Senate Estimates briefs 2024-25
Dear Department of Finance,
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 I seek the briefing pack prepared for the Secretary of Finance for the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget Estimates hearings.
Yours faithfully,
Gary Moorcroft
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon
Freedom of Information Request – FOI 24-25/004
Thank you for your email to the Department of Finance (Finance) requesting
access to the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act):
the briefing pack prepared for the Secretary of Finance for the Senate
Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget Estimates
hearings.
General FOI matters
Your request was received by Finance on 2 July 2024. The statutory period
for processing your request commences from the day after Finance received
your request and a decision is due on 1 August 2024.
The processing period may be extended if we need to consult third parties,
impose a charge or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
Liability to pay a charge
You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon as
possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge.
Publication
As required by the FOI Act, any documents provided to you under the FOI
Act will be published on our [1]disclosure log, unless an exemption
applies or the documents are characterised as containing personal
information. Documents will be published the next working day after they
are released to you.
Policy to exclude junior officer contact details, signatures and mobile
phone numbers
Finance has adopted a policy to generally exclude from any documents
released under FOI, the names and contact details of junior staff (non-SES
officers) and staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act
1984 (adviser level and below). Finance has also adopted a policy to
exclude signatures and mobile phone numbers from any documents released
under FOI (unless publicly available). Finance’s preference is to reach
agreement with FOI applicants to exclude these details from the scope of
the request. Where there is no objection, the names and contact details of
junior officers, as well as any signatures and mobile phone numbers
appearing in identified documents, will be redacted under section 22 of
the FOI Act on the basis that these details are irrelevant to the request.
Please contact the FOI Team if you wish to discuss your request.
Kind regards
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
References
Visible links
1. https://www.finance.gov.au/about-us/free...
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Moorcroft,
Freedom of Information Request – FOI 24-25/004 and FOI 24-25/005
I refer to your two (2) requests to the Department of Finance under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act), seeking access to the
following:
o 004: The briefing pack prepared for the Minister of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
o 005: The briefing pack prepared for the Secretary of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
The requests I refer to are attached.
Your requests, as currently framed, capture a significant volume of
material (over 200 pages) and will require substantial third party
consultation. As such, the work involved in processing the request would
substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of this agency from
its other operations. This could result in your request being refused
pursuant to section 24 of the FOI Act on the basis that a ‘practical
refusal’ reason exists.
Section 24 of the FOI Act provides that two or more requests may be
treated as a single request if the agency is satisfied that:
o the requests relate to the same document or documents (paragraph
24(2)(a))
o the subject matter is substantially the same for the requests
(paragraph 24(2)(b)).
Accordingly, the Department has decided to combine 2 of your FOI requests
(as attached) as single request under subsection 24(2) as there is a clear
connection between the subject matter of the requested documents.
Request for assistance
Therefore, we would like to engage in an informal consultation process
with you to narrow the terms of your request so that it can be processed
by the Department.
We kindly ask that you respond by COB Friday 26 July 2024 and advise
Finance of a narrower scope for your requests.
Please note that if we do not receive a response from you, we are required
under the FOI Act to expend additional resources to process your request.
We appreciate your assistance in this matter.
Please contact the FOI Team if you wish to discuss your request.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Moorcroft,
Freedom of Information Request – FOI 24-25/004 and FOI 24-25/005
I refer to your two (2) requests to the Department of Finance under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act), seeking access to the
following:
o 004: The briefing pack prepared for the Minister of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
o 005: The briefing pack prepared for the Secretary of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
The requests I refer to are attached.
Your requests, as currently framed, capture a significant volume of
material (over 200 pages) and will require substantial third party
consultation. As such, the work involved in processing the request would
substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of this agency from
its other operations. This could result in your request being refused
pursuant to section 24 of the FOI Act on the basis that a ‘practical
refusal’ reason exists.
Section 24 of the FOI Act provides that two or more requests may be
treated as a single request if the agency is satisfied that:
o the requests relate to the same document or documents (paragraph
24(2)(a))
o the subject matter is substantially the same for the requests
(paragraph 24(2)(b)).
Accordingly, the Department has decided to combine 2 of your FOI requests
(as attached) as single request under subsection 24(2) as there is a clear
connection between the subject matter of the requested documents.
Request for assistance
Therefore, we would like to engage in an informal consultation process
with you to narrow the terms of your request so that it can be processed
by the Department.
We kindly ask that you respond by COB Friday 26 July 2024 and advise
Finance of a narrower scope for your requests.
Please note that if we do not receive a response from you, we are required
under the FOI Act to expend additional resources to process your request.
We appreciate your assistance in this matter.
Please contact the FOI Team if you wish to discuss your request.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
Dear FOI Requests,
I would like to narrow my request to the index page or pages and contents page or pages of the briefing pack prepared for the Minister of Finance for the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget Estimates hearings, and the briefing pack prepared for the Secretary of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget Estimates hearings.
Yours sincerely,
Gary Moorcroft
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon Mr Moorcroft,
Thank you for your below email narrowing the scope of your requests for
FOI 24-25/004 and FOI 24-25/005.
I apologise for not clarifying in my 24 July email, but the briefing pack
that was provided to the Minister for Finance for the Senate Finance and
Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget Estimates hearings is the
same briefing pack that was provided to the Secretary of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
Therefore, the below amended scope of your request does not narrow the
scope sufficiently to enable Finance to continue processing these requests
as there would still be over 200 pages of material for Finance to process.
We suggest the following proposed scope to enable Finance to continue
processing your requests:
o The index page/s of the briefing pack prepared for the Minister of
Finance and the Secretary of Finance for the Senate Finance and Public
Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget Estimates hearings.
We kindly request that you advise Finance by COB 30 July 2024 either:
o Agreeing to Finance’s proposed scope, above, or
o Proposing a different scope for your requests.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Moorcroft <[FOI #11604 email]>
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2024 10:47 AM
To: FOI Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: FOI 24-25/004 and FOI 24-25/005 - Request for assistance to
narrow scope [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear FOI Requests,
I would like to narrow my request to the index page or pages and contents
page or pages of the briefing pack prepared for the Minister of Finance
for the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25
Budget Estimates hearings, and the briefing pack prepared for the
Secretary of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
Yours sincerely,
Gary Moorcroft
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Moorcroft,
Freedom of Information Request – FOI 24-25/004 and FOI 24-25/005
I refer to your two (2) requests to the Department of Finance under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act), seeking access to the
following:
o 004: The briefing pack prepared for the Minister of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
o 005: The briefing pack prepared for the Secretary of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
The requests I refer to are attached.
Your requests, as currently framed, capture a significant volume of
material (over 200 pages) and will require substantial third party
consultation. As such, the work involved in processing the request would
substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of this agency from
its other operations. This could result in your request being refused
pursuant to section 24 of the FOI Act on the basis that a ‘practical
refusal’ reason exists.
Section 24 of the FOI Act provides that two or more requests may be
treated as a single request if the agency is satisfied that:
o the requests relate to the same document or documents (paragraph
24(2)(a))
o the subject matter is substantially the same for the requests
(paragraph 24(2)(b)).
Accordingly, the Department has decided to combine 2 of your FOI requests
(as attached) as single request under subsection 24(2) as there is a clear
connection between the subject matter of the requested documents.
Request for assistance
Therefore, we would like to engage in an informal consultation process
with you to narrow the terms of your request so that it can be processed
by the Department.
We kindly ask that you respond by COB Friday 26 July 2024 and advise
Finance of a narrower scope for your requests.
Please note that if we do not receive a response from you, we are required
under the FOI Act to expend additional resources to process your request.
We appreciate your assistance in this matter.
Please contact the FOI Team if you wish to discuss your request.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[1][FOI #11604 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[2]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Be careful with this message
External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you
recognise the sender and know the content is safe.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #11604 email]
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OFFICIAL
Good afternoon Mr Moorcroft
Narrowed Scope
We understand that your response below, dated 26 July 2024, was in fact
agreeing to narrow the scope of both elements of the requests in the same
way – that is, the index page(s)/contents page(s). We had initially read
it as the index page(s)/contents page(s) of FOI 24-25/004, but the actual
briefs for 24-24/005. We will proceed processing both elements of the
request for the index page(s)/contents page(s) only.
Extension of Time
We are also writing to notify you that Finance will not be in a position
to finalise a decision in relation to your FOI request by the current due
date of Thursday 1 August 2024, as we were processing your request on the
basis that the scope had not been reduced. We will now need to collate the
index page(s)/contents page(s) from the business area and draft a
decision letter on behalf of the decision maker.
Section 15AA of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 provides that an
applicant can consent to an extension of time up to 30 calendar days.
Finance seeks your agreement to extend the processing period by 7 days
with a new due date Thursday 8 August 2024.
If you consent to the extension, Finance will notify the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) of the extension, which is part
of Finance’s reporting requirements.
We kindly ask that you reply by either:
1. Consenting to an extension of time to Thursday 8 August 2024; or
2. Consenting to an extension of time for a date less than that requested
by Finance; or
3. Refusing to grant an extension of time.
We kindly seek your response by noon, Wednesday 31 July 2024. Apologies
for the short turnaround time.
If you would like to discuss this email, or your matter more generally,
please contact the FOI Team.
Kind regards
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
From: FOI Requests <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, July 29, 2024 1:52 PM
To: Gary Moorcroft <[FOI #11604 email]>
Cc: FOI Requests <[email address]>
Subject: RE: FOI 24-25/004 and FOI 24-25/005 - Request for assistance to
narrow scope [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon Mr Moorcroft,
Thank you for your below email narrowing the scope of your requests for
FOI 24-25/004 and FOI 24-25/005.
I apologise for not clarifying in my 24 July email, but the briefing pack
that was provided to the Minister for Finance for the Senate Finance and
Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget Estimates hearings is the
same briefing pack that was provided to the Secretary of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
Therefore, the below amended scope of your request does not narrow the
scope sufficiently to enable Finance to continue processing these requests
as there would still be over 200 pages of material for Finance to process.
We suggest the following proposed scope to enable Finance to continue
processing your requests:
o The index page/s of the briefing pack prepared for the Minister of
Finance and the Secretary of Finance for the Senate Finance and Public
Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget Estimates hearings.
We kindly request that you advise Finance by COB 30 July 2024 either:
o Agreeing to Finance’s proposed scope, above, or
o Proposing a different scope for your requests.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Moorcroft <[1][FOI #11604 email]>
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2024 10:47 AM
To: FOI Requests <[2][email address]>
Subject: Re: FOI 24-25/004 and FOI 24-25/005 - Request for assistance to
narrow scope [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear FOI Requests,
I would like to narrow my request to the index page or pages and contents
page or pages of the briefing pack prepared for the Minister of Finance
for the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25
Budget Estimates hearings, and the briefing pack prepared for the
Secretary of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
Yours sincerely,
Gary Moorcroft
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Moorcroft,
Freedom of Information Request – FOI 24-25/004 and FOI 24-25/005
I refer to your two (2) requests to the Department of Finance under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act), seeking access to the
following:
o 004: The briefing pack prepared for the Minister of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
o 005: The briefing pack prepared for the Secretary of Finance for the
Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee's 2024-25 Budget
Estimates hearings.
The requests I refer to are attached.
Your requests, as currently framed, capture a significant volume of
material (over 200 pages) and will require substantial third party
consultation. As such, the work involved in processing the request would
substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of this agency from
its other operations. This could result in your request being refused
pursuant to section 24 of the FOI Act on the basis that a ‘practical
refusal’ reason exists.
Section 24 of the FOI Act provides that two or more requests may be
treated as a single request if the agency is satisfied that:
o the requests relate to the same document or documents (paragraph
24(2)(a))
o the subject matter is substantially the same for the requests
(paragraph 24(2)(b)).
Accordingly, the Department has decided to combine 2 of your FOI requests
(as attached) as single request under subsection 24(2) as there is a clear
connection between the subject matter of the requested documents.
Request for assistance
Therefore, we would like to engage in an informal consultation process
with you to narrow the terms of your request so that it can be processed
by the Department.
We kindly ask that you respond by COB Friday 26 July 2024 and advise
Finance of a narrower scope for your requests.
Please note that if we do not receive a response from you, we are required
under the FOI Act to expend additional resources to process your request.
We appreciate your assistance in this matter.
Please contact the FOI Team if you wish to discuss your request.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #11604 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[4]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Be careful with this message
External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you
recognise the sender and know the content is safe.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #11604 email]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[FOI #11604 email]
4. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Moorcroft
The Department of Finance will be conducting third party consultation for
your request (FOI 24-25/004 and FOI 24-25/005). As provided for under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982, the processing period has been extended
by 30 calendar days to allow for this consultation. As such, a decision is
currently due to you by Monday 2 September 2024.
If you have any questions regarding the consultation process or your
request more generally, please contact our FOI Team by reply email.
Kind regards
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Moorcroft
The Department of Finance will be conducting third party consultation for
your request (FOI 24-25/004 and FOI 24-25/005). As provided for under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982, the processing period has been extended
by 30 calendar days to allow for this consultation. As such, a decision is
currently due to you by Monday 2 September 2024.
If you have any questions regarding the consultation process or your
request more generally, please contact our FOI Team by reply email.
Kind regards
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon Mr Moorcroft,
Please see attached a decision letter together with a document released to
you in response to your combined FOI requests (our refs: FOI 24-25/004 and
FOI 24-25/005).
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon Mr Moorcroft,
Please see attached a decision letter together with a document released to
you in response to your combined FOI requests (our refs: FOI 24-25/004 and
FOI 24-25/005).
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603