OFFICE OF THE OFFICIAL SECRETARY
TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL
22 April 2022
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Re: Application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
Ref: FOI2022059
I refer to your email of 11 April 2022 in which you make a request under the
Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for:
“Freedom of Information regarding Letters Patent or Instruments to establish Great Seal
after Federation, listing requirements for use of Moeline Crosses with Imperial State
Crown.
I've advised Qld Premier Office by telephone conversation, no action would be taken by
Premier Office. I received no legislation, Act given to explain "Curious Errors" involving
Great Seal relation to Queensland State Emblem, appears in ERROR as a Moeline
Cross appears in conflict of Queen Victoria Imperial grants to Qld Emblem.
ALL Documents, bearing that INCORRECT/INVALID Great Seal, in use from receipt
from British Monarch, until Version 2.0 was issued and replaced Royal Seal used from
1907/10 until 1930-33, would then be invalid, being INCORRECTLY SEALED.
Qld State Emblem on the 1st Great Seal, is incorrect, with an Imperial Crown
surmounted by MOELINE CROSS, whereas Great Seal 2.0 1930's reissue, may have
been corrected
For Western Australia, the Black Swan swimming backwards or the wrong way to other
examples Governor of Western Australia
1870's - 1953
The first badge of Western Australia was a yellow disk upon which a silhouetted Black
Swan was emblazoned, facing the fly. It was adopted on 27 November 1875, according
to Barraclough and Crampton [bcr78] and Znamierowski [zna99], but on 3 January
1870 according to Ausflag.
Martin Grieve, 28 February 2006
In 1953 the black swan was reversed so that it faced hoistwards.
Martin Grieve, 1 March 2006.
Heraldry UK, were also unable to explain, why they were issued defective, Qld & WA
only having errors, in one other request from Australia I located.
Thank you for your assistance, locating specifications listed to create and issue, Great
GOVERNMENT HOUSE CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
TELEPHONE (02) 6283 3533 FACSIMILE (02) 6281 3760 WEBSITE
WWW.GG.GOV.AU
Seal Commonwealth of Australia, both versions please 1st Great Seal before 1910 &
2nd version in 1930's, have a great day”
I am the authorised decision maker under section 23 of the FOI Act and this letter sets
out my decision on your request for access.
Material taken into account In making my decision, I have had regard to the following:
the terms of your request;
advice from Agency officers with responsibility for matters relating to the
documents to which you sought access;
the relevant provisions of the FOI Act; and
the Commonwealth’s guidelines on FOI.
Section 6A of the FOI Act
The FOI Act does not apply to the Governor-General. Under section 6A, the FOI Act
also has a restricted application to the Official Secretary to the Governor-General
(Official Secretary) which provides:
(1)
This Act does not apply to any request for access to a document of the
Official Secretary to the Governor-General unless the document relates to
matters of an administrative nature.
(2)
For the purposes of this Act, a document in the possession of a person
employed under section 13 of the
Governor-General Act 1974 that is in his
or her possession by reason of his or her employment under that section
shall be taken to be in the possession of the Official Secretary to the
Governor-General.
The phrase ‘matters of an administrative nature’ is not defined in the FOI Act. The High
Court of Australia held in
Kline v Official Secretary to the Governor General [2013] HCA
52 that the phrase refers to documents that concern ‘the management and
administration of office resources, such as financial and human resources and
information technology’ (at [13]). By contrast, the High Court held the phrase does not
apply to documents that relate to the discharge of the Governor-General’s ‘substantive
powers and functions’.
Decision
The Office has been unable to identify any documents within the scope of your request.
Accordingly, I advise that I must reject your request under section 24A of the FOI Act on
the basis that the document(s) sought do not exist or cannot be found.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
TELEPHONE (02) 6283 3533 FACSIMILE (02) 6281 3760 WEBSITE
WWW.GG.GOV.AU
Information provided outside the Office’s obligation
The information you seek may be available on the websites of Department of Prime
Minister and Cabinet or the Museum of Australian Democracy. Please see links below
for reference.
Department of the Prime Minster and Cabinet
Museum of Australian Democracy
Review rights
You are entitled to seek review of this decision. Your rights are set out at Attachment A
to this letter.
Yours sincerely
Jo Tarnawsky
Deputy Official Secretary to the Governor-General
GOVERNMENT HOUSE CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
TELEPHONE (02) 6283 3533 FACSIMILE (02) 6281 3760 WEBSITE
WWW.GG.GOV.AU
ATTACHMENT A — INFORMATION ON RIGHTS OF REVIEW
1. APPLICATION FOR INTERNAL REVIEW OF DECISION
You can request internal review within 30 days of you receiving this decision. An
internal review will be conducted by a different officer from the original decision-maker.
No particular form is required but it would assist the decision-maker if you could set out
in the application the grounds on which you consider that the decision should be
reviewed. Applications for internal review can be made:
via email to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxx.xx
by mail to The Official Secretary to the Governor-General, Government House,
CANBERRA ACT 2600
If you choose to seek an internal review, you will afterward have a right to apply for
Information Commissioner review (IC review) of the internal review decision.
OR
2. INFORMATION COMMISSIONER REVIEW OR COMPLAINT
You also have the right to seek IC review of this decision. For FOI applicants, an
application for IC review must be made in writing within 60 days of the decision. For
third parties who object to disclosure of their information, an application for IC review
must be made in writing within 30 days of the decision.
If you are not satisfied with the way we have handled your FOI request, you can lodge a
complaint with the OAIC. However, the OAIC suggests that complaints are made to the
agency in the first instance.
While there is no particular form required to make a complaint to the OAIC, the
complaint should be in writing and set out the reasons for why you are dissatisfied with
the way your request was processed. It should also identify this office as the agency
about which you are complaining.
You can make an IC review application or make an FOI complaint in one of the
following ways:
online at https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-
complaints/
via email t
o xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
by mail to GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001, or
by fax to 02 9284 9666.
More information about the Information Commissioner reviews and complaints is
available at its websit
e: www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-review-process.
