This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Isolation of SARS-Cov-2 virus'.


 
 
Department Reference: FOI 2624 
 
Ms Emma Abhijeeta Saraswati 
Via email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
Dear Ms Abhijeeta Saraswati 
 
NOTICE OF DECISION UNDER SECTION 24A 
OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 
 
I refer to your request of 8 August 2021 to the Department of Health (department), seeking 
access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) in the following terms:  
 
documents held within the Department of Health that show the evidence of the isolation of the 
SARS-Cov-2 virus. To eliminate the possibility of contamination, I ask that these documents 
show the virus has been isolated from only the sample of a symptomatic patient of COVID 
19, where it was not first combined with any other source of genetic material (not limited to 
but by way of example; monkey kidney cells/vero cells or liver cancer cells). 
 
FOI decision  
 
I am authorised under subsection 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to 
Freedom of Information requests. I am writing to notify you of my decision in response to 
your request.  
 
The FOI Act provides a mechanism for individuals to request access to documents held by 
relevant entities. It is not a mechanism for seeking information that the entity does not hold in 
documents.  
 
Appropriate steps have been taken to find documents you have requested including 
consultation with relevant departmental officers and searches of departmental file 
management systems.  
 
The department is a government agency and does not conduct laboratory testing for SARS-
CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Diagnostic assays using reverse transcriptase 
polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) are conducted by testing laboratories throughout 
Australia. For more information, please see the Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN) 
guidance on laboratory testing for SARS-CoV-2, which is available online: 
https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/phln-guidance-on-laboratory-testing-for-
sars-cov-2-the-virus-that-causes-covid-19. 
 
 
SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, is real. Multiple scientific studies across 
the world demonstrate that highly reputable expert laboratories have isolated and sequenced 


 
the virus that causes COVID-19, demonstrating that the virus exists, that it is different from 
the influenza virus, and that it causes a disease that has resulted in more than four million 
deaths worldwide in just over 18 months. While the department is not the custodian of the 
scientific studies proving the existence of SARS-CoV-2, this research has informed the 
Australian Government’s response to the pandemic, and available in the public domain.  
 
I am satisfied, on the basis of the consultation undertaken and the searches conducted, that 
the department, including the Therapeutic Goods Administration, does not hold any 
documents referred to in your request. While the department is not the custodian of the 
information you refer, you can find much of this information in the public domain and this 
research and information has informed the Australian Government’s response to the 
pandemic.  
 
As a consequence, relying on section 24A of the FOI Act, I cannot provide access to the 
documents you requested. 
 
FOI review rights
 
 
If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for a review. 
 
Internal review 
 
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply for internal review of this decision.  
In accordance with section 54B of the FOI Act, an application for internal review must be 
made in writing within 30 days after the day you are notified of this decision (or such further 
period as the department allows). To assist in the internal review process, please provide 
reasons you consider the review of my decision is necessary. 
 
The internal review will be carried out by another officer of this department within 30 days of 
receipt of your application. 
 
An application for an internal review should be addressed to: 
Email:  xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx  
Mail:  
FOI Unit (MDP 516) 
Department of Health  
GPO Box 9848 
CANBERRA ACT 2601 
 
Information Commissioner review 
 
Alternatively, under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Office of the 
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for review of my decision by the Information 
Commissioner (IC).  
 
In accordance with subsection 54S(1) of the FOI Act, an IC review application in relation to a 
decision covered by subsection 54L(2) (access refusal decisions) must be made in writing 
within 60 days after the day you are notified of this decision (if you do not request an internal 
review). 
 



 
More information about IC review is available on the OAIC website at: 
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews/ 
 
The OAIC can be contacted by: 
Phone:   1300 363 992 
Email:  xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx 
 
Complaints 
 
If you are dissatisfied with action taken by the department, you may also make a complaint.  
 
Complaint to the department 
 
Complaints to the department are covered by the department’s privacy policy. A form for 
lodging a complaint directly to the department is available on the department’s website: 
https://www.health.gov.au/about-us/contact-us/complaints  
 
Complaint to the IC 
 
Information about making a complaint to the IC about action taken by the department is 
available on the OAIC website: 
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/make-an-foi-
complaint/ 
 
 
Relevant provisions of the FOI Act 
 
The FOI Act, including the provisions referred to in this letter, can be accessed from the 
Federal Register of Legislation website:  
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00311 
 
Contacts
 
 
If you require clarification of any of the matters discussed in this letter you should contact the 
department’s Freedom of Information Unit on (02) 6289 1666 or at xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx.  
 
Yours sincerely 
 
Dr Marcelle Noja 
Acting Assistant Secretary  
Public Health and Surveillance Branch 
 
01 September 2021