OFFICE OF THE OFFICIAL SECRETARY
TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL
5 June 2023
Via email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Cole,
Re: Application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
Ref: FOI2023058
I refer to your email of 7 May 2023 to the FOI Coordinator of the Department of
the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C), in which you make a request under the
Commonwealth
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for:
“1. list of the entire delegation travelling with the prime minister to london
for the coronation in may 2023 excluding security personnel.
2. list of the entire delegation travelling with the governor general to
london for the coronation in may 2023 excluding security personnel.
3.Name of hotel and number of rooms booked for delegations.
4.number and type of vehicles hired for the delegation.”
As the FOI Coordinator at PM&C advised, part 2, and tangentially parts 3 and 4
of your request were transferred to the Office of the Official Secretary to the
Governor-General, as they were more closely connected with the functions of
the Office than with those of PM&C. This response relates ONLY to parts 2-4 of
your request, PM&C wil provide a separate response to the remainder of the
request.
I am the authorised decision maker under section 23 of the FOI Act and this
letter sets out my decision on your request for access.
Material taken into account
In making my decision, I have had regard to the following:
• the terms of your request;
• advice from Agency officers with responsibility for matters relating to the
documents to which you sought access;
• the relevant provisions of the FOI Act; and
• the Commonwealth’s guidelines on FOI.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
TELEPHONE (02) 6283 3533 FACSIMILE (02) 6281 3760 WEBSITE
WWW.GG.GOV.AU
Application of the FOI Act
The FOI Act has a limited application to the Of icial Secretary to the Governor-
General. Section 6A provides that the Act does not apply to any request for
access to a document of the Official Secretary unless the document relates to
matters of an administrative nature. In Kline v Official Secretary to the Governor
General [2013] HCA 52 the High Court said:
‘the exception of a class of document which relates to "matters of an
administrative nature" connotes documents which concern the
management and administration of office resources.’
Further, the High Court held the phrase does not apply to documents that relate
to the discharge of the Governor-General's 'substantive powers and functions'.
FOI Act
From the terms of your request, no documents or categories of documents (if
they exist) relate to matters of an administrative nature, as that term has been
interpreted by the High Court.
Decision
The document(s) that you have requested, to the extent they existed, would not
relate to matters of an administrative nature. Accordingly I refuse your request
under section 6A of this Act.
Information provided outside the Office’s obligations under the FOI Act
While I have decided to refuse your request, I can provide the following
information outside the Office’s obligations under the FOI Act that may address
your queries.
The Governor-General and Mrs Hurley were accompanied by four staff from
Government House (Official Secretary, Director Communications, Senior
Program Adviser and Travel Assistant) and an aide-de-camp from the Australian
Defence Force. A single room for each of the five delegation members was
booked in the Great Scotland Yard Hotel. Two vehicles were hired on an as-
required basis. One mid-size coach was hired to transport the delegation and
luggage from the airport to the hotel on 4 May, and return on 7 May; and one
six-seater multi-purpose vehicle was hired on an as-required basis to support
program commitments on 4 and 5 May.
To address your request specifically, I note that your FOI request relates to a
request for information and I confirm that no documents of an administrative
nature exist that relate to your request.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
TELEPHONE (02) 6283 3533 FACSIMILE (02) 6281 3760 WEBSITE
WWW.GG.GOV.AU
Review rights
You are entitled to seek review of this decision. Your rights are set out at
Attachment A to this letter.
Yours sincerely
Jeff Barnes
Deputy Official Secretary to the Governor-General
GOVERNMENT HOUSE CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
TELEPHONE (02) 6283 3533 FACSIMILE (02) 6281 3760 WEBSITE
WWW.GG.GOV.AU
ATTACHMENT A — INFORMATION ON RIGHTS OF REVIEW
1. APPLICATION FOR INTERNAL REVIEW OF DECISION
You can request internal review within 30 days of you receiving this decision. An
internal review wil be conducted by a different officer from the original decision-
maker.
No particular form is required but it would assist the decision-maker if you could
set out in the application the grounds on which you consider that the decision
should be reviewed. Applications for internal review can be made:
• via email to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxx.xx
• by mail to The Official Secretary to the Governor-General, Government
House, CANBERRA ACT 2600
If you choose to seek an internal review, you wil afterward have a right to apply
for Information Commissioner review (IC review) of the internal review decision.
OR
2. INFORMATION COMMISSIONER REVIEW OR COMPLAINT
You also have the right to seek IC review of this decision. For FOI applicants, an
application for IC review must be made in writing within 60 days of the decision.
For third parties who object to disclosure of their information, an application for
IC review must be made in writing within 30 days of the decision.
If you are not satisfied with the way we have handled your FOI request, you
can lodge a complaint with the OAIC. However, the OAIC suggests that
complaints are made to the agency in the first instance.
While there is no particular form required to make a complaint to the OAIC, the
complaint should be in writing and set out the reasons for why you are
dissatisfied with the way your request was processed. It should also identify this
office as the agency about which you are complaining.
You can make an IC review application or make an FOI complaint in one of the
following ways:
• online at https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-
complaints/
• via email t
o xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
• by mail to GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001, or
• by fax to 02 9284 9666.
More information about the Information Commissioner reviews and complaints is
available at its website:
www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-review-
process.
