Our Reference: 48158/15
17 December 2015
GPO Box 9827
In your capital city
www.asic.gov.au
Mr Phillip Sweeney
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Sweeney
ASIC’s decision on your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982
I refer to your request dated 12 December 2015 for access to documents under
the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). ASIC received your request on
12 December 2015 by email.
Your request is in the following terms:
The document of documents the applicant seeks is any correspondence from
Commissioner Day of ASIC or any other ASIC Officer to the Senate
Economics Reference Committee or members of the committee or
the committee secretary where concern has been expressed that a Deed of
Variation dated 20 November 1974 did no validly amend the terms of an
occupational pension scheme established on the 23 December 1913 in
the State of South Australia that has been known by several names including
The Provident Fund, the Elders IXL Superannuation Fund and more recently
as the AusBev Superannuation Fund.
Purported instruments associated with this Fund bear the signatures of John
Dorman Elliott and Ken Jarrett who were the subject of three major
investigations by the former National Crime Authority (NCA). Mr Jarrett
served a term of imprisonment for dishonest conduct.
The search period is from 1 September 2015.
I am an authorised decision-maker under section 23 of the FOI Act.
Decision
I advise that your request is refused under section 24A of the FOI Act, as the documents
you have requested as described above do not exist.
I advise that my search of ASIC’s records did not turn up any documents that
correspondence from an ASIC Officer to the Senate Economics References
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17 December 2015
Committee regarding the matters you outlined within the search period, and therefore
there are no documents that fall within the scope of your request.
Section 24A – Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or
have not been received
Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that requests may be refused if documents cannot be
found, do not exist, or have not been received.
Section 24A 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.
Review Rights
I provide you with the following information as required by section 26 of the FOI Act.
If you are dissatisfied with the decision:
1. You may, within 30 days after the day on which you have been notified of this
decision, apply in writing to ASIC for a review of my decision by another ASIC
officer under section 54B of the FOI Act. This request should be addressed to me
or to the Senior Manager, Administrative Law GPO Box 9827 MELBOURNE
VIC 3001 or by email t
o xxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
2. You may apply in writing to the Australian Information Commissioner for a
review of my decision under section 54N of the FOI Act. Correspondence should
be addressed to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at: GPO
Box 2999 Canberra ACT 2601 OR GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001.
3. You may lodge a complaint with the Commonwealth Ombudsman about ASIC’s
handling of the FOI request, the FOI decision, or the review of the FOI decision.
To do so, you can contact the Ombudsman’s office either: by e-mail to
xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx, by letter to GPO Box 442 Canberra ACT 2601,
or by fax to (02) 6276 0123.
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17 December 2015
If you have any questions in relation to this letter please contact me on 03 9280 3530
or
xxxx.xxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. Yours sincerely
Greg Hackett
Authorised decision-maker under subsection 23(1) of the FOI Act
For the Australian Securities and Investments Commission
