UNCLASSIFIED

Good morning,

Thank you for your attached FOI inquiry.

I note that your request is seeking access to 'all documents' relating to
the mentioned matter.  Please be advised that a request for any/all
documents concerning a particular subject will likely attract refusal
under section 24AA of the FOI Act because, with few exceptions, it would
simply not be possible for the decision maker to certify that he or she
has identified every copy of every document in the Department's
possession. To do so would require a search of every hard copy file and
the electronic communication and records management systems used by
Defence.  It is considered that the workload involved in conscientiously
attempting to do so would involve a substantial and unreasonable diversion
of the resources of the agency.

Taking the above into consideration, under section 24AA of the FOI Act and
for the purposes of section 24 of the FOI Act, Defence considers that a
'practical refusal reason' exists in relation to your FOI request. 
Specifically, Defence considers that the work involved in processing the
request in its current form would substantially and unreasonably divert
the resources of the Defence from its other operations.  In particular, a
very significant amount of resources would have to be diverted to arrange
for the required searches to be undertaken, to then review any documents
that were identified as being possibly relevant to your request.  And
finally, to undertake the decision making process on any documents that
did meet the parameters of your request.

This diversion would constitute a significant drain on the resources of
the agency, and would have an unreasonable, substantial and adverse effect
in the ability of areas to conduct their normal business.

In accordance with section 24AB of the FOI Act, Defence is required to
consult with you advising of the intention to refuse access to your
request in its current form.

In accordance with paragraph 24AB(2)(c) of the FOI Act, I am the nominated
person with whom you should contact with a view to agreeing to one of the
following options:

    a.    withdraw your request

    b.    revise your request; or

    c.    indicate that you do not wish to revise your request.

In accordance with section 24AB(9) of the FOI Act, Defence is only
required to undertake this consultation process once, and you must contact
me within 14 days to discuss.

Notwithstanding all of the above, I would suggest you provide further
details for the documents you seek such as what Group/Service in the
Department where documents may exist and the subject of the
reports/documents. Any further information you provide will assist in
searching for the documents you seek. It is also recommended reducing the
timeframe.

Please note documents created before 1998 are deemed in the open access
period and must be requested under the Archives Act from the National
Archives of Australia: [1]https://www.naa.gov.au/

I encourage you to contact me so I can assist you in moving forward with
your inquiry.

Kind regards,

Matt Ashauer

FOI Inquiries

Freedom of Information

Governance and Reform 

Department of Defence

CP1-06-003

PO Box 7910 Canberra ACT 2610

(02) 6266 3685

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence
and is subject to the jurisdiction of section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914.
If you have received this email in error, you are requested to contact the
sender and delete the email.

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.naa.gov.au/

UNCLASSIFIED

Thanks Andy,

The time frame should be more manageable, however we still require further information to assist in searches.

Are you able to provide further details on:

* what the potential reports were for
* areas in the department that may hold these reports

Unfortunately we are unable to run searches covering the entire Department.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards

Matt Ashauer
FOI Inquiries
Freedom of Information
Governance and Reform 
Department of Defence
CP1-06-003
PO Box 7910 Canberra ACT 2610
(02) 6266 3685
 
IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence and is subject to the jurisdiction of section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914. If you have received this email in error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email.

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence. Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email immediately.

-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Johnson <[FOI #6160 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 18 February 2020 7:52 PM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Re: FOI 429/19/20 - notice of practical refusal - section 24AA [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Dear FOI,

Thanks.
Understood that this will draw on resources.
I would like to to limit the request to the last 3 financial years and we can skip the invoices.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Johnson

-----Original Message-----

UNCLASSIFIED

Good morning,

Thank you for your attached FOI inquiry.

I note that your request is seeking access to 'all documents' relating to the mentioned matter.  Please be advised that a request for any/all documents concerning a particular subject will likely attract refusal under section 24AA of the FOI Act because, with few exceptions, it would simply not be possible for the decision maker to certify that he or she has identified every copy of every document in the Department's possession. To do so would require a search of every hard copy file and the electronic communication and records management systems used by Defence.  It is considered that the workload involved in conscientiously attempting to do so would involve a substantial and unreasonable diversion of the resources of the agency.

Taking the above into consideration, under section 24AA of the FOI Act and for the purposes of section 24 of the FOI Act, Defence considers that a 'practical refusal reason' exists in relation to your FOI request. Specifically, Defence considers that the work involved in processing the request in its current form would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the Defence from its other operations.  In particular, a very significant amount of resources would have to be diverted to arrange for the required searches to be undertaken, to then review any documents that were identified as being possibly relevant to your request.  And finally, to undertake the decision making process on any documents that did meet the parameters of your request.

This diversion would constitute a significant drain on the resources of the agency, and would have an unreasonable, substantial and adverse effect in the ability of areas to conduct their normal business.

In accordance with section 24AB of the FOI Act, Defence is required to consult with you advising of the intention to refuse access to your request in its current form.

In accordance with paragraph 24AB(2)(c) of the FOI Act, I am the nominated person with whom you should contact with a view to agreeing to one of the following options:

    a.    withdraw your request

    b.    revise your request; or

    c.    indicate that you do not wish to revise your request.

In accordance with section 24AB(9) of the FOI Act, Defence is only required to undertake this consultation process once, and you must contact me within 14 days to discuss.

Notwithstanding all of the above, I would suggest you provide further details for the documents you seek such as what Group/Service in the Department where documents may exist and the subject of the reports/documents. Any further information you provide will assist in searching for the documents you seek. It is also recommended reducing the timeframe.

Please note documents created before 1998 are deemed in the open access period and must be requested under the Archives Act from the National Archives of Australia: [1]https://www.naa.gov.au/

I encourage you to contact me so I can assist you in moving forward with your inquiry.

Kind regards,

Matt Ashauer

FOI Inquiries

Freedom of Information

Governance and Reform 

Department of Defence

CP1-06-003

PO Box 7910 Canberra ACT 2610

(02) 6266 3685

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence and is subject to the jurisdiction of section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914.
If you have received this email in error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email.

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email immediately.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.naa.gov.au/

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hide quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon,

Please find attached the Statement of Reasons relating to FOI 429/19/20. 

Rights of Review

Under the provisions of section 54 of the FOI Act, you are entitled to
request a review of this decision. Your review rights are attached.

Should you have any questions in regard to this matter please contact this
office.

Kind regards,

Case Management

Freedom of Information

Information Management and Access

Governance and Reform Division

Department of Defence

PO Box 7910 Canberra ACT 2610

email: [email address]

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.