BN53028553 
DEFENCE FOI 161/22/23 STATEMENT OF REASONS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF 
INFORMATION ACT 
1. 
I refer to the application by Alan Cole [the applicant] under the Freedom of 
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for access to: 
“The passenger manifests and flight logs of all vip flights operated on the RAAF 
airbus, falcon 7X and boeing business jets between September 14th 2022 till 
September 23rd 2022.domestically and internationally.” 
FOI decision maker 
2. 
I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23 of the FOI Act to make a decision 
on this FOI request. 
Decision 
3. 
I have decided to defer the access to documents in accordance with section 21(1)(b) 
and 21(1)(c) of the FOI Act. 
Material taken into account 
4. 
In making my decision, I had regard to: 
a. 
the terms of the applicant’s request 
b. 
relevant provisions in the FOI Act 
c. 
the Guidelines published by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner 
under section 93A of the FOI Act (the Guidelines). 
Reasons for decision  
Section 21 – Deferment of access 
5. 
Section 21 of the FOI Act states:  
(1) 
An agency which, or a Minister who, receives a request may defer the provision of 
access to the document concerned: 
…. 
(b) 
if the document concerned has been prepared for presentation to Parliament or 
for the purpose of being made available to a particular person or body or with 
the intention that it should be so made available – until the expiration of a 
reasonable period after its preparation for it to be so presented or made 
available; or 
(c) 
if the premature release of the document concerned would be contrary to the 
public interest – until the occurrence of any event after which or the expiration 
 
 

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of any period of time beyond which the release of the document would not be 
contrary to the public interest;  
….. 
(2) 
Where the provision of access to a document is deferred in accordance with 
subsection (1), the agency or Minister shall, in informing the applicant of the 
reasons for the decision, indicate, as far as practicable, the period for which the 
deferment will operate. 
6. 
Paragraph 3.101 of the Guidelines state:  
Where an agency or Minister decides to grant access to a document, they may defer access: 
 
where the document has been prepared for presentation to Parliament or for the 
purpose of being made available to a particular person or body, or with the intention 
that it should be so made available – until the expiration of a reasonable period after its 
preparation for it to be so presented or made available (s21(1)(b)) 
 
where the premature release of the document would be contrary to the public interest – 
until an event occurs or the period of time expires after which the release of the 
document would not be contrary to the public interest (s21(1)(c)). 
7. 
The Minister for Defence is responsible for tabling the Schedule of Special Purpose 
Flights in Parliament twice a year in June (for the six months ending the previous 
31 December) and December (for the six months ending the previous 30 June). Accordingly, 
the Schedule of Special Purpose Flights for the period 30 June 2022 to 31 December 2022 
will be tabled in Parliament in June 2023. 
8. 
The requirement to table information about Special Purpose Flights in Parliament is 
so that it can be made available to the general public thereby reducing the need for the public 
to continually seek formal access. I have therefore decided to defer access to the documents as 
they are being prepared for presentation to Parliament. Deferment of access will operate for a 
reasonable period after the documents concerned have been prepared for them to be so 
presented.  
9. 
Additionally, I consider that the premature release of these documents would be 
contrary to the public interest at this time. While I acknowledge that there is a public interest 
in disclosure of official information to inform legitimate public debate, there is a greater 
public interest in following established procedures for accessing this information.  
 
Digitally signed by 
peter.davies5 
 
Date: 2022.10.18 
 
16:37:55 +11'00'
PR Davies, CSC 
Group Captain  
Accredited Decision Maker  
Royal Australian Air Force 

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