OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Squiggle,

Acknowledgement

I refer to your correspondence of 03 February 2025 seeking access to
documents held by the Department of Defence (Defence), under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). This email is to advise you that your
request has been received and allocated for Case Management.

The scope of your request is:

I refer to the 'Defence Gifts and Benefits Disclosure 1 July 2024 to 30
September 2024' at the following link:

[1]https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default...

The table lists 8 officials who have declared memberships of Qantas
Chairman's Lounge or 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 (only flights funded by the department)

2. Any documents that detail any assessments made as to the 'estimated
value' of these memberships (including those made by the individuals, or
the department).

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.

Disclaimer

Where staff details are captured in documents within the scope of your FOI
request, this information will be redacted; this includes private email
addresses, signatures, personnel (PMKeyS) numbers and mobile telephone
numbers, unless you specifically request such details. Defence excludes
duplicates of documents and any documents sent to or from you.
Furthermore, Defence only considers final versions of documents.

Charges

Defence may impose a charge for the work involved in providing access to
the documents in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations 2019. We will notify you if your request attracts a charge.
Please note that there is no charge for documents that contain the
personal information of the applicant.

Timeframe

The statutory timeframe to provide you with a decision on your request
ends on 5 March 2025. This period may be extended if we need to consult
with third parties, or for other reasons. We will advise you if this
happens.

Please note that where the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public
holiday, the timeframe will expire on the next working day. This is in
accordance with the FOI Guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act.

Disclosure Log

Documents released under the FOI Act may be published on Defence’s
disclosure log, located on our website.

Contact Details

We will contact you via the email address you have provided. Please advise
if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.

Should you have any questions relating to your request, please do not
hesitate to contact our team via email:
[2][email address].

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information Team

Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division

Department of Defence

[3]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...

OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Squiggle

Thank you for your email to the Department of Defence (Defence) requesting
access to the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act):

[1]https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default...

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 (only flights funded by the department)

2. Any documents that detail any assessments made as to the 'estimated
value' of these memberships (including those made by the individuals, or
the department).

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.

In relation to Item 1 of your request, Defence has previously answered
similar Questions on Notice from Senator Pocock during the 2024-25
Supplementary Budget Estimates. We have attached these records for your
reference. If you consider the attachments and response meets your
request, we invite you to withdraw Item 1 of your request.

We kindly ask that you reply to this email and either:

·         Withdraw item 1 of the request, or

·         Advise that you do not wish to withdraw item 1 of your request,
and request a formal decision is made.

Please note that if we do not receive a response from you, the FOI Act
requires that we make a decision on all items of your request, which will
require the expenditure of additional resources.

We appreciate your assistance in this matter.

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Team

Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division

Department of Defence

[2]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default...
2. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...

OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Squiggle

I refer to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request seeking access to:

I refer to the 'Defence Gifts and Benefits Disclosure 1 July 2024 to 30
September 2024' at the following link:

[1]https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default...

…

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 (only flights funded by the department)

2. Any documents that detail any assessments made as to the 'estimated
value' of these memberships (including those made by the individuals, or
the department).

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.

The Accredited Decision Maker (ADM) has advised that your request covers
material which contains information relating to a person’s professional
affairs and personal information. The ADM has determined that there is
requirement to consult under section 27 and 27A of the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), before they can finalise their decision
relating to the release of material relevant to your request. 

Section 15(6) of the FOI Act provides for an extension of 30 days to be
added to the statutory time limit for processing requests. Therefore, the
deadline for providing you with the decision on your request is now 4
April 2025.

Should you have any questions relating to your request, please do not
hesitate to contact via email to [2][email address].

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Team

Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division

Department of Defence

[3]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...