OFFICIAL

Reference: FOI/2024/217

 

Dear Ms Torrens

 

Thank you for your email of 11 July 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:

 

Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), I am requesting access to
documents held by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
concerning the following:

 

Policies and Directives: All current policies and directives regarding
Australia’s support and relations with Israel, including but not limited
to military, financial, and diplomatic support.

 

Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs): Copies of all
agreements, MOUs, and any other formal arrangements made between the
Australian government and the government of Israel from January 2000 to
the present.

 

Financial Transactions: Detailed account transactions and financial
records showing any form of support or aid provided to Israel by the
Australian government. This includes, but is not limited to, monetary aid,
military aid, and subsidies.

 

Correspondence: Copies of correspondence between the Australian government
officials and Israeli government officials that discuss or relate to the
support provided by Australia, particularly in the context of military and
financial aid.

 

Reports and Briefings: All reports, briefings, and assessments prepared by
or for the Australian government departments concerning the impact of
Australian support on the political and humanitarian situation in
Palestine.

 

Minutes of Meetings: All minutes or records of meetings between Australian
and Israeli officials that discuss matters related to the policies,
agreements, and financial transactions listed above.

 

 

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 12 August 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 any of the information 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
provide supporting 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 that 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 to that information being excluded from the
scope of your request (that is, the information will be treated as
irrelevant and deleted from any documents for release). 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
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

 

Kind regards,

Lianna | 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
e. [5][email address]  w. [6]pmc.gov.au

 

 

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...
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://www.pmc.gov.au/