Treaty and MOU with Netherlands on MH17
Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Is it possible to provide the following:
- full powers for Australia's representative to sign the Treaty between Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the Presence of Australian Personnel in the Netherlands for the Purpose of Responding to the Downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 (signed on 1 August 2014),
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Australian Federal Police and the National Police of the Netherlands on Combating Transnational Crime and Developing Police Cooperation (came into effect on 2 June 2014, as mentioned in the above Treaty).
Thank you
Yours faithfully,
Tyler
OFFICIAL
FOI Request: LEX 11663
Dear Mr/Ms [last name]
Thank you for your email received by the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade (the department) on 18 October 2024 seeking access to information
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
This email sets out some information about your request.
Scope of request:
You have sought access to:
Is it possible to provide the following:
- full powers for Australia's representative to sign the Treaty between
Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the Presence of Australian
Personnel in the Netherlands for the Purpose of Responding to the Downing
of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 (signed on 1 August 2014),
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Australian Federal Police and
the National Police of the Netherlands on Combating Transnational Crime
and Developing Police Cooperation (came into effect on 2 June 2014, as
mentioned in the above Treaty).
Your request is not valid
Having reviewed your email, we do not consider that the first part of your
request currently meets the requirements of a valid FOI request under the
FOI Act. This is because the right of access under the FOI Act provides
for access to documents, not information. Your enquiry does not identify
the documents you are seeking. Rather than requesting access to documents
held by the department, you have requested information. As such, the
purpose of this email is to assist you in making a valid FOI request.
Additionally, while the second part of your request is technically a valid
request, it is better directed at the Australian Federal Police (AFP) than
the department. We request that you withdraw this aspect of the request
and make it to AFP via the link here: [1]Freedom of Information access
requests - AFP
How to make a valid request
To be considered valid, your request must provide such information
concerning the documents you are requesting, as is reasonably necessary to
enable a reasonable officer of the department to identify the documents
requested.
In drafting the scope of your request, you may wish to consider specifying
the type of documents you are seeking, for example documents which set out
the powers for Australia's representative to sign the Treaty between
Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the Presence of Australian
Personnel in the Netherlands for the Purpose of Responding to the Downing
of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 (signed on 1 August 2014).
If you would like to make a valid FOI request, you can reply by return
email to [2][DFAT request email].
Further information about how to lodge a valid request under the FOI Act
can be found at
[3]www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/corporate/freedom-of-information.
Kind regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
[4]dfat.gov.au | [5]Twitter | [6]Facebook | [7]Instagram | [8]LinkedIn
© Brooke Rigney-Lively (2024)
[9]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.
Dear FOI,
Thank you for your message.
I am happy to confine my request to the first part.
"Full powers" is a document that a head of state, a head of government, or the foreign minister, authorises someone else to conclude a treaty on the state's behalf. This is the subject of the request.
So the request is as follows.
Is it possible to provide the following:
- full powers for Australia's representative to sign the Treaty between Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the Presence of Australian Personnel in the Netherlands for the Purpose of Responding to the Downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 (signed on 1 August 2014)?
Can you confirm very kind that you received this message, and if there is anything needed further to make this request valid?
Thank you
Yours faithfully,
Tyler
Dear FOI,
And for your further information, the document "full powers" may or may not contain the heading "full powers", because this depends on the practice of the Australian government. What "full powers" refers to is a document that a head of state, a head of government, or the foreign minister, authorises someone else to conclude a treaty on the state's behalf. I understand that relevant officers in DFAT would know this well.
So my request in full is as below;
"Is it possible to provide the following:
- full powers for Australia's representative to sign the Treaty between Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the Presence of Australian Personnel in the Netherlands for the Purpose of Responding to the Downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 (signed on 1 August 2014)?"
Can you confirm very kind that you received this message, and if there is anything needed further to make this request valid?
Thank you
Yours faithfully,
Tyler
OFFICIAL
FOI Request: LEX 11663
Dear Tyler
Thank you for your email dated 18 October 2024 seeking access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
This email sets out some information about how your request will be
processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the department).
Scope of request:
You have sought access to:
- full powers for Australia's representative to sign the Treaty between
Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the Presence of Australian
Personnel in the Netherlands for the Purpose of Responding to the Downing
of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 (signed on 1 August 2014)?"
...
What "full powers" refers to is a document that a head of state, a head of
government, or the foreign minister, authorises someone else to conclude a
treaty on the state's behalf.
If it emerges that the scope of your request is unclear or is too large
for processing, the department will contact you to discuss re-scoping the
request.
Timeframe for receiving our decision:
We received your request on 18 October 2024, and the 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date.
A decision is currently due to you by 18 October 2024. The period of 30
days may be extended in certain circumstances.
Charges:
Please note that the department may issue charges for processing FOI
requests. If applicable, we will advise you of any relevant charges when
we are in a position to estimate the resources required to process your
request.
Disclosure log:
Please note that, with some exceptions (such as personal information),
documents released under the FOI Act may later be published on the
department’s disclosure log.
Exclusion of officials’ names and contact details:
It is the department’s policy to withhold the personal information of
junior staff from ministerial offices and government officials not in the
Senior Executive Service (SES) or equivalent, including their email
addresses and contact numbers, together with all signatures, mobile phone
numbers, departmental inboxes and technical transmission details including
reference numbers.
Duplicate documents and incomplete email chains:
Your request will be processed on the basis that you did not intend to
capture duplicate documents or duplicate emails within email chains.
If you require the excluded information or documents, please let us know
at [1][DFAT request email] so the decision-maker may consider; otherwise, we
will take it that you agree to the information and documents being
excluded from the scope of your request.
Personal Information:
If we need to consult with other people or organisations regarding your
FOI request, we may need to disclose your personal information (e.g. your
name). When we consult it may be apparent that you have made a request,
even if we do not disclose your identity. Please let us know if you have
any concerns in this regard. Further information on the way the department
handles personal information is accessible via our privacy policy.
Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact us by reply email.
Kind Regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
dfat.gov.au | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
© Brooke Rigney-Lively (2024)
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia,
and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our
respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to their Elders,
past, present and emerging.
OFFICIAL
Dear Tyler
Please see the attached correspondence relating to your request, as well
as the document which has been released to you.
Kind regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram | [5]LinkedIn
© Brooke Rigney-Lively (2024)
[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.
From: FOI FOI
Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2024 10:48 AM
To: Tyler <[FOI #12183 email]>
Subject: Your FOI Request - Acknowledgement (LEX 11663) [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
FOI Request: LEX 11663
Dear Tyler
Thank you for your email dated 18 October 2024 seeking access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
This email sets out some information about how your request will be
processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the department).
Scope of request:
You have sought access to:
- full powers for Australia's representative to sign the Treaty between
Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the Presence of Australian
Personnel in the Netherlands for the Purpose of Responding to the Downing
of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 (signed on 1 August 2014)?"
...
What "full powers" refers to is a document that a head of state, a head of
government, or the foreign minister, authorises someone else to conclude a
treaty on the state's behalf.
If it emerges that the scope of your request is unclear or is too large
for processing, the department will contact you to discuss re-scoping the
request.
Timeframe for receiving our decision:
We received your request on 18 October 2024, and the 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date.
A decision is currently due to you by 18 October 2024. The period of 30
days may be extended in certain circumstances.
Charges:
Please note that the department may issue charges for processing FOI
requests. If applicable, we will advise you of any relevant charges when
we are in a position to estimate the resources required to process your
request.
Disclosure log:
Please note that, with some exceptions (such as personal information),
documents released under the FOI Act may later be published on the
department’s disclosure log.
Exclusion of officials’ names and contact details:
It is the department’s policy to withhold the personal information of
junior staff from ministerial offices and government officials not in the
Senior Executive Service (SES) or equivalent, including their email
addresses and contact numbers, together with all signatures, mobile phone
numbers, departmental inboxes and technical transmission details including
reference numbers.
Duplicate documents and incomplete email chains:
Your request will be processed on the basis that you did not intend to
capture duplicate documents or duplicate emails within email chains.
If you require the excluded information or documents, please let us know
at [7][DFAT request email] so the decision-maker may consider; otherwise, we
will take it that you agree to the information and documents being
excluded from the scope of your request.
Personal Information:
If we need to consult with other people or organisations regarding your
FOI request, we may need to disclose your personal information (e.g. your
name). When we consult it may be apparent that you have made a request,
even if we do not disclose your identity. Please let us know if you have
any concerns in this regard. Further information on the way the department
handles personal information is accessible via our privacy policy.
Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact us by reply email.
Kind Regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
dfat.gov.au | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
© Brooke Rigney-Lively (2024)
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia,
and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our
respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to their Elders,
past, present and emerging.
OFFICIAL
LEX11702
Dear Tyler,
On 29 October 2024, DFAT received your FOI request, under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for access to:
‘copy of formal diplomatic or other statements or notes, which relate to
Australia's recognition and establishment of diplomatic relations, that
were exchanged between the government of Australia and Kosovo (around
2008)?’
Document searches have been completed by the Eastern and South Europe
Branch, the Protocol Branch and the Archives Unit but Zagreb and Vienna
Posts are still conducting searches.
Pursuant to Section 15AA of the Freedom of Information Act 1982, we
request your written agreement to a 14 day extension of time to complete
processing your request. If you agree, the decision will be due to you by
11 December 2024.
Kind regards,
DFAT FOI Team
_____________________________________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]X | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram | [5]LinkedIn
© Brooke Rigney-Lively (2024)
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia,
and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our
respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to their Elders,
past, present and emerging.
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