Richard Smith
By email only:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Smith
Freedom of Information Request - Ref: FOI18/198
I refer to the request for information received by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
(Authority) under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) on 5 October 2018. The request
was for documents relating to scientific advice provided to the Minister of Environment and Energy.
Specifically, you requested access to the following documents:
a)
Documents relating to advice provided by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
(the Authority) to the Minister of Environment and Energy, or representatives of the
Minister's office regarding initiatives to protect the Great Barrier Reef between
1 January 2017 to 30th April 2018; and
b)
Documents relating to the Authority's scientific and conservation management policy in
regards to the Great Barrier Reef in force as at 1st March 2018; and
c)
Documents relating to the Authority's policy on funding scientific, conservation or
restoration activities, research and grants specifically focused on the Great Barrier
Reef in force as at 1st March 2018; and
d)
Documents relating to any request for information from the Minister of Environment and
Energy, or representatives of the Minister's office to the Authority regarding scientific,
conservation, restoration or management received during the period 1 January 2017 to
30th April 2018.
Documents falling within scope of the request
The Authority has conducted a thorough search of all relevant files and has identified 6 documents
falling within the scope of the request.
Decision-maker
I am an officer authorised under s 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions about whether to grant access
to the documents requested.
Decision on release of documents
I have decided that 5 documents relevant to your request are publicly available and I have provided
you links to these documents in the attached schedule so that you can access them. I have further
decided to release the one document that was not already publicly available to you in full.
280 Flinders Street
PO Box 1379
Phone + 61 74750 0700
xxxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx
Townsville Qld 4810
Fax + 61 7 4772 6093
www.gbrmpa.gov.au
Australia
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Attachment A to this letter is schedule of documents. The links to the publicly available documents
are provided in this schedule. I have also included additional links to the Authority’s e-library where
you may find additional materials of interest to you.
Document 1 which I have decided to grant access to you in full has been provided to you
electronically.
Charges
On the basis that the majority of documents you requested are publicly available I have decided
not to impose a charge to process this request.
Your review rights
If you are dissatisfied with the searches we did to locate documents related to your request, you
may apply for internal review or Information Commissioner review of the decision. We encourage
you to seek internal review as a first step as it may provide a more rapid resolution of your
concerns.
Internal review
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to the Authority for an internal review of
my decision. The internal review application must be made within 30 days of the date of this letter.
Where possible please attach reasons why you believe review of the decision is necessary. The
internal review will be carried out by another officer within 30 days.
Please forward your application for internal review to the Authority by email
at xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx
or post to:
FOI coordinator
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
PO Box 1379
Townsvil e QLD 4810
Information Commissioner review
Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Australian Information Commissioner to
review my decision. An application for review by the Information Commissioner must be made in
writing within 60 days of the date of this letter, and be lodged in one of the following ways:
online:
https://forms.business.gov.au/aba/oaic/foi-review-/
email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
post:
GPO Box 2999, Canberra ACT 2601
in person: Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW
280 Flinders Street
PO Box 1379
Phone + 61 74750 0700
xxxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx
Townsville Qld 4810
Fax + 61 7 4772 6093
www.gbrmpa.gov.au
Australia
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More information about Information Commissioner review is available on the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner website. Go to
www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-
reviews.
Please contact me at
xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx if you wish to discuss any aspect of this matter.
Yours sincerely
Leisa Pendle
Senior Legal Officer, Legal Services
5 November 2018
280 Flinders Street
PO Box 1379
Phone + 61 74750 0700
xxxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx
Townsville Qld 4810
Fax + 61 7 4772 6093
www.gbrmpa.gov.au
Australia
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