OFFICIAL

Dear Kenneth,

Thank you for your email in which you requested access under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to the following documents:

‘I request the documents relating to the health and fitness statistics or
related information of successful ADF applicants, if possible the number
or statistics of successful ADF applicants with prior mental health
issues’.

I note that your request is seeking access to 'all documents' relating to
the above mentioned matter. Please be advised that a request for all
documents concerning a particular subject will likely attract refusal
under section 24AA of the FOI Act because, with few exceptions, it would
simply not be possible for the decision maker to certify that he or she
has identified every copy of every document in the Department's
possession. To do so would require a search of every hard copy file and
the electronic communication and records management systems used by
Defence. It is considered that the workload involved in conscientiously
attempting to do so would involve a substantial and unreasonable diversion
of the resources of the agency.

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

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

In accordance with section 24AB of the FOI Act, Defence is required to
consult with you advising of the intention to refuse access to your
request in its current form.

In accordance with paragraph 24AB(2)(c) of the FOI Act, I am the nominated
person with whom you should contact with a view to agreeing to one of the
following options:

    a.    withdraw your request

    b.    revise your request; or

    c.    indicate that you do not wish to revise your request.

In accordance with section 24AB(9) of the FOI Act, Defence is only
required to undertake this consultation process once, and you must contact
me within 14 days to discuss.

Notwithstanding all of the above, I would suggest you provide a date range
relating to your scope.

I encourage you to contact me so I can assist you in moving forward with
your inquiry.

Kind regards,

Kathryn

Freedom of Information
Department of Defence

Phone: (02) 6132 7927

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