OFFICIAL
Freedom of Information (FOI) request
Notice of Decision
Reference: FOI-2022-352
To Ms Karen Reynolds
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Ms Reynolds
I refer to your request to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department), under
the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act), received on 17 December 2022.
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your request for access under the
FOI Act.
Scope of request
You set out your request in the fol owing terms:
I am seeking any information, emails, documents, file notes or correspondence between former
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Calvary/Japana/Catholic Care, or their subsidiaries as listed
below.
The below organisations were approved for DGR status on the 5th of November, 2021 and I
would like to see any correspondence that preceded that application, including appointment and
diary notes which record meetings between the above entities and the former Prime Minister.
Aged Care Services 20 (Bayview Gardens) Pty Ltd Soupzon Through Grace INC Aged Care
Services 12 (Albury & District) Pty Ltd AGED CARE SERVICES 39 (NOOSA) PTY LTD Aged Care
Services 30 (Brighton) Pty Ltd CALVARY RETIREMENT LIVING 4 (COSGROVE COTTAGES) PTY
LTD Aged Care Services 18 (Hallam) Pty Ltd AGED CARE SERVICES 32 (SCOTTVALE) PTY LTD
AGED CARE SERVICES 33 (ANGLESEA) PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 35 (THE HOMESTEAD)
PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 36 (TREVU) PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 37 (OAKLANDS)
PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 38 (MITCHAM) PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 40 (COFFS
HARBOUR) PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 41 (SOUTH WEST ROCKS) PTY LTD AGED CARE
SERVICES 42 (GYMPIE) PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 43 (GLEN WAVERLEY) PTY LTD AGED
Postal Address: PO Box 6500, CANBERRA ACT 2600
Telephone: +61 2 6271 5849 Fax: +61 2 6271 5776 www.pmc.gov.au ABN: 18 108 001 191
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CARE SERVICES 44 (RYE) PTY LTD Aged Care Services 45 (Woodend) Pty Ltd AGED CARE
SERVICES 46 (RIVERSIDE) PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 48 PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 49
PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 50 PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 51 PTY LTD AGED CARE
SERVICES 52 PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 53 PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 54 PTY LTD
AGED CARE SERVICES 55 PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 56 PTY LTD BACAAL PTY LTD
CALVARY ADMINISTRATION PTY LTD CALVARY AGED CARE SERVICES PTY LTD CALVARY
HOLDINGS PTY LTD CALVARY RETIREMENT LIVING 7 (THE HOMESTEAD) PTY LTD CALVARY
RETIREMENT LIVING PTY LTD JAPARA DEVELOPMENTS PTY LTD JAPARA HEALTHCARE
LIMITED JAPARA HOME CARE PTY LTD JAPARA PROPERTY HOLDINGS PTY LTD JAPARA
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT PTY LTD Japara Retirement Living 1 (Woodburn Lodge) Pty Ltd
JAPARA RETIREMENT LIVING 3 (LAKES ENTRANCE) PTY LTD JAPARA RETIREMENT LIVING 8
(THE HERITAGE) PTY LTD JD NO. 1 (BUNDABERG) PTY LTD JD NO. 2 (BALMORAL MEWS) PTY
LTD JD NO. 3 (LAKES ENTRANCE) PTY LTD JD NO. 4 (QUEENSCLIFF) PTY LTD JD NO. 5
(ALBURY & DISTRICT) PTY LTD JD NO. 6 (DAVA) PTY LTD JD NO. 7 (COLAC) PTY LTD JD NO. 9
(NORTH ALBURY) PTY LTD JD NO.8 (YARRA WEST) PTY LTD OAKLEIGH GLEN PTY. LTD.
AGED CARE SERVICES 34 (YARRA WEST) PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 15 (ROSANNA VIEWS)
PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES 14 (LOWER PLENTY GARDEN VIEWS) PTY LT Aged Care Services
16 (Millward) Pty Ltd CALVARY RETIREMENT LIVING 5 (SYDNEY WILLIAMS) PTY LTD Aged Care
Services 25 (Springvale) Pty Ltd AGED CARE SERVICES 10 (KINGSTON GARDENS) PTY LTD
AGED CARE SERVICES ONE (CENTRAL PARK) PTY LTD Aged Care Services Eight (Elanora) Pty
Ltd Aged Care Services 17 (Bonbeach) Pty Ltd AGED CARE SERVICES 22 (SANDHURST) PTY LTD
Aged Care Services 26 (Bayview) Pty Ltd Aged Care Services 31 (Vonlea Manor) Pty Ltd AGED
CARE SERVICES THREE (BALMORAL GROVE) PTY LTD CALVARY RETIREMENT LIVING 2
(BALMORAL MEWS) PTY LTD AGED CARE SERVICES TWO (ROCCOCO) PTY LTD AGED CARE
SERVICES 28 (ELOUERA) PTY LTD Aged Care Services 21 (Barongarook Gardens) Pty Ltd
CALVARY RETIREMENT LIVING 6 (BARONGAROOK) PTY LTD Aged Care Services 27 (Kirralee)
Pty Ltd Aged Care Services Seven (Kelaston) Pty Ltd Aged Care Services 19 (Goonawarra) Pty Ltd
Aged Care Services Six (Mirridong) Pty Ltd AGED CARE SERVICES 11 (VIEW HILLS) PTY LTD Aged
Care Services 24 (St Judes) Pty Ltd Aged Care Services Five (Narracan Gardens) Pty Ltd Aged
Care Services 29 (Mirboo North) Pty Ltd AGED CARE SERVICES 13 (LAKES ENTRANCE) PTY LTD
Aged Care Services Nine (George Vowel ) Pty Ltd AGED CARE SERVICES 23 (CAPEL SANDS) PTY
LTD
Authorised decision-maker
I am authorised to make this decision in accordance with arrangements approved by the
Department’s Secretary under section 23 of the FOI Act.
Material taken into account
In reaching my decision I have had regard to the fol owing:
• the terms of your request
• searches undertaken by the Department
• the FOI Act
• the FOI Guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner
1 (the Guidelines)
1 Section 93A of the FOI Act
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Decision
I have decided to refuse your request under section 24A(1) of the FOI Act, on the grounds that the
Department has taken al reasonable steps to locate the documents you have requested, and those
documents do not exist.
Reason for decision
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that certain information is irrelevant is set out below.
1. Documents cannot be found or do not exist
Section 24A(1) of the FOI Act provides that:
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.
In determining what the FOI Act means with respect to ‘al reasonable steps’, I have had regard to the
Guidelines which discuss the meaning of ‘reasonable’ in section 24A(1)(a). It is not designed to go
beyond the limit assigned by reason, not to be extravagant or excessive, rather to be moderate and of
such an effort to be appropriate or suitable to the circumstances
2.
The Department has conducted searches, for any relevant records, in its Parliamentary Document
Management System (PDMS) and Outlook email systems that would meet the terms of your request.
There were no documents found to be in the possession of the Department.
I am satisfied that these are appropriate and suitable given the circumstances. After taking al
reasonable steps to find the documents, no documents relevant to your request have been identified.
Accordingly, I am refusing your request for access as documents do not exist.
Review rights
If you disagree with my decision, you may apply for internal review or Information Commissioner
review of the decision.
Internal review
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to the Department for an internal review of
my decision. The internal review application must be made within 30 days after the date of this letter,
2 Paragraph 3.88 of the FOI Guidelines
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please attach the reasons why you disagree with the decision. Applications for review should be sent
to
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Information Commissioner review
Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Australian Information Commissioner to
review my decision. An application for review by the Information Commissioner must be made in
writing within 60 days after the date of this letter. More information about Information Commissioner
review is available
here.3
FOI Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your FOI request, please let us know what we could
have done better. We may be able to rectify the problem. If you are not satisfied with our response,
you can make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner. A complaint to the
Information Commissioner must be made in writing. More information about complaints is available
here.4
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your requests, you can contact the FOI Section by email at
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Kim Dobbie
Acting Assistant Secretary
Health and Aged Care Branch
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
11 January 2023
3 https://www.oaic.gov au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/information-commissioner-review
4 https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/make-an-foi-complaint
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