You have contacted the Freedom of Information Team at the Commonwealth
Department of Education (the department).  If your email relates to a
Freedom of Information (FOI) application made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act), the department will respond as soon
as possible.

This email address is only for applications for access to documents under
the FOI Act.  The department is unable to respond to non-FOI related
enquiries sent to this email address, and accordingly, emails sent to this
email address that are not FOI related will not be responded to or
forwarded.

CRICOS Codes

If you are seeking information relating to the Commonwealth Register of
Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS), information about
Australian education providers offering courses to people studying in
Australia on student visas and the courses offered, including CRICOS
codes, is available at [1]http://cricos.education.gov.au//. Monthly CRICOS
data exports are available at [2]https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/cricos. 
The department is unable to respond to non-FOI related CRICOS enquiries
sent to this email address.

Non-FOI Enquiries

If you have a non-FOI related enquiry for the department, you can contact
the department by using the online enquiry form at
[3]https://www.education.gov.au/about-us/co....

Regards,

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education

Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 566 046 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments. 

References

Visible links
1. http://cricos.education.gov.au/
2. https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/cricos
3. https://www.education.gov.au/about-us/co...

Dear Ash

We refer to your requests, received by the Department of Education
(department) on 31 July 2024, for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

Your request received at 10.46 am on 31 July 2024 (request 1) sought
access to:

“… final copies of briefing notes provided to the Minister for Education
between 1 January 2024 and 1 May 2024 regarding the issue of HECS
indexation.”

Your request received at 10.51 am on 31 July 2024 (request 2) sought
access to:

“… copies of final briefing notes provided to the Minister for Education
on the issue of HECS indexation, between 1 January 2024 and 1 May 2024.”

As your requests 1 and 2 appear to be seeking access to the same
documents, the department will process your later request (request 2) and
deem your earlier request (request 1) to be withdrawn unless you advise
otherwise by COB 15 August 2024. 

Processing period

Your request was received by the department on 31 July 2024 and the 30
day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the day
after that date. The period of 30 days may be extended if we need to
consult third parties or for other reasons permitted under the FOI Act. We
will advise you if this happens.

Interpretation of requests

The department has interpreted your requests to be seeking access to
formal briefs provided to the Minister for Education on the issue of
indexation of the HELP program (previously known as HECS), between 1
January 2024 and 1 May 2024. If we have misinterpreted your requests,
please let us know by 15 August 2024.  If we do not hear otherwise from
you by that date, we will proceed on the basis that we have correctly
interpreted your requests.

Charges

The department will advise you if a charge is payable to process your
request and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No
charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.

Your address

The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address that we can send
notices to. You have advised your electronic address for your request 2 is
[1][email address]. Unless you tell us
otherwise, we will send all notices and correspondence to this address.

Disclosure log

Information released under the FOI Act may be published on a disclosure
log on our website, subject to certain exceptions. These exceptions
include where publication of personal, business, professional or
commercial information would be unreasonable.

Exclusion of employee details

To the extent the department has documents in its possession that fall
within the scope of your request, we will treat the names, signatures,
position titles, staff identification numbers and direct contact details
of Commonwealth employees as irrelevant in accordance with section 22 of
the FOI Act, unless you tell us otherwise by 15 August 2024.

Further assistance

If you have any questions about your request, please email
[2][email address].

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Team

Department of Education

Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 566 046 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments. 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]

Dear Ash

We refer to your requests, received by the Department of Education
(department) on 31 July 2024, for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

Your request received at 10.46 am on 31 July 2024 (request 1) sought
access to:

“… final copies of briefing notes provided to the Minister for Education
between 1 January 2024 and 1 May 2024 regarding the issue of HECS
indexation.”

Your request received at 10.51 am on 31 July 2024 (request 2) sought
access to:

“… copies of final briefing notes provided to the Minister for Education
on the issue of HECS indexation, between 1 January 2024 and 1 May 2024.”

As your requests 1 and 2 appear to be seeking access to the same
documents, the department will process your later request (request 2) and
deem your earlier request (request 1) to be withdrawn unless you advise
otherwise by COB 15 August 2024. 

Processing period

Your request was received by the department on 31 July 2024 and the 30
day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the day
after that date. The period of 30 days may be extended if we need to
consult third parties or for other reasons permitted under the FOI Act. We
will advise you if this happens.

Interpretation of requests

The department has interpreted your requests to be seeking access to
formal briefs provided to the Minister for Education on the issue of
indexation of the HELP program (previously known as HECS), between 1
January 2024 and 1 May 2024. If we have misinterpreted your requests,
please let us know by 15 August 2024.  If we do not hear otherwise from
you by that date, we will proceed on the basis that we have correctly
interpreted your requests.

Charges

The department will advise you if a charge is payable to process your
request and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No
charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.

Your address

The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address that we can send
notices to. You have advised your electronic address for your request 2 is
[1][email address]. Unless you tell us
otherwise, we will send all notices and correspondence to this address.

Disclosure log

Information released under the FOI Act may be published on a disclosure
log on our website, subject to certain exceptions. These exceptions
include where publication of personal, business, professional or
commercial information would be unreasonable.

Exclusion of employee details

To the extent the department has documents in its possession that fall
within the scope of your request, we will treat the names, signatures,
position titles, staff identification numbers and direct contact details
of Commonwealth employees as irrelevant in accordance with section 22 of
the FOI Act, unless you tell us otherwise by 15 August 2024.

Further assistance

If you have any questions about your request, please email
[2][email address].

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Team

Department of Education

Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 566 046 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments. 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]

Dear Ash

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your freedom of information request.

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education

Notice:

The information contained in this email message and any attached files may be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's switchboard on 1300 566 046 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.

Dear Ash

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your freedom of information request.

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Education

Notice:

The information contained in this email message and any attached files may be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's switchboard on 1300 566 046 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.