seek your agreement to an extension of 7 calendar days
to process your FOI request in accordance with section 15AA of the FOI
Act.  

The additional time will enable the department to finalise its processes
and provide you with an outcome.  

Please be assured that we will continue to process your request as quickly
as possible, and will provide an outcome to you as soon as it is
available.  

If you are minded to agree, we would be grateful if you could please
confirm your agreement in writing by COB Wednesday 14 February 2024.  

If we do not hear from you, we may apply to the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner for an extension to the statutory timeframe. 
 
Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact
[1][DFAT request email]. 

We appreciate your assistance in this matter.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[2]dfat.gov.au | [3]Twitter | [4]Facebook | [5]Instagram  | [6]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[7]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

From: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2024 3:11 PM
To: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

Hi CR

Many thanks for confirmation of your revised scope. We process your
request as per the below and confirm the consultation period has
concluded.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[8]dfat.gov.au | [9]Twitter | [10]Facebook | [11]Instagram  |
[12]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[13]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[14][FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2024 3:07 PM
To: FOI <[15][DFAT request email]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB
Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click
links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

Thank you for finalising your searches.

I hereby formally revise my request as follows:

The date range for my request is 9 October 2023 to 7 January 2024 at 11.27
am.

1.      Any outgoing letters from the department's FOI team to FOI
applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel
Conflict.

o Including any letter attachments sent from the department’s FOI team to
applicants (such as 24AB consultation letters, decision letters, etc).

o Excluding correspondence exchanged between the department and
applicants, except where attached that correspondence is captured by
documents in part 3.

2.      [removed]

3.      All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any
external parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

o This includes other agencies, Minister’s Offices and the OAIC.

o With regard to the OAIC:

+ Exclude correspondence with the OAIC concerning section 15AA extensions
of time.

o With regard to the Minister’s Offices:

+ Where documents that were subsequently disclosed to the applicant are
attached these are out of scope (as they would be available on the
disclosure log).

4.      [removed]

Exclusions:

i.      FOI request LEX 9321.

ii.     Early parts of email streams captured in later emails.

iii.    Any documents subsequently disclosed to the applicant (as they
would be available on the disclosure log).

iv.     Personal information of FOI applicants.

v.      Personal information of departmental staff.

vi.     Personal information of any third parties.

vii.    Duplicate content.

I look forward to receiving your decision by the due date of February 22,
2024.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

Hi CR

Further to the below, we have finalised our review of the documents

captured by your request and confirm that the revised scope resolves the

practical refusal reason.

For your information, no applicants have sought internal review other than

yourself and no extensions of time, other than with agreement of the

applicant, were sought. There is also no correspondence falling within

part 4 of your request, so you may wish to exclude this from your request.

Note that the right of access applies to documents that exist at the time

the FOI request was made (paragraph 2.34 of the FOI Guidelines). The date

range for your request has been taken to be 9 October 2023 (the date the

department received the first FOI request relating to the 2023

Hamas-Israel Conflict) to 7 January 2024 at 11.27am (when the department

received your FOI request).

Grateful if you could please confirm that your revised request is as

follows:

1.                   Any outgoing letters to applicants and incoming

internal review applications between the department's FOI team and FOI

applicants regarding FOI requests relating to the 2023 Hamas-Israel

Conflict

o Including any letter attachments sent from the department’s FOI team

to applicants (such as 24AB consultation letters, decision letters,

internal review letters, etc) and any internal review applicants

received from FOI applicants.

o Excluding correspondence exchanged between the department and

applicants, except where attached that correspondence is captured by

documents in parts 3 or 4.

2.            [removed]

3.            All correspondence between the department's FOI team and any

external parties regarding the above-mentioned requests.

o This includes other agencies, Minister’s Offices and the OAIC.

o With regard to the OAIC:

+ Please include the completed extension of time application

forms and the outcomes of the applications (except for

section 15AA applications).

+ Exclude all other correspondence with the OAIC concerning

extensions of time.

o With regard to the Minister’s Offices:

+ Where documents that were subsequently disclosed to the

applicant are attached these are out of scope (as they would

be available on the disclosure log).

4.            All correspondence between FOI applicants and any external

parties regarding the above-mentioned requests. For example, if

applicable, correspondence between FOI applicants and third parties, where

the department's FOI team was copied.

Please exclude early parts of email streams captured in later emails. As

well as the following exclusions:

i.                     FOI request LEX 9321.

ii.                   Early parts of email streams captured in later

emails.

iii.                 Any documents that were subsequently disclosed to the

applicant (as they would be available on the disclosure log).

iv.                 Personal information of FOI applicants.

v.                   Personal information of departmental staff.

vi.                 Personal information of any third parties.

vii.                Duplicate content.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram  | [5]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

From: FOI <[DFAT request email]>

Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 2:59 PM

To: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>

Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB

Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

Hi CR

Many thanks, should we need to we can seek your agreement to extend the

consultation period under section 24(5) of the FOI Act. However we

anticipate this process should be finalised by Monday.

You too!

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[7]dfat.gov.au | [8]Twitter | [9]Facebook | [10]Instagram  |

[11]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[12]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[16][FOI #11005 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:

[17]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[DFAT request email]
2. http://www.dfat.gov.au/
3. https://twitter.com/DFAT
4. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
5. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
6. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
7. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
8. http://www.dfat.gov.au/
9. https://twitter.com/DFAT
10. https://www.facebook.com/dfat.gov.au
11. https://www.instagram.com/dfat
12. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
13. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publica...
14. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
15. mailto:[DFAT request email]
16. mailto:[FOI #11005 email]
17. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

OFFICIAL
FOI Reference: LEX 9870

Dear CR

Please find attached correspondence regarding the outcome of your FOI request, and the documents that have been released to you.

Kind Regards

DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
dfat.gov.au | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2024 10:29 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Request for additional time (LEX 9870) [SEC=OFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

I agree to the extension of time.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

OFFICIAL

FOI Reference: LEX 9870

Dear CR

Thank you for your FOI request made to the Department of Foreign Affairs

and Trade (the department) and your ongoing assistance throughout this

process.

We write to you to seek your agreement to an extension of 7 calendar days

to process your FOI request in accordance with section 15AA of the FOI

Act.

The additional time will enable the department to finalise its processes

and provide you with an outcome.

Please be assured that we will continue to process your request as quickly

as possible, and will provide an outcome to you as soon as it is

available.

If you are minded to agree, we would be grateful if you could please

confirm your agreement in writing by COB Wednesday 14 February 2024.

If we do not hear from you, we may apply to the Office of the Australian

Information Commissioner for an extension to the statutory timeframe.

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact

[1][DFAT request email].

We appreciate your assistance in this matter.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[2]dfat.gov.au | [3]Twitter | [4]Facebook | [5]Instagram | [6]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[7]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

From: FOI <[DFAT request email]>

Sent: Monday, January 29, 2024 3:11 PM

To: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>

Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] LEX 9870 - Your DFAT FOI Request - s24AB

Consultation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

Hi CR

Many thanks for confirmation of your revised scope. We process your

request as per the below and confirm the consultation period has

concluded.

Kind regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

[8]dfat.gov.au | [9]Twitter | [10]Facebook | [11]Instagram |

[12]LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

[13]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout

Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.

We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to

their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #11005 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:

https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

hide quoted sections

OFFICIAL
Dear CR

Thank you for your email.

Please be advised that no decision letter was provided to the applicant for LEX 9373, as they withdrew their FOI request by choice.

Kind Regards

DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
dfat.gov.au | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-----Original Message-----
From: CR <[FOI #11005 email]>
Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2024 2:00 PM
To: FOI <[DFAT request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Your DFAT FOI Request - Outcome - LEX 9870 [SEC=OFFICIAL]

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organisation. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender.

Dear DFAT FOI Team,

Thank you for access to the requested documents.

Can you please confirm that no documents relevant to LEX 9373 were found? This FOI request was combined with LEX 9207, 9269, 9295, 9321, 9322, 9326, 9346, 9358, 9366, 9368, 9373, 9419 and 9428. Every applicant in the above requests received a 24AB consultation letter and a decision letter, except for the applicant of LEX 9373. I am wondering why this is.

Yours sincerely,

CR

-----Original Message-----

OFFICIAL

FOI Reference: LEX 9870

Dear CR

Please find attached correspondence regarding the outcome of your FOI request, and the documents that have been released to you.

Kind Regards

DFAT FOI Team

_______________________________

Freedom of Information Section

Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

dfat.gov.au | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to their Elders, past, present and emerging.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #11005 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:

https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

hide quoted sections