OFFICIAL

 

Dear Mr Andrews,

 

I refer to your correspondence of 25 November 2019 sent to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department) (as set out below) – our reference FOI/2019/362.

 

I am writing to advise you of further information in relation to your correspondence.

 

Request for Internal Review

 

As previously advised by the Department on 25 November 2019 (attached), your original request dated 21 November 2019 did not constitute a valid FOI request for the purposes of the FOI Act. This is because it did not meet certain requirements under the FOI Act to enable its processing by the Department. For example, it did not provide such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the Department to identify the document/s that you are seeking to access.

 

Accordingly, the Department informed you of the requirements for making a valid FOI request and offered to provide further assistance to you.

 

In relation to your request for an internal review of the Department’s ‘handling of your FOI request’, the Department kindly draws your attention to Part VI of the FOI Act which outlines, among other things, the conduct of internal reviews under the FOI Act.. Briefly, the FOI Act provides for internal review of an agency FOI decision in two circumstances:

·         an FOI applicant who is refused access in accordance with a request under the FOI Act may request the agency to review its original decision and make a fresh decision; the internal review can extend to a decision to refuse access either wholly or in part, or to a decision on FOI charges

·         a third party who is affected by a decision to grant access to a document in accordance with an applicant’s request may request the agency to review its decision to grant access

Further information on internal reviews can be found in Part 9 of the FOI Guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, available here: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-guidelines/part-9-internal-agency-review-of-decisions/

 

Neither of the above two circumstances apply in your case as the Department has not issued you with a decision under the FOI Act. Rather, the Department has indicated your request does not meet the validity requirements of section 15 of that Act for processing to commence.

 

If you would like assistance to make a valid FOI request, please feel free to contact the Department by return email at [email address]. Alternatively, given the subject matter of your correspondence appears to relate to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), you may wish to direct your enquiry to the ATO.

 

The Department will take no further action in relation to this matter.

 

Regards,

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: John Andrews <foi+[email address]>
Sent: Monday, November 25, 2019 7:00 PM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Does the law apply equally to all people including the ATO?

 

Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,

 

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

 

I am writing to request an internal review of Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's handling of my FOI request 'Does the law apply equally to all people including the ATO?'.

 

It is only a simple request for information on the Prime Minister's stance and attitude about government departments operating with fraudulent methods but I believe you probably know that.

 

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/does_the_law_apply_equally_to_al

 

Yours faithfully,

 

John Andrews

 

 

 

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