OFFICIAL
Agency reference:
FOI 25-26/055
Contact:
FOI Team
E-mail:
xxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dean Foley
By email only:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Foley,
Decision and Statement of Reasons issued under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 – FOI 25-26/055
On 12 September 2025, the Department of Finance (Finance) received your email, in which
you sought access under the Commonwealth
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to
the following:
Under the FOI Act 1982, I seek access to final advice, correspondence or clearances provided by
Finance to the ILSC (or the portfolio) about the disposal of the Ayers Rock Resort business or related
non-financial property.
This includes the application of the Commonwealth Property Disposal Guide (June 2024), RMG-213
(Disposals and gifting of relevant property) and relevant RMG-500 series guidance under the PGPA
framework (1 Jan 2014 – present).
On 3 October 2025, you agreed to a 21-day extension of time under section 15AA of the
FOI Act. The new due date for a decision is 3 November 2025.
Authorised decision-maker
I am authorised by the Secretary of Finance under section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make
decisions in relation to FOI requests.
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with notice of my decision under the FOI Act.
On 2 October 2025 Finance advised you that there was a need to consult with multiple
business areas within Finance, and external agencies. Through consultation, I have
determined that there are no documents within the scope of your request.
Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that an agency may refuse a request for access to a
document if after taking reasonable steps to find the document, the agency is satisfied that
the document does not exist. In line with this provision, I have decided to refuse your
request.
One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603 • Internet www.finance.gov.au
OFFICIAL
In making my decision, I have had regard to the following:
• the terms of your FOI request;
• searches for documents held by Finance;
• the relevant provisions of the FOI Act;
• the FOI Guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
(FOI Guidelines).
In coming to my decision, I have:
• consulted with the relevant business areas within Finance who are responsible for
providing advice, corresponding with or providing clearances to the Indigenous Land
and Sea Corporation (ILSC). I have been advised that there are no areas within
Finance that have any knowledge or records of documents within the scope of your
request; and
• ensured that thorough searches of items created by Finance and provided to ILSC or
the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet prior to 12 September 2025 were
undertaken of the following relevant Finance systems where any such documents
may have been stored:
o SharePoint/OneDrive, searching the terms “ILSC” AND “Voyages”;
o Electronic documents saved on emails, searching the terms “ILSC” AND
“Voyages”, “Ayers Rock Resort”; and
o Parliamentary Document Management System (PDMS), searching the terms
“ILSC” AND “Voyages”.
As a result of these consultations and searches, I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have
been taken to find any document that may fall within the scope of your request. As no such
document exists, I have decided to refuse your request.
Review and appeal rights
You are entitled to request an internal review or an external review by the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) of my decision. The process for review and
appeal rights is set out at
Attachment A.
Information Publication Scheme The Information Publication Scheme requires an agency to publish information released in
response to individual requests made under the FOI Act, except in specified circumstances.
I am of the view that details of your request should be made available on the Department’s
FOI Disclosure Log, which can be accessed at https://www.finance.gov.au/about-
us/freedom-information/disclosure-log.
Finance only publishes details of the FOI request and the documents released in response to
the request, and does not publish details of FOI applicants.
If you have any questions about this request, please contact the FOI Team.
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OFFICIAL
Yours sincerely,
Christine Duke
Assistant Secretary
Social Services, Disability & Indigenous Branch
Social Policy Division
Department of Finance
31 October 2025
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OFFICIAL
Your Review Rights
Legislation A copy of the FOI Act is available at: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A02562.
If you are unable to access the legislation through this website, please contact our office for
a copy.
Internal Review (IR) If you disagree with this decision, you can seek a review of the original decision. The review
will be conducted by a different decision maker, usually someone at a more senior level.
You must apply for an IR within
30 calendar days of being notified of the decision or
charge, unless we agree to extend your time. You should contact us if you wish to seek an
extension.
We are required to make an IR decision within 30 calendar days of receiving your
application. If we do not make an IR decision within this timeframe, then the original
decision stands.
Your request for an IR should include:
• a statement that you are seeking a review of our decision;
• attach a copy of the decision you are seeking a review of; and
• state the reasons why you consider the original decision maker made the wrong
decision.
Email
: xxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Post
: The FOI Coordinator
Legal and Assurance Branch
Department of Finance
One Canberra Avenue
FORREST ACT 2603
Information Commissioner review You may apply directly to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
for an Information Commissioner review of this decision. You must apply in writing
within
60 calendar days of this notice.
For further information about review rights and how to submit a request for a review to the
OAIC, please see https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-
ofinformation-rights/freedom-of-information-reviews/information-commissioner-review.
Third parties If you are a third party objecting to a decision to grant someone else access to your
information, you must apply to the Information Commissioner within
30 calendar days of
being notified of our decision to release your information.
The OAIC asks that you commence a review by completing their online form which is
available on their website.
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OFFICIAL
Your review application must include a copy of the notice of our decision that you are
objecting to, and your contact details. You should also set out why you are objecting to the
decision.
Email: xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Post: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001
Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge).
Making a complaint You may complain to the Information Commissioner about action taken by the Department
in relation to your request.
Your enquiries to the Information Commissioner can be directed to:
Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge)
Email: xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
There is no particular form required to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner.
The request should be in writing and should set out the grounds on which it is considered
that the action taken in relation to the request should be investigated and identify the
Department of Finance as the relevant agency.
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