UNCLASSIFIED

FOI/2017/116

Dear Mr Monceaux

Thank you for your email dated 14 July 2017, received by the Department of
the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department), in which you made a
request to the Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the
FOI Act) in the following terms:

I wish to receive digital copies (or scans) of any internal documents,
including (but not limited to) emails, letters, memos and telephone notes
regarding speculation that former Prime Minister Tony Abbott held (or
continues to hold) dual citizenship of Australia and the United Kingdom.

Timeframe for receiving your decision

We received your request on 14 July 2017 and the 30 day statutory period
for processing your request commenced from the day after that date. You
should therefore expect a decision from us by 13 August 2017. The period
of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances. We will advise you if
there is 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]http://www.dpmc.gov.au/pmc/accountabilit...,
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.

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. If
you require signatures, the names and contact details of non-SES officers
or Ministerial staff below the level of Chief of Staff, or the mobile or
direct numbers of SES officers please let us know at [3][DPMC request email] so
the decision-maker may consider; 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 redacted from any
documents for release).

We will write again when the Department has more information.  Further
information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner at
[4]http://www.oaic.gov.au/foi-portal/about_....

Yours sincerely

FOI Adviser

Access and Administrative Review Section | Honours and Legal Policy Branch

Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. 02 6271 5849

e. [5][DPMC request email]

[6]www.pmc.gov.au

PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600

[7]Description: Description: Description: FOI design element

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.dpmc.gov.au/pmc/accountabilit...
2. mailto:[DPMC request email]
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. http://www.oaic.gov.au/foi-portal/about_...
5. mailto:[DPMC request email]
6. http://www.pmc.gov.au/

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Mr Monceaux

I’m writing in relation to your FOI request with the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet – ref: FOI/2017/116.

The due date for a decision on your request is 13 August 2017, or next
business day 14 August 2017. Regrettably, the Department is not in a
position to finalise the decision on the FOI request before the due date.
Accordingly, we are seeking your consent to a 30 day extension of time to
the processing period, in accordance with section 15AA of the FOI Act. We
will endeavour to notify you of the decision prior to this extended date.

We kindly request you confirm your sent to the extension by way of return
email. If you are not inclined to agree to an extension of time, we ask
that you let us know today if possible.

Kind regards

FOI Adviser

Access and Administrative Review | Honours, Symbols and Legal Policy
Branch

Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. +61 2 6271 5849

e. | [1][DPMC request email] | [2]www.dpmc.gov.au

PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600

[3]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[DPMC request email]
2. http://www.dpmc.gov.au/

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Mr Monceaux

Thank you for your email. We apologise for the delay in responding to your
FOI request.

We have undertaken preliminary searches for documents potentially relevant
to your FOI request, and seek clarification of the terms of your FOI
request in the light of the results of those searches. The types of
documents we have identified as potentially relevant to your FOI request
include:

·        FOI-related documents: The preliminary searches have identified
documents relating to prior requests made under the FOI Act relating to Mr
Abbott’s citizenship. These documents would comprise FOI requests,
communications with the FOI applicant and documents relating to the
processing of those requests.

·        Documents relating to correspondence from members of the public:
The preliminary searches have identified documents relating to members of
the public writing to a Prime Minister about Mr Abbott’s citizenship.

It is not clear to us whether you intend for your request to cover the
above categories of documents and we therefore seek your clarification
accordingly.

We note your request for internal review. Internal review is not available
if a decision has not been made within the statutory time frame. If you
wish to seek review, you may apply to the Information Commissioner on the
basis that the Department is deemed to have refused your FOI request
because you have not received a decision before the end of the statutory
period, as extended, for processing your request. More information on
seeking IC review can be found on the web site of the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner:
[1]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

While you do have a right to seek IC review, the Department still has a
responsibility to continue processing your FOI request and so we request
that you respond to our request for clarification in order to facilitate
continued processing of your FOI request.

Yours sincerely

FOI Adviser

Access and Administrative Review Section | Legal Policy Branch

Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

e. [2][DPMC request email] | w. [3]www.pmc.gov.au

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

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[8]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

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UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Mr Monceaux

We regret any confusion from our last email however our request for
clarification had stated the results of our preliminary searches in
inclusive terms and was not suggesting that the only results of searches
would be FOI-related documents and correspondence with members of the
public. As your FOI request had not specified whose ‘speculation’ you
intended to be covered by your FOI request, it was unclear to us whether
you also intended for FOI-related documents and documents relating to
correspondence from members of the public to be covered by your request.

In relation to your request for 'previously released FOI documentation',
if you mean any documents released to FOI applicants in response to FOI
requests made to the Department, then the Department has not released any
documents in response to such requests, as such requests have been refused
under section 24A of the FOI Act (that is, reasonable searches have been
conducted and no documents have been found to exist). These previous FOI
requests essentially sought documents evidencing Mr Abbott’s renunciation
of British citizenship. If you decide to limit your request to only
'previously released FOI documentation' then we would expect the result of
your request to be a decision stating the Department holds no documents.

In light of the above, we seek your advice on whether your wish to
continue with the original terms of your request namely 'internal
documents, including (but not limited to) emails, letters, memos and
telephone notes regarding speculation that former Prime Minister Tony
Abbott held (or continues to hold) dual citizenship of Australia and the
United Kingdom' having regard to your intention that the request is
'intended to capture any documented discussions/correspondence/notes
between Mr Abbott, his advisors, Canberra beaurocrats and colleagues on
this topic'? If you do wish to continue with your FOI request in those
terms, we also seek you confirmation that your request excludes:

·        FOI-related documents: These documents would comprise FOI
requests, communications with FOI applicants and documents relating to the
processing of those requests.

·        Documents relating to correspondence from members of the public
writing to a Prime Minister about Mr Abbott’s citizenship.

Yours sincerely

FOI Adviser

Access and Administrative Review Section | Legal Policy Branch

Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

e. [1][DPMC request email] | w. [2]www.pmc.gov.au

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

[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00[5]cid:image003.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00 [6]cid:image004.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

[7]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

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