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DEFENCE FOI 405/25/26
STATEMENT OF REASONS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
1.
I refer to the revised request by J (the applicant), received by the Department of
Defence (Defence), for access to the following documents under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act):
…I ask that Defence provide a schedule or index of the 108 documents identified.
…I therefore ask Defence to provide:
•
An index of the documents identified; and
•
An indication of whether they can be grouped (e.g. head contract, KPI
schedules, complaints-handling procedures, KPI reports, audits).
Background
2.
On 12 September 2025, the applicant submitted a request under the FOI Act to Defence
in the following terms:
Contractual Arrangements
The current head contract (and any variations or schedules) between the Department of
Defence and Toll Transitions Pty Ltd for the provision of Defence member relocation
and removal services.
In particular, I seek any schedules, annexures, or statements of work that set out:
Service standards or key performance indicators (KPIs),
Complaints-handling and dispute-resolution obligations, and
Responsibilities of Toll in relation to subcontracted removalists.
Performance and Compliance
The most recent 12 months of:
Departmental audits, reviews, or performance reports assessing Toll’s compliance with
the above service standards,
Any summary reports provided by Toll to Defence under contractual reporting
obligations.
Scope and exclusions:
I do not seek access to personal information of Defence members or private individuals.
I do not seek routine correspondence or duplicate copies of the same document.
I accept that commercially sensitive financial details (such as unit pricing) may be
redacted under s 47 of the Act, provided the remainder of the contract and KPIs are
released.
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I am an ADF member directly affected by the operation of this contract and seek these
documents to better understand the contractual standards and oversight mechanisms in
place.
3.
On 29 September 2025, Defence formally consulted with the applicant in accordance
with section 24AB of the FOI Act.
4.
On 3 October 2025, the applicant revised the scope of the request as outlined in
Paragraph 1.
FOI decision maker
5.
I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23 of the FOI Act to make a decision on
this FOI request.
Documents identified
6.
I identified no documents as falling within the scope of the revised request.
Decision
7.
I have decided to refuse the request under section 24A [requests may be refused if
documents cannot be found, do not exist or have not been received] of the FOI Act.
Material taken into account
8.
In making my decision, I have had regard to:
a. the terms of the request;
b. relevant provisions of the FOI Act; and
c. the Guidelines published by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act (the Guidelines).
REASONS FOR DECISION Section 24A – Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or have
not been received
9.
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.
10.
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
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agency’s possession, describe the steps the agency took to search for the document,
and note the limitations of any search…
11.
As advised in the consultation notice dated 29 September 2025, Security and Estate
Group (SEG) identified over 100 documents estimated to total in excess of 800 pages,
which would need to be reviewed in the first instance. In response to this
correspondence, the applicant revised their request to seek access to an index of the
identified documents, as well as information pertaining to the type of material falling
within scope.
12.
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.
13.
An index reflecting the searches undertaken in regard this particular FOI request
(405/25/26) was not in existence at the time of the applicant’s request, nor is there a
requirement to create a new document to respond to the applicant’s revised scope.
14.
Noting the above revised scope, personnel undertook searches of the Defence Records
Management System, Objective, in attempt to identify an index containing a record of
documents matching the parameters of the applicant’s original scope. No pertinent
records were identified.
15.
In the terms of their revised scope, the applicant has sought information regarding
whether originally returned documents could be grouped into categories. I advise that it
remains open to the applicant to make a fresh request for access to particular categories
of documents of greatest interest to them. Fresh searches would be undertaken relevant
to the terms of any new request.
16.
I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the documents sought
by the applicant and that the documents do not exist. Therefore, I refuse the request
under section 24A(1) of the FOI Act.
Director, Freedom of Information
Department of Defence
Date: 16 October 2025
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