UK-Australia agreement on defence and security cooperation 2024: Governor-General's approval documents
Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Is it possible to provide the following documents, [within the possession of your Department and] with redactions or omissions if necessary, on the AGREEMENT between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Australia for Defence and Security Cooperation signed in 2024 (https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Bus...
- documents recording the Governor-General's approval for Australia to sign the Agreement;
- accompanying documents submitted to the Governor-General in seeking the Governor-General's approval for Australia to sign the Agreement?
Thank yous!
Yours faithfully,
Tyler
OFFICIAL
DFAT FOI Reference: LEX 12337
Dear Tyler
Thank you for your emails dated 1 April 2025, 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).
Processing your similar requests
We wish to advise that the department received 4 requests from you with
similar search terms.
The requests have been attached for your attention.
Noting that the requests are very similar, and relate to a very similar
subject matter, our team would be grateful if you could please respond
with a consolidated scope for request to documents.
Please provide your response by: 17:00 Thursday 3 April 2025 so that the
department can process your request in a timely manner.
Once received, the team will send you formal correspondence regarding the
processing of your request.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.
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.
DFAT FOI Reference: LEX 12337
Dear FOI,
Thank yous for your message on 1 April 2025. Great to have these four requests (about the Australia-UK treaty/agreement in 2013 and 2024 on defence and security cooperation) all consolidated under this DFAT FOI reference LEX 12337.
Thank yous!
Yours faithfully,
Tyler
DFAT FOI Reference: LEX 12337
Dear FOI,
Don't know if yous are asking for re-doing of the requests for information. I understand yous already have the requests. In any case, they are as below, about two treaties, each with two parts.
1. Australia-UK Treaty for Defence and Security Cooperation 2013 (in AUSTRALIAN TREATY SERIES [2014] ATS 21)
(i) Is it possible to provide the following documents, with redactions or omissions if necessary, on this Treaty:
- diplomatic notes exchanged between Australia and the UK on their completion of "respective internal procedures" and the entry into force of the treaty?
(This is said in Article 13 paragraph 1, of the treaty)
- "full powers" for both parties to sign the treaty.
On these diplomatic notes and full powers - if there are issues in providing copies of diplomatic notes or full powers from the UK, would it be possible to at least provide copy of such diplomatic notes and full powers from Australia?
(ii) Is it possible to provide the following documents, [within the possession of your Department and] with redactions or omissions if necessary, on this Treaty:
- documents recording the Governor-General's approval of the Treaty;
- accompanying documents submitted to the Governor-General in seeking the Governor-General's approval of the Treaty?
2. Australia-UK Agreement for Defence and Security Cooperation 2024 (https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Bus...)
(i) Is it possible to provide the following documents, with redactions or omissions if necessary, on the "full powers" of Australia and UK respectively for signing this Agreement?
On these "full powers" - if there are issues in providing copy of full powers from the UK, would it be possible to at least provide copy of the full powers from Australia?
(ii) Is it possible to provide the following documents, [within the possession of your Department and] with redactions or omissions if necessary, on this Agreement-
- documents recording the Governor-General's approval for Australia to sign the Agreement;
- accompanying documents submitted to the Governor-General in seeking the Governor-General's approval for Australia to sign the Agreement?
Thank yous!
Yours faithfully,
Tyler
OFFICIAL
DFAT FOI Reference: LEX 12337
Dear Tyler
Thank you for your response dated 2 April 2025.
We will process your request as a combination of the emails received from
you on 1 April 2025.
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:
The Australian Government donated a substantial amount of money to the
Kingdom of Tonga for the 2024 Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), ostensibly to
pay for the hosting, accommodation etc of the PIF delegates.
I am requesting information on:
- How much money was donated to Tonga for the 2024 PIF hosted in
Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga
- Accounts of where the money was spent, and for what purpose
- Invoices of suppliers used to supply these services - in all main Island
groups that were visited - Tongatapu, Ha'apai, and Vava'u
- Cost of the private airplanes for delegates
- Tender processes for suppliers in Tonga
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 1 April 2025, 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 1 May 2025. 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 [1]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 [2][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 [3]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
[4]dfat.gov.au | [5]X | [6]Facebook | [7]Instagram | [8]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.
DFAT FOI Reference: LEX 12337
Dear FOI,
Thank yous for yours message on 2 April 2025. Just want to clarify that the substance of the request made by me has not been reproduced in yours message, and yours message on 2 April 2025 seems to refer to a different request from someone else.
I will repeat my request below, thank yous
Tyler
1. Australia-UK Treaty for Defence and Security Cooperation 2013 (in AUSTRALIAN TREATY SERIES [2014] ATS 21)
(i) Is it possible to provide the following documents, with redactions or omissions if necessary, on this Treaty:
- diplomatic notes exchanged between Australia and the UK on their completion of "respective internal procedures" and the entry into force of the treaty?
(This is said in Article 13 paragraph 1, of the treaty)
- "full powers" for both parties to sign the treaty.
On these diplomatic notes and full powers - if there are issues in providing copies of diplomatic notes or full powers from the UK, would it be possible to at least provide copy of such diplomatic notes and full powers from Australia?
(ii) Is it possible to provide the following documents, [within the possession of your Department and] with redactions or omissions if necessary, on this Treaty:
- documents recording the Governor-General's approval of the Treaty;
- accompanying documents submitted to the Governor-General in seeking the Governor-General's approval of the Treaty?
2. Australia-UK Agreement for Defence and Security Cooperation 2024 (https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Bus...)
(i) Is it possible to provide the following documents, with redactions or omissions if necessary, on the "full powers" of Australia and UK respectively for signing this Agreement?
On these "full powers" - if there are issues in providing copy of full powers from the UK, would it be possible to at least provide copy of the full powers from Australia?
(ii) Is it possible to provide the following documents, [within the possession of your Department and] with redactions or omissions if necessary, on this Agreement-
- documents recording the Governor-General's approval for Australia to sign the Agreement;
- accompanying documents submitted to the Governor-General in seeking the Governor-General's approval for Australia to sign the Agreement?
Thank you for your email to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Freedom of Information Section.
This mailbox is now unattended until 9am AEDT on Wednesday 2 Janaury 2025.
We will respond to your email upon our return.
Happy holidays, from the DFAT FOI team!
OFFICIAL
DFAT FOI Reference: LEX 12337
Dear Tyler
Thank you for your email.
We wish to confirm that the scope of your request is as you requested
below.
A decision is currently due to you by: 1 May 2025.
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.