Ref: LEX-73038
Dan Monceaux
Via email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Dan Monceaux
Your Freedom of Information request – consultation
I refer to your request received by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment
and Water (department) on 27 February 2023 for access under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) to the following documents:
‘I am writing to request digital copies of all documents and correspondence pertaining to
the nomination, consideration and discussion of the addition of the Cuttlefish Coast
Sanctuary Zone to Australia's National Heritage List. The site was listed in February
2023. https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/heritage/places/national/cuttlefish-
coast-sanctuary-zone’
Your request involves significant resources for the department
Due to the amount of work involved for the department, under sections 24AA(1)(a)(i), 24 and
24AA(2) of the FOI Act, the department intends to refuse your FOI request as a 'practical refusal
reason' exists. Under the Act, the practical refusal reason is that processing your request 'would
substantially and unreasonably divert the resources' of this agency.
To process your request the department would have to do extensive searches to find and
process the documents you asked for. Preliminary searches indicate that the department may
hold more than 200 documents, totalling over 1250 pages. I estimate that it would take over
45 hours to process your request.
Your request is large because you have requested all documents and correspondence relating to
the nomination, consideration and discussion of the addition of the Cuttlefish Coast Sanctuary
Zone to Australia’s National Heritage List. Noting that a successful nomination to Australia’s
National Heritage List can take time and require extensive consultation with stakeholders, it is
likely that your request has identified a large number of documents relevant to the many stages
of a successful nomination to Australia’s National Heritage List.
If you decide not to make any revisions to your request, the department may refuse your FOI
request as a ‘practical refusal reason’ exists.
T +61 2 6274 1111
John Gorton Building
GPO Box 3090
dcceew.gov.au
F +61 2 9094 2221
King Edward Terrace
Canberra ACT 2601
ABN 63 573 932 849
Parkes ACT 2600
How to send us a ‘revised request’
Before a final decision is made on your request, you can submit a revised request.
Within the next 14 days (consultation period) you must do one of the following in writing:
withdraw the request;
make a revised request; or
tell us that you do not want to revise your request.
If you do not contact us during the consultation period, your request will be taken as having
been withdrawn.
If you would like to make a revised request, you could consider:
limiting the timeframe of your request by limiting your request to all documents and
correspondence created within a certain timeframe; and/or
e.g. all documents/correspondence dated 1 July 2022-31 December 2022
limiting the scope of your request to one aspect of the addition of the Cuttlefish Coast
Sanctuary Zone to Australia's National Heritage List; and/or
e.g seeking all documents and correspondence pertaining to the identification of the
Cuttlefish Coast Sanctuary Zone
limiting the scope of your request by removing certain types of documents from your
request; and/or
e.g. please exclude publicly available scientific papers or other publications, and internal
department emails sent between department staff members
limiting the scope of your request to only seek documents where a
significant/substantive decision is made by a department Senior Executive Staff
member/delegate.
e.g. the delegate’s decision brief agreeing to/approving the addition of the Cuttlefish
Coast Sanctuary Zone to Australia's National Heritage List.
Contact officer
During the consultation period, you are welcome to contact the department to ask for help in
revising your request. The contact officer’s details are as follows:
Indi
Senior Legal Officer
02 6274 2098
xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx.
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Further assistance
If you have any questions, please email xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Suzi Heaton
Acting Branch Head
Heritage Branch
Heritage, Reef & Ocean Division
23 March 2023
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