2016-17 Most Expensive Trip
Dear Department of Employment,
This is a request under the FOI Act.
Can you please provide the travel expenses, invoices, receipts, credit card statements and reimbursements for the most expensive trip taken by a Minister or Assistant Minister in your Department's portfolio area in 2016-17.
I request that any fees arising in relation to this request be waived as the information is in the public interest, as it helps inform the public about how the government is spending public revenue.
Yours faithfully,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
Good afternoon Mr Gothe-Snape
I refer to your request to the Department of Employment (the Department)
dated 8 August 2017, seeking access under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (Cth)(FOI Act) to the following documents:
…travel expenses, invoices, receipts, credit card statements and
reimbursements for the most expensive trip taken by a Minister or
Assistant Minister in your Department's portfolio area in 2016-17.
We understand that you have made similar requests to other agencies.
Publicly available information
The Department of Finance has material related to your request on its
website.
Expenditure reporting for the period 1 July 2016 – 31 December 2016 in
relation to Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, Minister for Employment, is
available here:
[1]http://www.finance.gov.au/sites/default/....
We understand that relevant information is still being completed for the
full 2016-17 financial year. As indicated by the Department of Finance, it
will not be possible to identify the ‘most expensive trip’ until the
reporting and acquittal processes are completed.
Suggested withdrawal of request
As you may be aware, the Department does not have portfolio responsibility
for reporting on ministerial travel. Your request relates more closely to
the functions of the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA).
We suggest that you contact IPEA directly ([2][email address]) in relation
to your request for documents.
Please let us know by COB 18 August 2017 if you would like us to continue
processing your request. If we do not hear from you by that date, we will
treat your request as withdrawn.
Kind regards
James Ramsay
Information Law Team
Information Law, Practice Management and Corporate Advising Branch
Australian Government Department of Employment[]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Jackson Gothe-Snape
[mailto:[FOI #3780 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 8 August 2017 4:51 PM
To: Employment - FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - 2016-17 Most Expensive Trip
Dear Department of Employment,
This is a request under the FOI Act.
Can you please provide the travel expenses, invoices, receipts, credit
card statements and reimbursements for the most expensive trip taken by a
Minister or Assistant Minister in your Department's portfolio area in
2016-17.
I request that any fees arising in relation to this request be waived as
the information is in the public interest, as it helps inform the public
about how the government is spending public revenue.
Yours faithfully,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #3780 email]
Is [4][email address] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Employment? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[5]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[6]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Local
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. http://www.finance.gov.au/sites/default/...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[FOI #3780 email]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
6. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Hello,
I am interested in trips taken by a Minister that also included Departmental staff. Are you able to process the request on that basis?
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
Good afternoon Mr Gothe-Snape
Please see the attached notice under section 24AB of the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth).
Kind regards
James Ramsay
Information Law Team
Information Law, Practice Management and Corporate Advising Branch
Australian Government Department of Employment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Jackson Gothe-Snape
[mailto:[FOI #3780 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 8 August 2017 4:51 PM
To: Employment - FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - 2016-17 Most Expensive Trip
Dear Department of Employment,
This is a request under the FOI Act.
Can you please provide the travel expenses, invoices, receipts, credit
card statements and reimbursements for the most expensive trip taken by a
Minister or Assistant Minister in your Department's portfolio area in
2016-17.
I request that any fees arising in relation to this request be waived as
the information is in the public interest, as it helps inform the public
about how the government is spending public revenue.
Yours faithfully,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[1][FOI #3780 email]
Is [2][email address] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Employment? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[3]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[4]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Local
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #3780 email]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
4. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Hi James,
Thanks for this. Can you please amend my request as follows:
Please provide an itemised summary of all trips booked with your travel provider for 2016-17 in spreadsheet format.
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
Good afternoon Mr Gothe-Snape
I refer to your email correspondence dated 22 August 2017 (below), and to
the Department’s notice under section 24AB of the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth)(FOI Act), sent to you on the same day.
You have asked for ‘an itemised summary of all trips booked with your
travel provider for 2016-17 in spreadsheet format’.
As previously advised, the Department does not organise travel on behalf
the Minister. It is not clear from your correspondence whether you are
still seeking documents concerning ministerial travel, or whether your
request relates to trips taken by departmental employees. If you are
seeking documents concerning trips taken by the Minister, we remind you
that such information is the responsibility of the Independent
Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA), and that the IPEA will publish
this information as part of its reporting processes. If your request now
relates only to departmental employees, we would propose to treat this as
a new request under the FOI Act, given that it is a significant departure
from the original scope of your request.
As such, the Department considers that you have not provided sufficient
information for us to identify the documents to which you are seeking
access, as required by paragraph 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act.
Would you please clarify the documents to which you are seeking access? It
would assist us if you would set out intended scope of your request, in
full.
Kind regards
James Ramsay
Information Law Team
Information Law, Practice Management and Corporate Advising Branch
Australian Government Department of Employment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Jackson Gothe-Snape
[mailto:[FOI #3780 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 22 August 2017 5:41 PM
To: Employment - FOI
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - 2016-17 Most Expensive Trip
[SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Hi James,
Thanks for this. Can you please amend my request as follows:
Please provide an itemised summary of all trips booked with your travel
provider for 2016-17 in spreadsheet format.
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
-----Original Message-----
Good afternoon Mr Gothe-Snape
Please see the attached notice under section 24AB of the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth).
Kind regards
James Ramsay
Information Law Team
Information Law, Practice Management and Corporate Advising Branch
Australian Government Department of Employment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[1][FOI #3780 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[2]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Local
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #3780 email]
2. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Hello,
Please consider my request to include Department staff.
I am looking for a spreadsheet or database extract of all Department travel for 2016/17.
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
Good afternoon Mr Gothe-Snape
Thank you for your email.
We presume that you are no longer seeking to obtain information on
ministerial travel, and that the full scope of your request is as follows:
…a spreadsheet or database extract of all Department travel for 2016/17.
As foreshadowed in our correspondence dated 25 August 2017, we propose to
treat this as a new request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act), given that it is a substantial departure from your original request.
We are also taking you to have withdrawn your original request.
If our interpretation of your request is not correct, would you please
indicate this by COB Monday 4 September 2017?
Kind regards
James Ramsay
Information Law Team
Information Law, Practice Management and Corporate Advising Branch
Australian Government Department of Employment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Jackson Gothe-Snape
[[1]mailto:[FOI #3780 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 31 August 2017 12:17 PM
To: Employment - FOI
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - 2016-17 Most Expensive Trip
[SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Hello,
Please consider my request to include Department staff.
I am looking for a spreadsheet or database extract of all Department
travel for 2016/17.
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
-----Original Message-----
Good afternoon Mr Gothe-Snape
I refer to your email correspondence dated 22 August 2017 (below), and to
the Department’s notice under section 24AB of the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth)(FOI Act), sent to you on the same day.
You have asked for ‘an itemised summary of all trips booked with your
travel provider for 2016-17 in spreadsheet format’.
As previously advised, the Department does not organise travel on behalf
the Minister. It is not clear from your correspondence whether you are
still seeking documents concerning ministerial travel, or whether your
request relates to trips taken by departmental employees. If you are
seeking documents concerning trips taken by the Minister, we remind you
that such information is the responsibility of the Independent
Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA), and that the IPEA will publish
this information as part of its reporting processes. If your request now
relates only to departmental employees, we would propose to treat this as
a new request under the FOI Act, given that it is a significant departure
from the original scope of your request.
As such, the Department considers that you have not provided sufficient
information for us to identify the documents to which you are seeking
access, as required by paragraph 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act.
Would you please clarify the documents to which you are seeking access?
It would assist us if you would set out intended scope of your request,
in full.
Kind regards
James Ramsay
Information Law Team
Information Law, Practice Management and Corporate Advising Branch
Australian Government Department of Employment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[2][FOI #3780 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[3]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Local
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #3780 email]
2. mailto:[FOI #3780 email]
3. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
UNCLASSIFIED
Good afternoon Mr Gothe-Snape
Please find attached a notice under section 24AB of the Freedom of
Information Act 1982(Cth).
Kind regards
James Ramsay
Government Lawyer
Information Law Team
Corporate Legal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Jackson Gothe-Snape
[mailto:[FOI #3780 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 31 August 2017 12:17 PM
To: Employment - FOI <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - 2016-17 Most Expensive Trip
[SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Hello,
Please consider my request to include Department staff.
I am looking for a spreadsheet or database extract of all Department
travel for 2016/17.
Yours sincerely,
Jackson Gothe-Snape
-----Original Message-----
Good afternoon Mr Gothe-Snape
I refer to your email correspondence dated 22 August 2017 (below), and to
the Department’s notice under section 24AB of the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth)(FOI Act), sent to you on the same day.
You have asked for ‘an itemised summary of all trips booked with your
travel provider for 2016-17 in spreadsheet format’.
As previously advised, the Department does not organise travel on behalf
the Minister. It is not clear from your correspondence whether you are
still seeking documents concerning ministerial travel, or whether your
request relates to trips taken by departmental employees. If you are
seeking documents concerning trips taken by the Minister, we remind you
that such information is the responsibility of the Independent
Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA), and that the IPEA will publish
this information as part of its reporting processes. If your request now
relates only to departmental employees, we would propose to treat this as
a new request under the FOI Act, given that it is a significant departure
from the original scope of your request.
As such, the Department considers that you have not provided sufficient
information for us to identify the documents to which you are seeking
access, as required by paragraph 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act.
Would you please clarify the documents to which you are seeking access?
It would assist us if you would set out intended scope of your request,
in full.
Kind regards
James Ramsay
Information Law Team
Information Law, Practice Management and Corporate Advising Branch
Australian Government Department of Employment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[1][FOI #3780 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[2]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Local
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #3780 email]
2. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Locutus Sum left an annotation ()
The applicant has not responded to a request from the agency. For this reason, under s 24AB(7) the request is taken to have been withdrawn.