OFFICIAL

PM&C Reference: FOI/2021/188

Dear Mr Unmeopa

Thank you for your email dated 22 August 2021, received by the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department), in which you made a
request as follows:

This is a request for information under the FOI Act.

Respectfully, could you please provide the document or documents outlining
the role, responsibilities, duties and obligations of your department’s
‘Ex-officio Representative’ to the Australian Bravery Council.

Please confirm the name and position of the department’s ‘Ex-officio
Representative’ to the Council in 2011/12 and 2019/2020.

Given the subject matter of your request, we have identified the following
publicly available information which may assist you:

The Australian Bravery Decorations are established by Letters Patent and
Regulations issued by Her Majesty The Queen and administered by the Office
of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General (OOSGG). Regulations 7
and 8 of the [1]Australian Bravery Decorations Regulations provide for the
Australian Bravery Decorations Council and its membership, role and
responsibilities.

Information about the Australian Bravery Decorations, including the
Letters Patent and Regulations and the current membership of the Council,
is published at [2]Australian Bravery Decorations | Governor-General of
the Commonwealth of Australia (gg.gov.au) and [3]Council for the
Australian Bravery Decorations | Governor-General of the Commonwealth of
Australia (gg.gov.au)

Membership details for the Australian Bravery Decorations Council is
published in the OOSGG Annual Report following the conclusion of each
financial year. For example, page 114 of the [4]latest OOSGG Annual Report
provides these details for the 2019-20 financial year.

Annual Reports from 2014-15 to 2019-20 are available at [5]Annual Reports
| Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia (gg.gov.au). Earlier
annual reports, including those for 2010-11 and 2011-2012, can be found on
the [6]National Library of Australia’s online ‘Trove’ (you may need to
click on the “Browse this collection” button if this link does not take
you straight to the collection). The Annual Report for 2020-21 will be
available on the OOSGG website by October 2021.

Validity of your request under the FOI Act

Section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) sets out the
requirements for a valid request under the FOI Act, including that the
request provide such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the
agency to identify the documents sought. Your request, as currently
framed, does not provide sufficient information as is reasonably necessary
to enable the Department to identify the documents sought, and your
request is therefore not valid under the FOI Act.

If you still wish to continue with your request to the Department, then we
will require further information from you to enable the Department to
identify the documents that you are seeking to access:

 1. Confirmation that your reference to the “Australian Bravery Council”
is to be taken as a reference to the Australian Bravery Decorations
Council.

 2. With regards to the first part of your request, we will require more
information regarding “the document or documents outlining the role,
responsibilities, duties and obligations of your department’s
‘Ex-officio Representative’ to the Australian Bravery Council.” It is
not clear if you are referring to the Ex-officio Representative’s
role, responsibilities, duties and obligations as a representative on
the Australian Bravery Decorations Council or as an employee of the
Department.

 3. With regards to the second part of your request, please note that the
FOI Act contains a right of access to documents, not information. You
may wish to consider framing your request to describe the document/s
you are seeking in order to enable the Department to identify it.

As your request is currently not valid under the FOI Act, the statutory
processing period for responding to your request has not commenced. We
will take no further action in relation to your request unless we hear
from you.

Yours sincerely

FOI Adviser

FOI and Privacy Section| Legal Policy Branch

Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

[7]http://www.dcducks.com/wp-content/themes...
6271 5849
[8]http://cdn.mysitemyway.com/icons-waterma... request email]

[10]https://www.musicianswithoutborders.org/...

One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600

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References

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5. https://www.gg.gov.au/office-official-se...
6. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-742229902
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11. http://www.pmc.gov.au/
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