Senior Executive Exclusive Airline Lounge Memberships
Dear Services Australia,
I refer to the 'Gifts and benefits Standing Disclosure for Airline Memberships' table at the following link:
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/reg...
The table lists 10 individuals who all have membership to the Qantas Chairman's Lounge and one individual with membership to Virgin's Beyond lounge.
I request the following documents under the FOI Act:
1. For each of the named individuals, their total number of flights and total expenditure, by airline, for the most recent available 12 month period.
2. Any documents that detail any assessments made as to the 'estimated value' of these memberships (including those made by the individuals, or Services Australia).
3. Any documents that detail any reasons for accepting (or declining) invitations to these exclusive airline lounges.
4. Any documents that are requests for advice from these individuals, or advice given to these individuals, that touch on whether the memberships are in accordance with applicable policies in relation to conflict of interest, gifts, etc.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything I can do to assist in the efficient processing of this request.
Yours faithfully,
Mr Squiggle
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
FOI – Extension of time request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) you have a right, with
limited exceptions, to access documents the Agency holds. The Agency has
30 days to process an FOI request. Please note this period may be extended
if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will advise
you if this happens.
We are currently experiencing a higher than usual volume of requests,
which has resulted in some delays in our review and response process. We
are seeking your agreement to extend the processing time by an additional
30 days. If you agree to this additional time, we would appreciate it if
you could reply to this email with ‘I agree’ at your earliest opportunity.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate.
Any parts of your FOI request that are addressed by documents being
released under the arrangements will be considered withdrawn. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Personal information of Agency staff
We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:
•names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
•direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and email
addresses.
If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act.
Charges
No charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.
If you are requesting non-personal information the Agency will advise you
as soon as practicable if a charge is payable to process your request, and
the amount of any such charge.
How we will send documents to you
We typically use this email address to send documents related to your FOI
request unless you have specifically requested to receive them via post.
However, we might seek your consent to deliver the documents
electronically if it is deemed more suitable.
How long do I have to wait?
We are required to answer your request within 30 days unless the time
frame is extended under the FOI Act.
Dear FOI officer
Thank you for your mail.
Please be advised I do not agree to your extension of time request.
Please be advised I agree with your request to exclude from scope the following:
•names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
•direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and email
addresses.
Yours faithfully,
Mr Squiggle
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
FOI – Extension of time request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) you have a right, with
limited exceptions, to access documents the Agency holds. The Agency has
30 days to process an FOI request. Please note this period may be extended
if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will advise
you if this happens.
We are currently experiencing a higher than usual volume of requests,
which has resulted in some delays in our review and response process. We
are seeking your agreement to extend the processing time by an additional
30 days. If you agree to this additional time, we would appreciate it if
you could reply to this email with ‘I agree’ at your earliest opportunity.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate.
Any parts of your FOI request that are addressed by documents being
released under the arrangements will be considered withdrawn. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Personal information of Agency staff
We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:
•names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
•direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and email
addresses.
If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act.
Charges
No charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.
If you are requesting non-personal information the Agency will advise you
as soon as practicable if a charge is payable to process your request, and
the amount of any such charge.
How we will send documents to you
We typically use this email address to send documents related to your FOI
request unless you have specifically requested to receive them via post.
However, we might seek your consent to deliver the documents
electronically if it is deemed more suitable.
How long do I have to wait?
We are required to answer your request within 30 days unless the time
frame is extended under the FOI Act.
Dear Mr Squiggle,
I refer to your Freedom of Information request received by Services
Australia (the Agency) on 3 February 2025. You have requested the
following:
I refer to the 'Gifts and benefits Standing Disclosure for Airline
Memberships' table at the following link:
[1]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
The table lists 10 individuals who all have membership to the Qantas
Chairman's Lounge and one individual with membership to Virgin's Beyond
lounge.
I request the following documents under the FOI Act:
1. For each of the named individuals, their total number of flights and
total expenditure, by airline, for the most recent available 12 month
period.
2. Any documents that detail any assessments made as to the 'estimated
value' of these memberships (including those made by the individuals, or
Services Australia).
3. Any documents that detail any reasons for accepting (or declining)
invitations to these exclusive airline lounges.
4. Any documents that are requests for advice from these individuals, or
advice given to these individuals, that touch on whether the memberships
are in accordance with applicable policies in relation to conflict of
interest, gifts, etc.
Section 12(1)(c) of the FOI Act
Point 1 of your request does not meet the requirements for the Agency to
release documents to you under the FOI Act. This is because a person is
not entitled to obtain access to a document if it is available elsewhere
(section 12(1)(c) of the FOI Act).
Access Data
Preliminary searches undertaken have identified that the data you have
requested in Point 1 of your request, is not held by the Agency in
existing reports/documents. However, searches can be conducted by the
Agency’s External Information Release team to obtain the statistical data
requested.
On this basis, your Point 1 of your request does not meet the requirements
for the Agency to release documents to you through the FOI Act, as a
person is not entitled to obtain access to a document if it is available
elsewhere (section 12(1)(c)).
You can submit a request for statistical data in Point 1 of your request
by contacting the External Information Release team via email at:
[2][email address].
Changes to your request
Therefore, Point 1 of your request is considered withdrawn. The remaining
points of your request will be processed under FOI and notified to you
under reference number, LEX 83550.
Further information
The Agency also makes a range of statistical information and data
available to the public. Further information is available on our website
regarding public statistical information and lodging requests for
statistics and data. Please find the link to the Agency website below.
[3]Statistical information and data - Services Australia
I trust this information will assist you.
Kind regards,
Alexander, A/g Senior FOI Officer
FOI & Reviews Branch, Legal Services Division
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References
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Our reference: RQ25/00990
Agency reference: 83550
Services Australia
and
Mr Squiggle
Extension of time under s 15AB/15AC
Dear Parties,
Please find attached an extension of time decision relating Mr Squiggle’s
FOI request with Services Australia.
A copy has been sent to the applicant.
Kind regards,
[1]A blue background Claire Lynch (she/her)
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Description Assistant Review Adviser
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