OFFICIAL
2
REASONS FOR DECISION
Section 24A – Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or have
not been received
6.
Section 24A(1) of the FOI Act states:
(1) An agency or Minister may refuse a request for access to a document if:
(a) all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and
(b) the agency or Minister is satisfied that the document:
(i) is in the agency’s or Minister’s possession but cannot be found; or
(ii) does not exist.
7.
Paragraph 3.94 of the Guidelines advises the detail this statement of reasons should
include to refuse a request under section 24A(l):
…the statement of reasons given to the applicant should sufficiently identify the
document, explain why it cannot be found or is known not to exist or to be in the
agency’s possession, describe the steps the agency took to search for the document,
and note the limitations of any search…
8.
To ensure that all reasonable steps have been taken in relation to this request, every
reasonable avenue of locating potential documents have been exhausted.
9.
Relevant personnel within Defence People Group conducted searches within the
Defence Records Management System (
Objective) and Microsoft Outlook, using search
terms related to the applicant’s scope. No records were found.
10.
Paragraph 3.208 of the Guidelines states that the FOI Act gives a legally enforceable
right of access to documents that already exist, and an agency is not required to create a
new document to satisfy an FOI request.
11.
In forming my decision, I have also had regard to section 17 [requests involving the use
of computers etc.] of the FOI Act. Defence was unable to provide the information by
using a ‘computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available’ to the agency for
retrieving or collating stored information to produce a document, per section 17(1)(c)(i)
of the FOI Act.
12.
Having regard to the parameters of the applicant’s scope, I am satisfied that all
reasonable steps have been taken to locate any documents relevant to the applicant's
request. Accordingly, I refuse the request under section 24A(1) of the FOI Act.
Digitally signed by
david.gwyther david.gwyther
Date: 2025.09.01 08:11:09
+10'00'
David Gwyther
Commodore, RAN
Accredited Decision Maker
Department of Defence
1 September 2025
OFFICIAL
