List of attendees and documents from official briefing on May 27th 2014
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
I hereby request, under the Freedom of Information Act (1982),
copies of the following documents:
a) Minutes from Attorney General Brandis' meeting held on the
evening of 27th of May 2014 (Reference to this meeting can be found
on page 77 of the official Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Legislation Committee transcript held on the 28th of May 2014 which
can be found at the following URL
http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/sear...
)
b) A full list of all attendees to this meeting and the capacity in
which they attended this meeting.
c) Any supplementary documents that were created during this
meeting or as result of the meeting
I also make the application that all costs for the processing of
this request be waived on the grounds that the release of this
information is in the public interest, will enhance the
transparency of the process and the public debate surrounding
potential legislative changes.
Yours faithfully,
Anthony Dunbar
Thank you for your email. This is an automated response to advise you that
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Kind Regards
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section.
Privacy Collection Notice
When you make a request for documents or an inquiry about privacy matters,
the Attorney-General’s Department will only collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act
1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that
we can contact you about your request under the Freedom of Information Act
for access to documents or access to, or correction of, personal
information; or a complaint you have made or your request for access to,
or correction of, personal information under the Privacy Act. If your
request concerns your personal information, we will collect the minimum
amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. The handling of your
personal information is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy
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If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the
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UNCLASSIFIED
14/9794
17 July 2014
Mr Anthony Dunbar
Sent via email to: [1][FOI #683 email]
Dear [2]Mr Dunbar
Freedom of Information Request no. FOI14-140
I refer to your request for access to documents relating to a meeting
organised by the Attorney General, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, on
27 May 2014 under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. I have taken your
request to be for:
a) Minutes from Attorney General Brandis' meeting held on the evening
of 27th of May 2014 (Reference to this meeting can be found on page 77 of
the official Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee
transcript held on the 28th of May 2014 which can be found at the
following URL
[3]http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/sear...
b) A full list of all attendees to this meeting and the capacity in
which they attended this meeting.
c) Any supplementary documents that were created during this meeting
or as result of the meeting
If you disagree with our interpretation of your request, please let me
know as soon as possible.
We received your request on 16 July 2014 and the 30 day statutory period
for processing your request commenced from the day after that date. You
should therefore expect a decision from us by 15 August 2014. 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.
I note that you also sent an identical request for access to
[4][AGD request email] but addressed to the Office of the Official Secretary to
the Governor-General. I have attached a copy of your email for your
reference. As it appears your request to the Office of the Official
Secretary to the Governor-General was intended for that office rather that
the Attorney-General’s Department, if you wish to proceed with this
request you will need to re-submit it to [5][email address].
I note, however, that s 6A(1) of the FOI Act provides that ‘This Act does
not apply to any request for access to a document of the Official
Secretary to the Governor-General unless the document relates to matters
of an administrative nature’. While this is a matter for the Office of the
Official Secretary to the Governor-General, based on the scope of your
request, it does not appear that the documents you are seeking would be
considered documents of an administrative nature and it is unlikely that
you would be granted access to them.
It is the usual practice of the Department to not release the names and
contact details of junior officers of the Department and other government
agencies, where that personal information is contained in documents within
scope of a request. The names and contact details of senior officers will
generally be released. 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
[6]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 the FOI Section by email [7][AGD request email].
Kind Regards
FOI Contact Officer
Privacy Collection Notice
When you make a request for documents or an inquiry about privacy matters,
the Attorney-General s Department will only collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act
1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that
we can contact you about your request under the Freedom of Information Act
for access to documents or access to, or correction of, personal
information; or a complaint you have made or your request for access to,
or correction of, personal information under the Privacy Act. If your
request concerns your personal information, we will collect the minimum
amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. The handling of your
personal information is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy
policy is available at http://www.ag.gov.au/Pages/Privacystatem....
If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the
Privacy Contact Officer on 02 6141 2660 or via e-mail [email address].
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References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #683 email]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/sear...
4. mailto:[AGD request email]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtection...
7. file:///tmp/[AGD request email]
UNCLASSIFIED
14/9794
21 July 2014
Mr Anthony Dunbar
By email: [1][FOI #683 email]
Dear Mr Dunbar
Transfer of freedom of information request to another agency.
I refer to your request for access to documents relating to a meeting
organised by the Attorney General, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, on
27 May 2014 under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
I am writing to tell you that I have transferred your request to the
Office of the Attorney-General. Under section 16(1) of the FOI Act, I am
able to transfer a request if the requested document is not in my
possession but in the possession of another agency or if the subject
matter of the document is more closely connected with the functions of
another agency.
Accordingly, on 21 July 2014 I transferred your request to the Office of
the Attorney-General which has possession of the requested documents.
We received your request on 16 July 2014 and the 30 day statutory period
for processing your request commenced from the day after that date. The
Office of the Attorney-General will treat your request as though it
received it the same day that we did. You should therefore expect a
decision from the Office of the Attorney-General by 15 August 2014. The
period of 30 days may be extended if the Office of the Attorney-General
needs to consult third parties or for other reasons. They will advise you
if this happens.
The contact officer at the Office of the Attorney-General is Mr Liam
Brennan. Mr Brennan can be contacted on 02 6277 7300.
FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
Email: [2][AGD request email] | Phone: (02) 6141 6666
Privacy Collection Notice
When you make a request for documents or an inquiry about privacy matters,
the Attorney-General s Department will only collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act
1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that
we can contact you about your request under the Freedom of Information Act
for access to documents or access to, or correction of, personal
information; or a complaint you have made or your request for access to,
or correction of, personal information under the Privacy Act. If your
request concerns your personal information, we will collect the minimum
amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. The handling of your
personal information is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy
policy is available at http://www.ag.gov.au/Pages/Privacystatem....
If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the
Privacy Contact Officer on 02 6141 2660 or via e-mail [email address].
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References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #683 email]
2. mailto:[AGD request email]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Dunbar,
Please find attached a letter from Mr Paul O’Sullivan, Chief of Staff to
the Attorney-General.
Regards,
Office of the Attorney-General.
Daniel O'Connor left an annotation ()
If there's no document that references who attended the meeting; how did any of the particpants know when, where or why to attend?