OFFICIAL
Freedom of Information (FOI) request
Notice of Decision
Reference: FOI/2023/059
MBV
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear MBV
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 14 February 2023.
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 following terms:
All documents relating to the approach and engagement of Wheelie's Private Hire to support the
Prime Minister's 24 January travel to Alice Springs.
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.
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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OFFICIAL
Material taken into account
In reaching my decision I have had regard to the fol owing:
• the terms of your request
• searches and inquiries undertaken by the Department
• the FOI Act
• the FOI Guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner
1 (the Guidelines)
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.
Inquiries were made with First Nations People Branch and Protocol Branch regarding the terms of the
request and they were asked to conduct searches for any relevant records. No documents were found
to be in the possession of the Department. In light of the steps taken to identify any relevant records I
am satisfied that the Department does not hold the documents you have requested.
1 Section 93A of the FOI Act
2 Paragraph 3.88 of the FOI Guidelines
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OFFICIAL
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.
Assistance regarding where to direct your request
Under section 15(4) of the FOI Act, the Department has a duty to take reasonable steps to assist an
applicant to direct their request to the appropriate agency or minister.
During our inquiries, the Department became aware that the records you have requested may be
more closely related to the functions of the Prime Minister’s Office. It is open to you to submit a FOI
request directed to th
e Prime Minister’s Office who is a separate entity under the FOI Act, and noting
the searches conducted by the Department has not identified any documents relevant to the scope of
your request in its possession.
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,
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
3 https://www.oaic.gov au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/information-commissioner-review
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OFFICIAL
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
Autumn Field
Assistant Secretary
Legal Policy Branch
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
23 March 2023
4 https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/make-an-foi-complaint
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