OFFICIAL
DEFENCE FOI 491/25/26
STATEMENT OF REASONS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
1.
I refer to the request by Mr Francis Unmeopa (the applicant) dated and received on
30 September 2025 by the Department of Defence (Defence), for access to the
following documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act):
All documents, correspondence, emails, file notes, memoranda, and records held by
Department of Defence that relate to any contact, communication, or request for
information from the Honours and Awards Secretariat and/or the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet (or any officer acting on behalf of either) concerning
The attack on the Serena Hotel, Kabul, Afghanistan on 14 January 2008; and/or The
actions of Australian civilians and/or Australian embassy staff present at the Serena
Hotel during the attack on 14 January 2008; and/or Any inquiry, investigation, or
information gathering related to the conduct or actions of individuals at the Serena
Hotel on 14 January 2008.
Time period: 1 January 2008 to present date.
This includes but is not limited to: requests for witness statements, incident reports,
security assessments, personnel records, commendations, citations, or any other
documentation related to the above incident.
FOI decision maker
2.
I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23 of the FOI Act to make a decision on
this FOI request.
Documents identified
3.
I identified no documents as falling within the scope of the request.
Decision
4.
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
5.
In making my decision, I have had regard to:
a. the terms of the request;
b. relevant provisions of the FOI Act;
c. the Guidelines published by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act (the Guidelines); and
OFFICIAL
OFFICIAL
2
d. consultation with relevant areas: the Directorate of Honours and Awards;
Headquarters Joint Operations Command; Strategy, Policy and Industry Group;
and Defence Legal.
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(1):
…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.
The Directorate of Honours and Awards conducted searches of the Defence Records
Management System, Objective, and included the following search terms: ‘unmeopa’,
‘shipway’, ‘8242328’ and ‘serena hotel’. The Directorate also searched hard copy
corporate files related to honours lists submissions and related requests for information.
No records were found matching the applicant’s scope.
10.
In addition, Headquarters Joint Operations Command undertook searches of Objective
and Microsoft Outlook using the following search terms: ‘Serena’, ‘Hotel’,
‘commendation’, ‘citation’ and ‘Afghanistan’. Nil documents were located that met the
parameters of the request.
11.
Searches undertaken of Objective and hard copy files within their possession, identified
that Strategy, Policy and Industry Group did not hold any documents that fell within
scope of the request.
12.
Finally, advice received from Defence Legal advised that no documents matching the
applicant’s scope were identified following searches undertaken by relevant personnel.
OFFICIAL
OFFICIAL
3
13.
I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the documents sought
by the applicant. I am satisfied that the documents cannot be found or do not exist, and
refuse the request under section 24A(1) of the FOI Act.
adam. Digitally signed
by
adam.dellaquila
dellaq Date:
uila
2025.10.29
13:13:17 +11'00'
A. dell’Aquila
Accredited Decision Maker
Defence People Group
Department of Defence
OFFICIAL
