OFFICIAL

Freedom of Information (FOI) request
Notice of Decision
Reference: FOI/2023/119
Mr Alex Pentland
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear Mr Pentland
I refer to your request of 23 March 2023 to the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) for access to
documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). On 17 April 2023, the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department) accepted a partial transfer of your
request under section 16(1)(b) of the FOI Act
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on the part of your request for access that
was transferred to the Department under the FOI Act.
Scope of request
The scope of the request which was transferred to the Department and subject to this decision
includes:
(d)  briefing notes, legal advice and file notes held by the Prime Minister and/or his office in relation
to the proposed wording for the Voice referendum.
Authorised decision-maker
I am authorised to make this decision in accordance with arrangements approved by the
Department’s Secretary under section 23 of the FOI Act.
Material taken into account
In reaching my decision I referred to the fol owing:
•  the terms of the transferred request
•  the FOI Act
•  the Guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act
(the Guidelines)
Postal Address: PO Box 6500, CANBERRA ACT 2600
Telephone: +61 2 6271 5849   Fax: +61 2 6271 5776   www.pmc.gov.au ABN:  18 108 001 191

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OFFICIAL
Documents in scope of request
The Department has identified six (6) documents that fal  within the scope of your request.
Decision
I have decided to refuse access on grounds the documents contain information exempt under section
34 (Cabinet documents).
Reason for decision
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding documents are  exempt is set out below.
1.  Section 34 – Cabinet documents
Section 34 of the FOI Act provides:
(1)  A document is an exempt document if:
(a)  both of the following are satisfied:
(i)
it has been submitted to the Cabinet for its consideration, or is or was
proposed by a Minister to be so submitted;
(ii)
it was brought into existence for the dominant purpose of submission for
consideration by the Cabinet; or
…
(c)  it was brought into existence for the dominant purpose of briefing a Minister on a document
to which paragraph (a) applies; …
The purpose of the Cabinet exemption is to protect the confidentiality of Cabinet processes.
In making my assessment, I have consulted with the Department’s Cabinet Division on the documents.
Based on the material before me I am satisfied that:
•  the documents contain material that was brought into existence for the dominant purpose of
briefing a Minister on a submission to Cabinet (paragraph 34(1)(c)).
Accordingly, I have decided to refuse your request for access on the basis that the documents are
exempt from release under section 34 of the FOI Act.
Review rights
If you disagree with my decision, you may apply for internal review or Information Commissioner
review of the decision.

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OFFICIAL
Internal review
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to the Department for an internal review of
my decision. The internal review application must be made within 30 days after the date of this letter.
Where possible please attach reasons why you believe review of the decision is necessary. The internal
review wil  be carried out by another officer within 30 days from the date it is received.
Applications for review should be sent to xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Information Commissioner review
Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Australian Information Commissioner to
review my decision. An application for review by the Information Commissioner must be made in
writing within 60 days after the date of this letter.
More information about Information Commissioner review is available here.1
FOI Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your FOI request, please let us know what we could
have done better. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can make a complaint to the
Australian Information Commissioner. A complaint to the Information Commissioner must be made in
writing. More information about complaints is available here.2
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your requests, you can contact the FOI Section by email at
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely

Saskia Bourne
Assistant Secretary A/g
First Nations Policy Branch
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
9 June 2023

1 https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-rights/freedom-of-information-reviews/information-
commissioner-review
2 https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-information-rights/freedom-of-information-complaints/make-an-foi-
complaint

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Document Outline