8 September 2021
FOI ref: 2981
Mr Jeremy Cooper‐Stout
By email: foi+request‐7645‐xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Cooper‐Stout
Freedom of Information Request – Charges
I refer to your request to the Treasury on 2 August 2021, for access under the
Freedom of Information Act
1982 (the
FOI Act) to the following:
The Australian Financial Review has reported[1] that "Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has failed to act on
“imperative” Treasury advice to set up an independent review of the $90 billion JobKeeper program,
despite Parliament’s budget watchdog exposing an estimated $25 billion was paid to firms that did
not record the forecast revenue falls.".
Accordingly, I request under the Freedom of Information Act:
(1) Any advice prepared by Treasury for the Treasurer relating to review(s) of the JobKeeper program;
and
(2) Any response received by the Treasurer or the Treasurer's office to the documents in (1).
In accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act, I have decided that you are liable to pay a charge in respect of
the processing of your request. My preliminary assessment of the charge is $260.00, based on the following
calculations:
Item
Hours
Price
Search and retrieval already undertaken
6.37 hours
$95.50
Decision‐making, including:
First 5 hours (free)
$0
• Examination of relevant pages and deciding
whether to release or exempt
8.26 additional
165.17
• The making of any necessary redactions (this
hours
does not include the redaction of staff details)
• Preparation of a decision letter.
TOTAL
$260.00
Deposit (25% of total cost)
$65.00
Langton Crescent, PARKES ACT 2600, AUSTRALIA
P: 61 2 6263 2800
www.treasury.gov.au

2
There are 22 documents in the scope of your request containing over 300 pages of material. My preliminary
view of these documents is that they are comprised of Cabinet material that is likely to be exempt.
The hourly charges have been calculated using the
Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019 (the
FOI Regulations) to reflect the work involved in processing a request and making a decision. However, any
access you get to the documents will depend on the final decision, and not the payment of charges.
What you need to do
You have 30 days to pay the charges. You can pay the charge in full, or pay a deposit of 25% now and the
remainder before you receive any documents. The attachment to this letter sets out the payment options.
If you dispute the charge
Please contact the Treasury’s FOI team by emailing xxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx.xx and explain why the charge has
been wrongly assessed, why it should be reduced, or why there should be no charge for your request.
Your email must include your reasons for disputing the charge. If you are requesting a reduction in the
charge, or that there be no charge, this includes information to help the Treasury understand whether:
• the charge would cause financial hardship to you, or the person on whose behalf you made the request,
or
• giving access to the documents is in the general public interest, or in the interest of a substantial section
of the public.
The Treasury will then consider your email, and make a decision about whether or not to reduce or remove
the charge. You may still contest the charge after paying the charge in full, or in part by deposit.
What happens next?
The statutory timeframe for processing your request is suspended until you pay the charge or deposit, or
until you receive a decision from the Treasury about removing the charge.
If you do not contact the Treasury or pay the charge or deposit
within 30 days of receiving this letter, your
request will be taken to have been withdrawn.
Rights of Review
Attached is a statement of your review rights.
Yours sincerely
Philippa Brown
First Assistant Secretary
Labour Market Policy Division
3
Department of Treasury Payment Options
Customer Name:
Customer Address:
FOI Number:
Option 1: Bank Cheque or Australian Money Order – made out to “Collector of Public Monies”
Attached
Option 2: Please debit my credit card as follows:
AMEX
VISA
Mastercard
Card Number
/
$
Expiry Date
CCV Number
Total Amount
Name on Card
Signature of card holder
Send your completed form:
by post to: FOI Officer, The Treasury, Langton Crescent, Parkes ACT 2600
or by Email to: xxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Office Use Only
File Number:
Trim Number:
Cost Centre:
GL Code:
Customer Number:
DAN Number: