FOI seeking a copy of the Letter to the Governor-General
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
I seek to obtain documents in accordance with the FOI Act. I will be grateful if you refer to the documents PMC partially released to FOI/2020/160IC. Please provide a copy of:
1. Page 1 of 5 with the s22 redaction removed;
2. The letter to the Governor-General cited as Attachment 1 on page 5 of 5
Yours faithfully,
Trav S
OFFICIAL
Reference: FOI/2025/057
Dear Trav S
Thank you for your email of 24 March 2025, in which you made a request
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department).
You set out the terms of the request as follows:
I seek to obtain documents in accordance with the FOI Act. I will be
grateful if you refer to the documents PMC partially released to
FOI/2020/160IC. Please provide a copy of:
1. Page 1 of 5 with the s22 redaction removed;
2. The letter to the Governor-General cited as Attachment 1 on page 5 of 5
Timeframe for receiving your decision
The 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the
day after the Department received your request, you should therefore
expect a decision from us by 23 April 2025.
The processing period of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances
and we will write to you separately regarding 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]https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...,
subject to certain exceptions.
If you think you might wish to raise any objections to the publication of
your requested document, 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 set out your 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:
o any person’s signature;
o the names and contact details of Australian Public Service officers
not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);
o the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers;
o the names and contact details of Ministerial staff at a level below
Chief of Staff.
If you consider the information categorised above is relevant to the terms
of your request please let us know at [3][DPMC request email], otherwise we will
take it that you agree this category of information may be reasonably
regarded as irrelevant and we will delete this information if it appears
in the documents that are otherwise responsive to your request.
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.
Further information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
Yours sincerely,
Coordinator | FOI Section
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. (02) 6271 5849
e. [5][email address] w. [6]pmc.gov.au
[7]http://url5193.checkbox.ai/wf/open?upn=u...
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
1. https://www.pmc.gov.au/about-us/accounta...
2. mailto:[DPMC request email]
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. https://pmc.gov.au/
OFFICIAL
FOI Reference: FOI/2025/057
Dear Trav S
Please find attached the decision regarding your request under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982.
Yours sincerely
Janelle
Adviser | FOI Section[]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. (02) 6271 5849
Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [1][email address] w. [2]pmc.gov.au
[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0
[5]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
3. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...
Dear FOI,
Please undertake an internal review.
I seek disclosure of the s42 redacted material. PM&C ought to understand that a Commonwealth agency disclosed this information to me well over a decade ago. Documents evidencing this will be emailed to [email address] for the record and the internal reviewers consideration.
I submit that the redacted material may not warrant legal professional privilege protection. Grounds for disclosure include, but are not limited to, the evident waiver of LPP as a result of prior disclosure; limits to PM&C’s claim to LPP; implied waiver through conduct; no evidence of confidentiality maintenance.
The redacted material does not appear to meet the LPP criteria. It merely records an administrative exchange by PM&C to AusAID seeking factual clarifications regarding the number of days CRG personnel would be required to serve in order to qualify for the HOSM; and the eligible dates of CRG’s service.
The redacted material merely states:
“The final details I need to check with you before we instruct the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing to prepare the draft declaration, are to:
- confirm the qualifying period of service of 30 days stands for CRG (which I assume is the case)
- ask you to advise proposed eligible dates of service for CRG on or after 20 March 2003.”
The redacted material does not appear to be legal advice. The High Court established that LPP requires the dominant purpose of the communication to be legal advice. This communication’s purpose appears to be policy implementation, not legal advice.
Prior Disclosure by AusAID. AusAID already disclosed the redacted material to me. The High Court holds that LPP is waived when a client discloses privileged communication to a third party in a manner inconsistent with maintaining confidentiality. AusAID’s disclosure to me, a non-government individual, without conditions or restrictions, constitutes such a waiver.
Limits to PM&C’s Claim to Privilege. PM&C may assert they hold sole authority to claim LPP as the originating agency. However, AusAID, as a recipient and co-client with a shared interest in the communication, had the authority to waive privilege. The High Court confirmed that a client with a common interest in privileged communication can waive privilege through disclosure, binding other parties. AusAID’s role in the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal (HOSM) declaration process establishes this shared interest, and its disclosure to me waives LPP for PM&C.
Implied Waiver Through Conduct. The Federal Court holds that a client’s conduct, such as failing to maintain confidentiality after disclosure, can imply waiver. The email’s circulation among non-legal staff and AusAID’s disclosure to me demonstrate a lack of intent to preserve confidentiality.
No Evidence of Confidentiality Maintenance. The email lacks confidentiality markings beyond “SEC=UNCLASSIFIED” and includes no instructions restricting disclosure. The NSW Supreme Court ruled that privilege is lost when communication is shared broadly without confidentiality safeguards. The material’s dissemination may negate PM&C’s claim to ongoing privilege.
Public Interest in Disclosure
The material concerns HOSM eligibility for CRG contractors, a matter of public interest. Transparency in government decision-making outweighs protecting a 12-year-old administrative communication, especially given its prior disclosure and lack of sensitivity.
Inconsistency with FOI Act Objectives
The FOI Act promotes access to government information and withholding material previously disclosed undermines this objective. I submit that the section 42 exemption is misapplied given the waiver, administrative nature, passage of time and public interest.
Yours sincerely,
Trav S
Dear FOI,
Please note that I have just emailed the following two evidentiary documents to PM&C via their FOI email address.
The first document is titled:
2012-03-22_AusAID email to me evidencing disclosure of the redacted material PMC seeks to withold from the public
The second is titled:
2012-03-22_AusAID email to me disclosing the material PMC seeks to withhold from the public via s42 redactions
Please let me know if you require further documentary evidence.
Kind regards
Trav S