ADF Structures
Dear Department of Defence,
Under the FOI, I request any documents visually showing the structure of the Army, RAN, and RAAF, aswell as any other major commands if available (ADFHQ, HQ JOC, etc)
Yours faithfully,
Jed Cox
OFFICIAL
Dear Jed
Acknowledgement
I refer to your correspondence of 25 December 2025, seeking access to
documents held by the Department of Defence (Defence) under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). This email is to advise you that your
request has been received and allocated for Case Management.
The scope of your request is:
…any documents visually showing the structure of the Army, RAN, and RAAF,
aswell as any other major commands if available (ADFHQ, HQ JOC, etc).
Disclaimer
Where staff details are captured in documents within the scope of your FOI
request, this information will be redacted; this includes private email
addresses, signatures, personnel (PMKeyS) numbers and mobile telephone
numbers, unless you specifically request such details. Defence excludes
duplicates of documents and any documents sent to or from you.
Furthermore, Defence only considers final versions of documents.
Charges
Defence may impose a charge for the work involved in providing access to
the documents in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations 2019. We will notify you if your request attracts a charge.
Please note that there is no charge for documents that contain the
personal information of the applicant.
Timeframe
The statutory timeframe to provide you with a decision on your request
ends on 24 January 2026. This period may be extended if we need to consult
with third parties, or for other reasons. We will advise you if this
happens.
Please note that Defence is subject to a reduced work period during
December and January. We seek your agreement to a 30-day extension of time
under section 15AA of the FOI Act. If you agree to the extension, the new
statutory timeframe to provide you with a decision will end on 23 February
2026.
It would be much appreciated if you could confirm your agreement to this
extension of time via e-mail by close of business 8 January 2026.
Please note that where the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public
holiday, the timeframe will expire on the next working day. This is in
accordance with the FOI Guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act.
Disclosure Log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published on Defence’s
disclosure log, located on our website.
Contact Details
We will contact you via the email address you have provided. Please advise
if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.
Should you have any questions relating to your request, please contact:
[1][email address].
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Team
Media and Information Disclosure Branch
Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division
Department of Defence
[2]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence
IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...
OFFICIAL
Dear Jed,
Please find attached a letter in relation to Defence FOI 973/25/26.
Kind regards,
Freedom of Information Team
Media and Information Disclosure Branch
Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division
Department of Defence
[1]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence
IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...
Dear FOI Case Management,
I refer to the request consultation notice dated 15 January 2026 in relation to FOI 973/25/26.
Pursuant to section 24AB of the Freedom of Information Act 1982, I revise my request as follows:
I seek access to current organisational structure diagrams (organisation charts) that visually depict the command and reporting structure of the following Defence entities, as at the date of this request:
Australian Army – high-level organisational structure (Army Headquarters level);
Royal Australian Navy – high-level organisational structure (Navy Headquarters level);
Royal Australian Air Force – high-level organisational structure (Air Force Headquarters level);
Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC).
For the avoidance of doubt: This request is limited to one current version per entity (no historical or superseded documents); The request is limited to formal organisational charts or equivalent briefing diagrams produced or maintained by Defence for governance, command, or briefing purposes; I do not seek working papers, drafts, emails, or multiple variants of the same diagram. If multiple documents exist, I am content for Defence to provide the most recent authoritative version only for each entity.
I submit that this revised scope addresses the practical refusal reasons outlined in the consultation notice by substantially reducing document volume, timeframe, and stakeholder consultation.
Please recommence processing of the revised request.
Yours sincerely,
Jedstar
OFFICIAL
Dear Jed
Please find attached the Decision relating to Defence FOI 973/25/26.
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you are entitled to request a review of
this decision. Your review rights are attached.
Please contact this office should you require any further information.
Regards
Freedom of Information Team
Media and Information Disclosure Branch
Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division
Department of Defence
[1]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence
IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...
Dear Department of Defence,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Defence's handling of my FOI request 'ADF Structures'.
I disagree with the decision for the following reasons:
Incorrect application of section 33 (national security)
Defence has not demonstrated that disclosure would, or could reasonably be expected to, cause damage to the security of the Commonwealth. The decision relies on speculative and generic assertions about potential targeting and “mosaic theory” risks, without identifying any concrete, plausible harm. High-level organisational charts are administrative governance documents and similar structures are publicly disclosed by comparable defence organisations internationally without compromising national security.
Overbroad reliance on the ‘mosaic theory’
The decision relies heavily on the mosaic theory without demonstrating how these specific documents, at a high-level headquarters organisational layer, would materially add to any existing intelligence picture. OAIC Guidelines require a reasonable and tangible expectation of harm, not conjecture.
Misapplication of section 47E(d)
The claim that disclosure would have a substantial adverse effect on Defence operations is unsupported by evidence. High-level organisational reporting structures do not constrain operational flexibility, nor would they reasonably be expected to interfere with Defence’s operational efficiency. Assertions regarding external interference and diversion of resources are speculative.
Failure to properly consider partial release under section 22
Defence refused the documents in full on the basis they would be “meaningless” if edited. This does not satisfy the obligation under section 22 to provide edited copies where reasonably practicable. At minimum, non-sensitive structural elements (e.g., unit titles, reporting lines, and governance frameworks) could be released with sensitive details redacted.
Inadequate public interest assessment
The decision gives insufficient weight to public interest factors favouring disclosure, including transparency of Defence governance, accountability of senior leadership structures, and oversight of publicly funded institutions. Organisational structures at headquarters level relate to governance and administration, not operational tactics or classified capabilities.
Availability of comparable public information
Defence acknowledges that organisational information is already publicly available. This undermines the claim that disclosure of high-level structure diagrams would cause harm. The refusal appears inconsistent with Defence’s Information Publication Scheme objectives.
For these reasons, I request that the internal reviewer reconsider the application of sections 33 and 47E(d) and provide partial access to the documents with only genuinely sensitive material redacted.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/a...
Yours faithfully,
Jed Cox
OFFICIAL
Dear Jed
This email is to acknowledge receipt of your email on 30/01/2025 seeking an internal review, under section 54 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act), of the decision you received on your FOI request.
The review you are seeking is in relation to your FOI request for:
‘I seek access to current organisational structure diagrams (organisation charts) that
visually depict the command and reporting structure of the following Defence entities,
as at the date of this request:
Australian Army – high-level organisational structure (Army Headquarters level);
Royal Australian Navy – high-level organisational structure (Navy Headquarters
level);
Royal Australian Air Force – high-level organisational structure (Air Force
Headquarters level);
Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC)'
We understand that you are seeking a review of:
‘I disagree with the decision for the following reasons:
-Incorrect application of section 33 (national security) -Overbroad reliance on the ‘mosaic theory’ -Misapplication of section 47E(d)
-Failure to properly consider partial release under section 22 -Inadequate public interest assessment
-Availability of comparable public information'
The statutory deadline for Defence to issue you an internal review decision is 30 days from the date we received your request. As the date for your decision falls on a weekend, the statutory deadline will be the next business day which is Monday 2 March 2026.
Paragraph 3.141 of the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner, states 'the processing period refers to calendar days, not business (working) days. This will include any public holidays that fall within the processing period. If the last day for notifying a decision falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday, the timeframe will expire on the first day following which is none of those days.'
If we require further time to process the internal review, we can apply to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for further time to deal with your application under section 54D(3) of the FOI Act. We will let you know if this happens.
In the meantime, please contact us by return email if you have any questions.
Regards
FOI Review Team
FOI Review Directorate
Media and Information Disclosure Branch
Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division
Department of Defence