OFFICIAL

 

Reference: 2024/387 

 

Dear Trav S

 

Thank you for your email of 25 November 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:

 

Please accept my request for documents in accordance with the FOI Act.

1. I wish to obtain a copy of the Department's fraud and corruption
control plan;

2. I wish to obtain a copy of any document produced by a Peter Rush or a
John Reid relating to reports of fraud and corruption within the
Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal program.

PM&C claims that it does not tolerate fraud and corruption and takes all
reasonable measures to prevent, detect and respond to fraud. Despite its
claim, documents released to FOI reveal particular public officials
tolerated fraud and appear to have failed to report it in accordance with
their duties to do so.

Please refer to FOI/2020/246 regarding the Humanitarian Overseas Service
Medal Regulations Delegation.

3. I wish to obtain a copy of the document delegating HOSM powers to the
person that followed Peter Rush.

4. I wish to obtain a document recording name, position and contact
details of the Department's most senior public official responsible for
ensuing the Department's fraud and corruption control framework is
regularly reviewed and aligns with the Commonwealth Fraud Control
Framework 2017

 

Timeframe for receiving your decision and request for extension of time

The 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the
day after the Department received your request. A decision is therefore
due from us by 27 December 2024. However, we note that the processing time
overlaps with the departmental shutdown period between Christmas and New
Years Day. In light of this, we would like to seek your agreement to a 30
day extension under section 15AA of the FOI Act.  

 

Please confirm your agreement to the extension of time by replying to this
email by 3 December 2024.

 

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:

 

·       any person’s signature;

·       the names and contact details of Australian Public Service
officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);

·       the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers;

·       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]http://url5193.checkbox.ai/wf/open?upn=u...

______________________________________________________________________ 
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. 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
Departmental reference: FOI/2024/387

Dear Trav S,

I am contacting you in relation to the below request in which you seek internal review of the Department’s deemed refusal of your Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) request, FOI/2025/387.

As outlined in section 54E of the FOI Act, the FOI Act does not allow for internal review of deemed refusal decisions. Therefore, we cannot progress an internal review of this matter.

Please be assured that the Department is progressing this matter and aims to provide you with a substantive decision as soon as possible.

Alternatively, you may apply to the Information Commissioner for review of the Department’s deemed refusal decisions under section 54L of the FOI Act. This can be done at the following link: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...

Regards,

Adviser | FOI Section
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

-----Original Message-----
From: Trav S <[FOI #12369 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 28 January 2025 5:35 PM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - PM&C's fraud and corruption control framework

Dear FOI,

I believe the agreed extension of time has expired.

Please undertake an internal review of the Department's decision, reference: 2024/387

Yours sincerely

Trav S

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

OFFICIAL

 

Reference: 2024/387 

 

Dear Trav S

 

Thank you for your email of 25 November 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:

 

Please accept my request for documents in accordance with the FOI Act.

1. I wish to obtain a copy of the Department's fraud and corruption

control plan;

2. I wish to obtain a copy of any document produced by a Peter Rush or a

John Reid relating to reports of fraud and corruption within the

Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal program.

PM&C claims that it does not tolerate fraud and corruption and takes all

reasonable measures to prevent, detect and respond to fraud. Despite its

claim, documents released to FOI reveal particular public officials

tolerated fraud and appear to have failed to report it in accordance with

their duties to do so.

Please refer to FOI/2020/246 regarding the Humanitarian Overseas Service

Medal Regulations Delegation.

3. I wish to obtain a copy of the document delegating HOSM powers to the

person that followed Peter Rush.

4. I wish to obtain a document recording name, position and contact

details of the Department's most senior public official responsible for

ensuing the Department's fraud and corruption control framework is

regularly reviewed and aligns with the Commonwealth Fraud Control

Framework 2017

 

Timeframe for receiving your decision and request for extension of time

The 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the

day after the Department received your request. A decision is therefore

due from us by 27 December 2024. However, we note that the processing time

overlaps with the departmental shutdown period between Christmas and New

Years Day. In light of this, we would like to seek your agreement to a 30

day extension under section 15AA of the FOI Act.  

 

Please confirm your agreement to the extension of time by replying to this

email by 3 December 2024.

 

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:

 

·       any person’s signature;

·       the names and contact details of Australian Public Service

officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);

·       the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers;

·       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]http://url5193.checkbox.ai/wf/open?upn=u...

______________________________________________________________________ 

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. 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/

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______________________________________________________________________

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.

______________________________________________________________________

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