Dear Ms Jones,

I refer to your correspondence of 11 June 2021 to the Department of Health
(department) which is outlined below:

“Please provide a dollar figure for the last 5 financial years general
ledger for the department.

We are not asking for the details being the GL just the expenditure by
line item for the department for the 5 years”

In its current format, your request is not valid under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the Act).

Section 15 of the Act requires a request for access to meet certain
requirements. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request must:

• state that the request is an application for purposes of the FOI Act;

• provide sufficient information about the document(s) to allow us to
process the request; and

• provide an address for reply.

Your request does not provide information reasonably necessary for the
department to identify the documents to which you refer. Reasons for the
invalidity of your request are summarised below:

·         The request is unclear in communicating whether you are seeking
access to the department’s ‘general ledger’, given that the second part of
the request states that they “are not asking for the details being the
GL”.

·         The FOI Act provides a mechanism for individuals to access
‘documents’ held by entities such as the department. It does not provide a
mechanism for making enquiries or asking questions about issues. The
latter part of your request refers to “expenditure by line item” which
appears to be a request for information rather than a request for access
to documents.

We would greatly appreciate if you could provide us with more information
on the specific document/s that you require.

Further information about how to submit a valid FOI request is available
on the Department of Health website:

[1]https://www.health.gov.au/about-us/corpo...

Please contact the FOI Unit on (02) 6289 1666, or via email at
[2][email address] should you have any further questions.

FOI Unit

FOI and Legislation Section

[3]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch

Legal & Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group

Australian Government Department of Health

T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [4][Health request email]

GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present.

If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.

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