OFFICE OF THE OFFICIAL SECRETARY
TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL
9 September 2022
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Newton
Re: Application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
Ref: FOI2022098
I refer to your email of 15 August 2022 in which you make a request under the
Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for:
“Section 64 of the Australian Constitution stipulates that the Governor-General may
appoint officers to administer departments of State of the Commonwealth, and that
appointees hold office during the pleasure of the Governor-General.
On Monday August 15th, The Australian reported that Scott Morrison had been
appointed as Health Minister, and had also been appointed as Finance Minister and
Resources Minister without the knowledge of previous appointees, who were also
presumably serving at the pleasure of the Governor-General.
I require disclosure of all documents recording any appointment of Scott Morrison to
administer any department of State, including (but not limited to) the departments of
Health, Resources or Finance.
I further require disclosure of any documents recording Mr. Keith Pitt, or Mr. Mathias
Cormann, or Mr. Scott Morrison losing the pleasure of the Governor-General.
”
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.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
TELEPHONE (02) 6283 3533 FACSIMILE (02) 6281 3760 WEBSITE
WWW.GG.GOV.AU
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’.
Requested documents are not within the restricted application of the FOI Act
From the terms of your request, no documents or categories of documents (if they
exist) relate to matters of an administrative nature, as that term has been interpreted
by the High Court.
Decision
The Office has been unable to identify any documents relevant to your request. The
document(s) that you have requested, to the extent they existed, would not relate to
matters of an administrative nature. Accordingly I refuse your request under section 6A
of this Act.
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 obligations under the FOI Act
The office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-Governor supports the inquiry and
processes announced by the Prime Minister in relation to this issue.
Information regarding the subject of your query can be found on the website of th
e
Australian Government - Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Review rights
You are entitled to seek review of this decision. Your rights are set out at Attachment A
to this letter.
Yours sincerely
Jeff Barnes
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
to 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 website
: www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-
information/foi-review-process.
