DEFENCE FOI 566/20/21 STATEMENT OF REASONS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION ACT 1.
I refer to the application by Luke Harris under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act) for access to:
“Information relating to the passenger manifests for any flights with the tail number
A39007 between Thursday 10/06/2021 and Thursday 17/06/2021.”
FOI decision maker
2.
I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23 of the FOI Act to make a decision
on this FOI request.
Decision
3.
I have decided to defer the provision of access to documents in accordance with
section 21(1)(b) and 21(1)(c) of the FOI Act.
Material taken into account
4.
In making my decision, I had regard to:
a.
the terms of the request
b.
relevant provisions in the FOI Act
c.
the Guidelines published by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
under section 93A of the FOI Act (the Guidelines).
Reasons for decision
Section 21 – Deferment of access
5.
The Department of Defence is responsible to the Minister for Defence for compiling
the Schedule of Special Purpose Flights. This schedule is tabled in parliament biannually and
includes details on all legs flown, passengers carried, hours and financial costing. The Royal
Australian Air Force is drafting documents for the Defence Minister’s Office for tabling in
parliament.
Defending Australia and its National Interests
2
6. My reason for deferring access to the documents is that premature release would be
contrary to the public interest at this time as they are being prepared for presentation to
Parliament. While I acknowledge that there is a public interest in disclosure of official
information to inform legitimate public debate; there is, in my view, a greater public interest
in following established procedures for accessing this information.
Digitally signed by
peter.davies5
Date: 2021.07.06
16:48:20 +10'00'
PR Davies, CSC
Group Captain
Accredited Decision Maker
Royal Australian Air Force
Document Outline
