Information on Wikileaks, its Australian staff, and Julian Assange.
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
I hereby request access, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, to:
Copies of all briefings, communications, forms, reports, documents or notes mentioning or regarding the not-for-profit media organization WikiLeaks or its Australian staff, including but not limited to Julian Assange.
For reference, I have included a link to the WikiLeaks website:
I request that all costs for all aspects of the processing of this request be waived on the grounds that the release of this information is in the public interest.
Yours faithfully,
Snehan Kekre
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
FOI18/073
Dear Mr Kekre
Please find attached a letter regarding your FOI request as referenced
below.
Yours sincerely
FOI Case Manager
Freedom of Information and Parliamentary Section
Strategy and Delivery Division | Attorney-General’s Department
T: (02) 6141 6666 | E: [1][AGD request email]
From: FOI Requests
Sent: Friday, 1 June 2018 3:00 PM
To: Snehan Kekre
Cc: FOI Requests
Subject: CM: RE: CM: Freedom of Information request - Information on
Wikileaks, its Australian staff, and Julian Assange. [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
UNCLASSIFIED
FOI18/073
Dear Mr Kekre
I refer to your request (below) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act) for access to documents as follows:
‘Copies of all briefings, communications, forms, reports, documents or
notes mentioning or regarding the not-for-profit media organization
WikiLeaks or its Australian staff, including but not limited to Julian
Assange.’
We received your request on 28 May 2018, and as the 30 day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date,
you should expect a decision from us by 27 June 2018. The period of 30
days may be extended if we need to consult third parties or for other
reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
It is the usual practice of the department to not disclose the names and
contact details of junior officers of the department and other government
agencies, where that personal information is contained in documents within
the scope of a request. The names and contact details of senior officers
will generally be disclosed. We will take it that you agree to the
removal of junior officers’ personal information unless you advise that
you would like us to consider releasing that information as part of the
documents you have requested.
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log
http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtection...,
subject to certain exceptions. (For example, personal information will not
be published where this would be unreasonable.)
We will contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if
you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact. If you have
any questions, please contact [AGD request email].
Yours sincerely
FOI Case Manager
Freedom of Information and Parliamentary Section
Strategy and Delivery Division | Attorney-General’s Department
T: (02) 6141 6666 | E: [2][AGD request email]
UNCLASSIFIED
FOI18/073
Dear Mr Kekre
I refer to your request (below) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act) for access to documents as follows:
‘Copies of all briefings, communications, forms, reports, documents or
notes mentioning or regarding the not-for-profit media organization
WikiLeaks or its Australian staff, including but not limited to Julian
Assange.’
We received your request on 28 May 2018, and as the 30 day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date,
you should expect a decision from us by 27 June 2018. The period of 30
days may be extended if we need to consult third parties or for other
reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
It is the usual practice of the department to not disclose the names and
contact details of junior officers of the department and other government
agencies, where that personal information is contained in documents within
the scope of a request. The names and contact details of senior officers
will generally be disclosed. We will take it that you agree to the
removal of junior officers’ personal information unless you advise that
you would like us to consider releasing that information as part of the
documents you have requested.
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log
http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtection...,
subject to certain exceptions. (For example, personal information will not
be published where this would be unreasonable.)
We will contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if
you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact. If you have
any questions, please contact [AGD request email].
Yours sincerely
FOI Case Manager
Freedom of Information and Parliamentary Section
Strategy and Delivery Division | Attorney-General’s Department
T: (02) 6141 6666 | E: [1][AGD request email]
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
Thank you kindly for your prompt response. I do not object to the exclusion of the information mentioned in your prior reply to my request.
I write to you to revise the scope of my Freedom of Information Request FOI18/073:
I would be happy to limit the scope of my request to all briefings, communications, forms, reports, documents or media by created or received by Attorney-General's Department personnel with government officials of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden and Ecuador, mentioning or regarding the not-for-profit media organization Wikileaks and its Australian staff, including but not limited to Julian Assange, and excluding duplicates of documents and drafts. I request documents created between May 2012 - June 2018.
Additionally, with the exception of Wikileaks staff and senior department officers, I would be happy to exclude the personal information of any individuals contained in the documents from the scope of my request. Further, I wish to exclude documents which are already publicly known or publicly accessible.
Please note that I do not request personal information in relation to myself. I am neither an employee of Wikileaks, nor a volunteer. As such, I am not required to provide my photographic identification. Please do not share my personal information with any third parties that you may consult with while processing my request.
If you can release via administrative access, please do. Otherwise, treat this as an FOI request.
I suggest these exclusions on the basis that the work in processing my request (as currently worded) would not substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from its
other operations.
Please do not hesitate to contact me by email if I may be of further assistance.
Kind regards,
Snehan Kekre
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Kekre
I refer to your email below and acknowledge receipt of your revised
request as follows -
‘..all briefings, communications, forms, reports, documents or media by
created or received by Attorney-General's Department personnel with
government officials of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia,
Sweden and Ecuador, mentioning or regarding the not-for-profit media
organization Wikileaks and its Australian staff, including but not limited
to Julian Assange, and excluding duplicates of documents and drafts. I
request documents created between May 2012 - June 2018.
Additionally, with the exception of Wikileaks staff and senior department
officers, I would be happy to exclude the personal information of any
individuals contained in the documents from the scope of my request.
Further, I wish to exclude documents which are already publicly known or
publicly accessible.’
Your request as it now stands is still too broad for the department to
process and requires some further clarification. To this end, it would be
helpful if you could address the following points -
1. Your request reads as for [documents] ‘created or received
by Attorney-General's Department personnel with government officials of
the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden and Ecuador ….’
The department does not receive anything with a foreign government, and
it is unclear what you mean by this, so your clarification is required. We
assume you mean any of the documents (of the type you mention) that were
created in partnership with, or with the cooperation of, government
officials from the countries you mention. If this is the case, can you
please confirm.
2. Your request for ‘all briefings, communications, forms,
reports, documents or media’ constitutes a wide class of documents. It is
clear what you are seeking with briefings, reports or documents. However,
can you please clarify what you mean by ‘communications’ or ‘media’ that
wouldn’t be covered by those items.
3. With regard to the term ‘Australian staff’, this also
requires clarification. ‘Australian staff’ is not a searchable term for
our databases and there is no way for the department to determine who you
are referring to.
4. Lastly, the word ‘mentioning’ also makes the search very
broad. ‘Mentions’ of the material you are seeking could potentially
encompass a range of documents too broad for the department to reasonably
process and might include material you are not necessarily seeking.
Accordingly, we ask that you be more specific in order to help us narrow
the search.
Yours sincerely
FOI Case Manager
Freedom of Information and Parliamentary Section
Strategy and Delivery Division | Attorney-General’s Department
T: (02) 6141 6666 | E: [1][AGD request email]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Kekre
Please find attached correspondence in respect of your request below.
Yours sincerely
FOI Case Manager
Freedom of Information and Parliamentary Section
Strategy and Governance Branch | Attorney-General’s Department
T: (02) 6141 6666 | E: [AGD request email]
From: FOI Requests
Sent: Tuesday, 12 June 2018 3:12 PM
To: Snehan Kekre
Cc: FOI Requests
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Information on Wikileaks,
its Australian staff, and Julian Assange. [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Kekre
I refer to your email below and acknowledge receipt of your revised
request as follows -
‘..all briefings, communications, forms, reports, documents or media by
created or received by Attorney-General's Department personnel with
government officials of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia,
Sweden and Ecuador, mentioning or regarding the not-for-profit media
organization Wikileaks and its Australian staff, including but not limited
to Julian Assange, and excluding duplicates of documents and drafts. I
request documents created between May 2012 - June 2018.
Additionally, with the exception of Wikileaks staff and senior department
officers, I would be happy to exclude the personal information of any
individuals contained in the documents from the scope of my request.
Further, I wish to exclude documents which are already publicly known or
publicly accessible.’
Your request as it now stands is still too broad for the department to
process and requires some further clarification. To this end, it would be
helpful if you could address the following points -
1. Your request reads as for [documents] ‘created or received
by Attorney-General's Department personnel with government officials of
the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden and Ecuador ….’
The department does not receive anything with a foreign government, and
it is unclear what you mean by this, so your clarification is required. We
assume you mean any of the documents (of the type you mention) that were
created in partnership with, or with the cooperation of, government
officials from the countries you mention. If this is the case, can you
please confirm.
2. Your request for ‘all briefings, communications, forms,
reports, documents or media’ constitutes a wide class of documents. It is
clear what you are seeking with briefings, reports or documents. However,
can you please clarify what you mean by ‘communications’ or ‘media’ that
wouldn’t be covered by those items.
3. With regard to the term ‘Australian staff’, this also
requires clarification. ‘Australian staff’ is not a searchable term for
our databases and there is no way for the department to determine who you
are referring to.
4. Lastly, the word ‘mentioning’ also makes the search very
broad. ‘Mentions’ of the material you are seeking could potentially
encompass a range of documents too broad for the department to reasonably
process and might include material you are not necessarily seeking.
Accordingly, we ask that you be more specific in order to help us narrow
the search.
Yours sincerely
FOI Case Manager
Freedom of Information and Parliamentary Section
Strategy and Delivery Division | Attorney-General’s Department
T: (02) 6141 6666 | E: [1][AGD request email]