Dear Harry

 

The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (the department) has received your Freedom of Information request of 15 November 2020 (attached).

 

For documents that fall within the scope of the request, it is the practice of the department to withhold:

 

·        the names, signatures and contact details of junior staff; That is:

o   Commonwealth staff who are not in the Senior Executive Service (SES); and

o   Ministerial staff below the level of Chief of Staff; and

·        the mobile phone numbers of SES officers.

 

The names and other details of SES officers will be released unless the information is exempt from disclosure.

 

Confirmation from you that you are not seeking ‘personal information’ (ie. the names and contact details of any individuals, or any information that could reasonably identify an individual) may enable a more timely and cost effective processing of your request.

 

Therefore, could you please clarify if you a seeking access to personal information in the documents relating to:

·        third parties; and

·        Commonwealth staff.

 

If you are not seeking access to any personal information, you can simply reply to this email with ‘no personal information requested’.

 

If you are seeking access to specific types of personal information, could you please specify.

 

We look forward to your response at your earliest convenience but no later than Monday 30 November 2020.

 

Notice of Consultation

 

Your request covers documents that contain information about the business affairs of certain organisations.

 

Under section 27A of the FOI Act where a request is made for a document containing information about a person, or any information that could reasonably identify an person; and it appears the person may reasonably wish to contend that the information is exempt or conditionally exempt, the department must give the person a reasonable opportunity to make a submission in support of the contention.

 

Under section 27A of the FOI Act, the department must have regard to any submissions made by the person before making a decision to give access to the document.

 

Given that consultation with a third party is required, the statutory timeframe for processing your FOI request is extended by 30 days under subsection 15(6) of the FOI Act.

 

Currently, a decision is due to you on or before 14 January 2021.

 

If you have any questions, please contact the FOI team.

 

Regards

 

FOI Team

Legal, Audit and Assurance | Corporate & Digital

GPO Box 2013, Canberra ACT 2601

Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources | www.industry.gov.au

 

Supporting economic growth and job creation for all Australians

 

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