FOIREQ21/00155 001
From:
s 22
To:
Legal; s 22
Subject:
Request For Information - SARS-CoV-2/COVID19
Date:
Tuesday, 10 August 2021 2:05:59 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless
you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.
To whom It May Concern,
In accordance with The Freedom of Information act 1982 (Cth), I request
the following:
1. Please provide the scientific evidence/research papers the Australian
Government holds showing, without a shadow of a doubt, that the virus SARS-
CoV-2 has been isolated/purified.
2. If you can provide the scientific evidence/research papers for 1,above,
please confirm if the Australian Government holds a sample of the virus
SARS-Cov-2. Please provide documentation to prove this.
3. Is there an electron micrograph of the pure and fully characterised virus
SARS-Cov-2 held by the Australian Government? If so, please provide this
information.
4. Please provide the primary specialist peer reviewed paper which provides
unequivocal proof that the virus SARS-Cov-2 is the sole cause of the disease,
COVID19.
Time is of the essence, looking forward to your prompt reply.
s 22
FOIREQ21/00155 003
I provide the following information about where you may consider directing your
request.
Department of Health
Post: Freedom of Information Coordinator
FOI Unit
Department of Health
GPO Box 9848
Canberra ACT 2601
Email: xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx
Email or post a completed FOI application form or written request. Your request
must:
•
be in writing
•
state that it is a request for the purposes of the FOI Act
•
specify the documents requested or provide such information as is
reasonably necessary to enable a responsible officer of the agency or the
minister to identify the document that is requested
•
specify details of how notices under the FOI Act may be sent to you, such as a
postal or email address
Please note that the Department imposes certain fees for processing FOI requests.
Next steps
I would be grateful if you could confirm, by return email, whether you withdraw your
request to the OAIC by 23 August 2021. If I do not hear from you by this date, we will
take it that you withdraw your request and close it on our system.
On 16 August 2021, the OAIC received a response from you notifying your intention to
continue with the FOI request. As a result, we continued to process your FOI request.
Decision
I am an officer authorised under s 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to
FOI requests.
I have refused your request for documents under s 24A of the FOI Act on the basis
that all reasonable steps have been taken to find the documents you requested but
no documents exist.
2
FOIREQ21/00155 004
Reasons for decision
Materials taken into account
In making my decision, I have had regard to the following:
• your freedom of information request of 10 August 2021
• your correspondence of 16 August 2021
• the FOI Act, in particular s 24A
• the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under s
93A of the FOI Act (the FOI Guidelines)
• searches conducted by the OAIC’s Records Officer
Documents cannot be found or do not exist - s 24A
I have refused your request for documents under s 24A of the FOI Act on the basis
that all reasonable steps have been taken to find the documents and no documents
exist.
Section 24A provides as follows:
Documents lost or non-existent
(1) An Agency or Minister may refuse a request for access to a document if:
(a) all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and
(b) the agency or Minister is satisfied that the document:
(i) is in the agency’s or Minister’s possession but cannot be
found; or
(ii) does not exist
Searches undertaken
In conducting searches for documents relevant to your request, I consulted with the
OAIC’s Records Officer.
Searches were conducted through the following system:
• corporate document holding system – Content Manager
• case management system – Resolve
• general computer files
• paper files
3
FOIREQ21/00155 005
The officers conducted searches using the search term ‘SARS-CoV-2’ and did not find
any documents on any of our systems that fall within the scope of your request. I
have also reviewed the searches undertaken and am satisfied that no documents
exist on our systems that fall within the scope of your request.
Conclusion
Based on the advice of the Records Officer who conducted the searches, the terms of
your request, and searches undertaken, I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have
been taken to find documents that fall within the scope of your request and that the
documents do not exist.
Therefore, I refuse your request for access to documents under s 24A of the FOI Act
on the basis that no documents exist.
Your review rights are outlined on the following page.
Yours sincerely,
Nora Truong
Legal Services
9 September 2021
4
FOIREQ21/00155 006
If you disagree with my decision
Internal review
You have the right to apply for an internal review of my decision under Part VI of the
FOI Act. An internal review will be conducted, to the extent possible, by an officer of
the OAIC who was not involved in or consulted in the making of my decision. If you
wish to apply for an internal review, you must do so in writing within 30 days. There
is no application fee for internal review.
If you wish to apply for an internal review, please mark your application for the
attention of the FOI Coordinator and state the grounds on which you consider that
my decision should be reviewed.
Applications for internal reviews can be submitted to:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Alternatively, you can submit your application by email to xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx, or by fax
on 02 9284 9666.
Further Review
You have the right to seek review of this decision by the Information Commissioner
and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).
You may apply to the Information Commissioner for a review of my decision (IC
review). If you wish to apply for IC review, you must do so in writing within 60 days.
Your application must provide an address (which can be an email address or fax
number) that we can send notices to, and include a copy of this letter. A request for
IC review can be made in relation to my decision, or an internal review decision.
It is the Information Commissioner’s view that it will usually not be in the interests of
the administration of the FOI Act to conduct an IC review of a decision, or an internal
review decision, made by the agency that the Information Commissioner heads: the
OAIC. For this reason, if you make an application for IC review of my decision, and the
Information Commissioner is satisfied that in the interests of administration of the
Act it is desirable that my decision be considered by the AAT, the Information
Commissioner may decide not to undertake an IC review.
5
FOIREQ21/00155 007
Section 57A of the FOI Act provides that, before you can apply to the AAT for review
of an FOI decision, you must first have applied for IC review.
Applications for IC review can be submitted online at:
https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=ICR
10
Alternatively, you can submit your application to:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Or by email to xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx, or by fax on 02 9284 9666.
Accessing your information
If you would like access to the information that we hold about you, please contact
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. More information is available on the Access our information
page on our website.
6
FOIREQ21/00155 008
From:
s 22
To:
Legal
Subject:
FOI request
Date:
Sunday, 22 August 2021 9:15:58 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments
unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.
Hello, I’m requesting information under The Freedom Of Information Act 1982. The document(s) I’m looking
for are any proof of COVID 19 or strains (wuhan,delta,delta plus) being isolated under an electron microscope
or any other relevant testing the proves the virus exists.
Thankyou
Sent from my iPhone
FOIREQ21/00155 009
From:
s 22
To:
Legal
Subject:
request information under the 1982 freedom of information act
Date:
Sunday, 22 August 2021 2:13:00 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless
you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.
1.I would like to request documentation, under the 1982 freedom of information act,
proving isolation of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant/strain is confirmed by means of a purified
viral sample being imaged with an electron microscope.
2. I would like to request documentation, under the 1982 freedom of information act, that
demonstrates the method and the means that TGA has been able to isolate the SARS-CoV-
2 Delta variant/strain.
3. I would like to request documentation that shows where the isolated SARS-CoV-2 Delta
variant/strain in first request (1.) is exposed to healthy humans or animals and shown to
cause the virus/disease Covid 19.
Look forward to your prompt response
Regards
s 22
Sent from Samsung tablet
FOIREQ21/00155 011
s 22
August 23, 2021
By Email:
Ms A. Falk
Office of the Australia Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001
Dear Ms Falk,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 I request the following:
One document that shows and provides scientific factual evidence of there being a SARS-
CoV2 epidemic in Australia
The number of people that have died in Australia from and only from SARS-CoV2 to date and
how this was accessed given that it is now public knowledge that the virus cannot be
isolated.
s 22
I look forward to your reply
Yours sincerely,
s 22
s 22
FOIREQ21/00155 013
From:
s 22
To:
Legal
Subject:
FOI Request - Freedom of Information Act 1982
Date:
Monday, 23 August 2021 2:53:28 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless
you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.
Date: 23rd August 2021
Dear Office of the Australian Information Commissioner,
I am seeking access, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 information from
your documents evidence that:
1. The scientific isolation of the SARS COV2 Delta strain is confirmed by means of a
purified viral sample being imaged with an electron microscope.
2. Documentation where the isolated SARS COV2 Delta virus sample mentioned in point
(1) is exposed to healthy humans or animals and shown to cause the disease COVID-19.
Yours faithfully,
s 22
