HOSM Application Form information collected by the Department
Dear PMC
This request for documents is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act.
Please provide
1. A copy of each ‘HOSM Application Form’ the Department collected from each prospective awardee serving with the ‘Australian contingent to the humanitarian relief operation of GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies’.
2. A copy of the Department’s correspondence to the Governor-General recommending any award of the HOSM or clasp to members of the ‘Australian contingent to the humanitarian relief operation of GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies’
3. A document recording the number of ‘HOSM Application Forms’ the Department collected from prospective awardees claiming to have served with the ‘Australian contingent to the humanitarian relief operation of GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies’.
4. A document recording the number of persons the Department recommended the Governor-General award the HOSM in recognition of their service with the ‘Australian contingent to the humanitarian relief operation of GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies’.
The date/time of the Department’s correspondence is relevant to our request.
Thank you for your time.
Kind regards
Trav S
OFFICIAL
Reference: 2024/316
Dear Mr Trav S
Thank you for your email of 23 September 2024 in which you made a request
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department).
You set out the terms of the request as follows:
1. A copy of each ‘HOSM Application Form’ the Department collected from
each prospective awardee serving with the ‘Australian contingent to the
humanitarian relief operation of GE Infrastructure, Water & Process
Technologies’.
2. A copy of the Department’s correspondence to the Governor-General
recommending any award of the HOSM or clasp to members of the ‘Australian
contingent to the humanitarian relief operation of GE Infrastructure,
Water & Process Technologies’
3. A document recording the number of ‘HOSM Application Forms’ the
Department collected from prospective awardees claiming to have served
with the ‘Australian contingent to the humanitarian relief operation of GE
Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies’.
4. A document recording the number of persons the Department recommended
the Governor-General award the HOSM in recognition of their service with
the ‘Australian contingent to the humanitarian relief operation of GE
Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies’.
The date/time of the Department’s correspondence is relevant to our
request.
Timeframe for receiving your decision
The 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the
day after the Department received your request, you should therefore
expect a decision from us by 23 October 2024.
The processing period of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances
and we will write to you separately regarding any extension of time.
Charges
Agencies may decide that an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect
of a request for access to documents. If the Department decides that you
are liable to pay a charge, we will send you a preliminary assessment of
the charge as soon as possible.
Publication of documents
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log at
[1]https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...,
subject to certain exceptions.
If you think you might wish to raise any objections to the publication of
your requested document, which may be released to you, please contact us
by email at [2][DPMC request email]. If you do wish to object to the
publication of information, you would need to set out your reasons.
Exclusion of officers’ names and contact details
For documents that fall within scope of the request, it is the
Department’s policy to withhold:
o any person’s signature;
o the names and contact details of Australian Public Service officers
not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);
o the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers;
o the names and contact details of Ministerial staff at a level below
Chief of Staff.
If you consider the information categorised above is relevant to the terms
of your request please let us know at [3][DPMC request email], otherwise we will
take it that you agree this category of information may be reasonably
regarded as irrelevant and we will delete this information if it appears
in the documents that are otherwise responsive to your request.
The names and other details of SES officers will not be withheld unless
there is some reason for that information to be exempt from release.
Further information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
Yours sincerely
Coordinator | FOI Section
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. (02) 6271 5849
e. [5][email address] w. [6]pmc.gov.au
[7]Image removed by sender.
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
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you
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you
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______________________________________________________________________
References
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1. https://www.pmc.gov.au/about-us/accounta...
2. mailto:[DPMC request email]
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. https://pmc.gov.au/
OFFICIAL
Reference: FOI/2024/316
Dear Trav
We write in relation to your request under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act) and to advise that the request covers documents which:
· contain information concerning the business, commercial or
financial affairs of an organisation, or a person’s business or
professional affairs, and the Department is required to consult with the
person or organisation concerned (under section 27 of the FOI Act) before
making a decision on the release of the document
· contain another individual’s personal information, and the
Department is required to consult with that individual (under section 27A
of the FOI Act) before making a decision on the release of the document
The consultation mechanism under section 27 and 27A applies when we
believe the person or organisation concerned may wish to contend that the
requested documents are exempt because their release would disclose trade
secrets or commercially valuable information or may adversely affect their
business or financial affairs, and for reasons of personal privacy.
Where a consultation under section 27 and 27A is entered into the FOI Act
provides an extension of the processing period by 30 days (s 15(6)) in
order to allow the Department time to consult with that organisation or
person. As a result the extended due date of your FOI request is 22
November 2024.
Please write to us if you require a further update of your request in the
coming weeks, you can contact us at [1][email address]
Yours sincerely
Kyara
Kyara (she/her)
Adviser
FOI Section | Legal Policy Branch[]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. (02) 6271 5849
Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [2][email address] w. [3]pmc.gov.au
[4]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
OFFICIAL
Departmental reference: FOI/2024/316
Dear Trav S
Please find attached the decision regarding your request under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982.
Yours sincerely
Kyara
Kyara (she/her)
Adviser
FOI Section | Legal Policy Branch[]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. (02) 6271 5849
Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [1][email address] w. [2]pmc.gov.au
[3]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
Dear FOI,
I request internal review of the failure to address Point 4 of my FOI request, as well as the decisions to withhold material in accordance with section 47F - personal privacy exemptions.
Failure to Address Point 4 of My Original Request
1. My FOI request specifically sought a document recording the number of persons the Department recommended to the Governor-General for the award of the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal (HOSM) in recognition of their service with the Australian contingent to the humanitarian relief operation of GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies (Point 4).
2. The primary decision-maker failed to address this aspect of my request entirely. If such a document does not exist, section 17(1) of the FOI Act requires the Department to consider whether it can produce a written document using its computer systems or resources that is capable of meeting the terms of my request. The failure to consider this obligation constitutes a significant oversight.
3. No explanation has been provided regarding why this request was not fulfilled or why the Department could not generate a document under section 17(1). This omission undermines the comprehensiveness and adequacy of the decision-making process.
Challenge to the Legitimacy of Section 47F Exemptions
4. The Department no longer disputes the fact that HOSMs were awarded to commercial security contractors serving with the Australian contingent to General Electric. This fact fundamentally undermines the decision to apply section 47F exemptions. The public interest in understanding this aspect of the HOSM awards far outweighs any perceived privacy concerns.
5. The decision-maker cannot reasonably claim to have balanced the public interest as required under the FOI Act without acknowledging and taking into consideration the fact that HOSMs were awarded to security contractors. By omitting this critical context, the decision fails to meet the transparency and accountability standards required by the FOI Act.
Failure to Properly Balance Public Interest Factors
6. The withheld information pertains to decisions about the awarding of the HOSM—a matter of significant public interest. Transparency in the administration of national honors is essential to maintaining public trust in the integrity of these processes.
7. The Department’s decision fails to recognize that the awarding of HOSMs to commercial security contractors is a matter of public importance, warranting transparency to ensure the eligibility criteria were fairly and consistently applied. Without addressing this context, the Department cannot reasonably argue that it has fulfilled its duty to weigh the public interest in favor of disclosure against any legitimate privacy concerns.
Partiality of the Decision-Maker
8. The decision-maker's failure to address or respond to Point 4 of my request raises concerns about the thoroughness and objectivity of their analysis. This omission reflects either a lack of understanding of the context or a deliberate attempt to avoid disclosing potentially sensitive or unfavorable information. Additionally, the failure to incorporate the publicly acknowledged fact of HOSM awards to security contractors into the public interest analysis raises questions about the validity and fairness of the decision.
Precedent and Procedural Fairness
9. The FOI Act promotes access to government-held information to enhance public scrutiny of government activities. Withholding key details about the HOSM process, particularly regarding commercial security contractors, sets a concerning precedent that undermines public confidence in the administration of national honors.
10. The decision-maker's approach risks shielding critical information from public view, contrary to the FOI Act’s objectives of transparency and accountability.
Requested Outcome
11. I request that the internal review reconsider both the application of section 47F exemptions and the failure to address Point 4 of my request. Specifically:
a. Reconsider the section 47F exemptions applied to Documents 1–5 in the schedule of documents, with a view to releasing the withheld information in full or with minimal redaction.
b. Provide a response to Point 4 of my request, or an explanation if the requested document does not exist. If the requested document cannot be located, the Department should consider its obligations under section 17(1) of the FOI Act to produce a document capable of meeting the terms of my request.
c. Given that the Department now acknowledges HOSMs were awarded to commercial security contractors, I further request that the internal review reevaluate the public interest considerations, ensuring that this critical fact is appropriately accounted for in the decision-making process.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your response within the statutory timeframe.
Trav S