FOI 2020 283IR Internal review decision.pdf

ONE NATIONAL CIRCUIT
BARTON

FOI/2020/283IR

INTERNAL REVIEW DECISION AND REASONS
UNDER SECTION 54 OF
     FOI
THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982

REQUEST BY:
Trav S

DECISION BY:  Ms Celeste Moran
Acting First Assistant Secretary
Government Division


By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear Trav S

I refer to your email of 24 January 2021 in which you requested internal review of the
decision (the primary decision) dated 21 January 2021 by Mr Peter Rush, Assistant
Secretary, Parliamentary and Government Branch, Department of the Prime Minister and
Cabinet (the Department) in relation to your request, dated 8 December 2020, under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) in the following terms:

The April 2019 "Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal Guide to Eligible Groups"
cites "Palladium Group Pty Ltd" as an eligible organisation for the medal. For the
public interest, please provide a copy of the Department's assessments justifying the
award to Palladium Group Pty Ltd.

The primary decision granted access, in part, to one document (the requested document)
with information exempt under section 33(a)(iii) of the FOI Act and irrelevant material
deleted under section 22 of the FOI Act.

Under section 54(2) of the FOI Act, an applicant is entitled to apply for an internal review of a
decision refusing to give access to a document in accordance with a request.

On 24 January 2021, you requested internal review in the following relevant terms:

PM&C has previously advised that generally speaking, Government has not
recommended commercial organisations for the HOSM on the grounds they are not
principally humanitarian organisations in comparison with not-for-profit
organisations.
Postal Address:  PO Box 6500, CANBERRA ACT 2600
Telephone: +61 2 6271 5849   Fax: +61 2 6271 5776   www.pmc.gov.au   ABN:  18 108 001 191

However an exception to that general rule appears to have been made in this case.
We ask that you provide us with a copy of the advice and information relied upon in
justifying the award of the HOSM to Palladium Group Pty Ltd, a commercial
organisation.

From the documents the department released, the assessment's 'Attachment F' does
not appear to have been included. Are we able to request a copy of the attachment?

Can we also ask for the release of the information withheld under Section 22,
excepting any persons signature; names and contact details of non-SES APS staff or
Ministerial staff below Chief of Staff ?

Authorised decision maker

Section 54C(2) of the FOI Act provides that an agency must arrange for a person (other than
the person who made the original decision) to review the decision.

I am authorised to make this decision in accordance with arrangements approved by the
Department’s Secretary under section 23 of the FOI Act.

Internal review decision

I have decided to affirm the primary decision which granted access, in part, to the requested
document, with information exempt under section 33(a)(iii) of the FOI Act and irrelevant
material deleted under section 22 of the FOI Act.

I note that the version of Attachment F for release was included in the primary decision that
was issued to you (pages 15-26 of the “Documents for release” binder).

In reaching my decision I have had regard to:
•  the terms of your FOI request of 8 December 2020;
•  the material within the scope of the internal review;
•  the primary decision;
•  consultation comments received from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade;
•  your internal review request;
•  the FOI Act; and
•  the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A
of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Guidelines).

Reasons

I have carefully reviewed the requested document and your request for internal review. I am
satisfied with the primary decision findings and reasons underpinning those findings.

Accordingly, I adopt and affirm those findings and reasons as my own for the purposes of this
internal review.

2

Administrative release under the FOI Act

The FOI Guidelines state that an agency may choose to provide administrative access outside
the formal FOI Act process.1

I note that some of the irrelevant material in the requested documents was correctly found by
the primary decision-maker as outside the scope of your FOI request, on the basis that it does
not relate to the Department's assessments justifying the award to Palladium Group Pty Ltd.
Nevertheless, I have decided to release that material to you under administrative access
arrangements, on the basis that it has already been released in previous FOI requests and has
been published on the Department’s FOI disclosure log.

A copy of the requested document, containing the material that is released to you
administratively, is attached.

Review rights

Information about your rights of review under the FOI Act is available at
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/information-
commissioner-review/.

Complaint rights

You may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner about the Department’s actions
in relation to this decision. Making a complaint about the way the Department has handled an
FOI request is a separate process to seeking review of the Department’s decision. Further
information about how to make a complaint is available at https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-
of-information/reviews-and-complaints/make-an-foi-complaint/.

Yours sincerely

Celeste Moran
Acting First Assistant Secretary
Government Division

23 February 2021

1 FOI Guidelines, [3.2].

3