OFFICIAL

FOI/2022/023

Dear Trav S,

Thank you for your email dated 8 January 2022, received by the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department), in which you made a
request to the Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the
FOI Act) in the following terms:

PM&C's website states fraud includes dishonestly causing a loss by
deception or other means.  Deception is the act of decieivng.  Deceiving
means to mislead by a false appearance or statement.    Awards and Culture
Branch led AusAID and members of the public to believe they would submit a
declaration under HOSM Regulations 2011 to the Parliamentary Secretary to
the PM for her decision           in 2012.  

14 Oct 2011, AusAID “Just back from a discussion…  PM&C will propose words
that work for CRG…. PM&C will work up a proposal for the PM.”

22 Feb 2012, PM&C “we sounded the Parliamentary Secretary to the PM”

19 Mar 2012, PM&C “here’s draft text… we propose to brief PSPM McLucas…
purpose to seek Govenor-General’s agreement to extend the medal to
specified commercial contractors engaged by   AusAID”

22 Mar  2012, AusAID “Some movement on the Iraq/CRG HOSM issue.  PM&C are
prepared to put a case to the PM and will cite the GE precedent”

10 Apr 2012, OLDP “Please find attached a 1st draft of the declaration
(HOSM amendment)”

11 Apr 2012  -  PM&C “Here’s the 1st draft under HOSM Regulations 2011,
which would repeal the current Iraq declaration under the repealed
regulations...  we will settle the declaration … and brief              
PSPM next week.  Cross your fingers!”

FOI investigations reveal the Branch failed to consult the Parliamentary
Secretary.  They withheld the declaration from her purview and obstructed
a Ministerial decision.  The Branch misled AusAID        and failed to
inform Government that the HOSM was awarded to commercial security
contractors engaged by General Electric to protect and enable the relief
operation in Sumatra in 2005. 

Your department decided these acts were not fraud related and is being
managed by a seperate area with PM&C and DFAT.  Please provide a copy of
all email correspondence between these areas               relating to
this matter.  Restrict the search to 2019 through 2022 inclusive.  Take
into account our right of access to documents and Parliament's intent for
the public to scrutinise, discuss, comment               and review the
Government's activities.  The Branch's claim that they have responded to
these concerns is simply untrue.

Timeframe for receiving your decision

We received your request on 8 January 2022 and the 30 day statutory period
for processing your request commenced from the day after that date. You
should therefore expect a decision from us by 7 February 2022. The period
of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances. We will advise you if
there is any extension of time.

Charges

Agencies may decide that an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect
of a request for access to documents. If the Department decides that you
are liable to pay a charge, we will send you a preliminary assessment of
the charge as soon as possible.

Publication of documents

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log at
[1]https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...,
subject to certain exceptions. If you think you might wish to raise any
objections to the publication of any of the information which may be
released to you please contact us by email at [2][DPMC request email].  If you
do wish to object to the publication of information, you would need to
provide supporting reasons.

Exclusion of officers’ names and contact details

For documents that fall within scope of the request, it is the
Department’s policy to withhold:

•            any person’s signature;

•            the names and contact details of Australian Public Service
officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);

•            the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers;

•            the names and contact details of Ministerial staff at a level
below Chief of Staff.

The names and other details of SES officers will not be withheld unless
there is some reason for that information to be exempt from release. If
you require signatures, the names and contact details of non-SES officers
or Ministerial staff below the level of Chief of Staff, or the mobile or
direct numbers of SES officers please let us know at [3][DPMC request email] so
the decision-maker may consider; otherwise we will take it that you agree
to that information being excluded from the scope of your request (that
is, the information will be treated as irrelevant and redacted from any
documents for release).

We will write again when the Department has more information.  Further
information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

Yours sincerely

Adviser | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [5][email address]  w. [6]pmc.gov.au

[7]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[8]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[9]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...
2. mailto:[DPMC request email]
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
7. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
8. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...

OFFICIAL

FOI/2022/023

Dear Trav S

We refer to your request of 8 January 2022, made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) and received by the Department of the Prime
Minister and Cabinet (the Department).

Your request provides as follows:

PM&C's website states fraud includes dishonestly causing a loss by
deception or other means.  Deception is the act of decieivng.  Deceiving
means to mislead by a false appearance or statement.  Awards and Culture
Branch led AusAID and members of the public to believe they would submit a
declaration under HOSM Regulations 2011 to the Parliamentary Secretary to
the PM for her decision in 2012.  

14 Oct 2011, AusAID “Just back from a discussion…  PM&C will propose words
that work for CRG…. PM&C will work up a proposal for the PM.”

22 Feb 2012, PM&C “we sounded the Parliamentary Secretary to the PM”

19 Mar 2012, PM&C “here’s draft text… we propose to brief PSPM McLucas…
purpose to seek Govenor-General’s agreement to extend the medal to
specified commercial contractors engaged by AusAID”

22 Mar  2012, AusAID “Some movement on the Iraq/CRG HOSM issue.  PM&C are
prepared to put a case to the PM and will cite the GE precedent”

10 Apr 2012, OLDP “Please find attached a 1st draft of the declaration
(HOSM amendment)”

11 Apr 2012  -  PM&C “Here’s the 1st draft under HOSM Regulations 2011,
which would repeal the current Iraq declaration under the repealed
regulations...  we will settle the declaration … and brief PSPM next
week.  Cross your fingers!”

FOI investigations reveal the Branch failed to consult the Parliamentary
Secretary.  They withheld the declaration from her purview and obstructed
a Ministerial decision.  The Branch misled AusAID and failed to inform
Government that the HOSM was awarded to commercial security contractors
engaged by General Electric to protect and enable the relief operation in
Sumatra in 2005. 

Your department decided these acts were not fraud related and is being
managed by a seperate area with PM&C and DFAT.  Please provide a copy of
all email correspondence between these areas relating to this matter. 
Restrict the search to 2019 through 2022 inclusive.  Take into account our
right of access to documents and Parliament's intent for the public to
scrutinise, discuss, comment and review the Government's activities.  The
Branch's claim that they have responded to these concerns is simply
untrue.

In order for the Department to process your request, we need clarification
from you in relation to the documents you are seeking access to. In
particular, you requested:

Please provide a copy of all email correspondence between these areas
relating to this matter.  Restrict the search to 2019 through 2022
inclusive. 

Despite the background you provide with your request, the Department has
unfortunately been unable to discern which documents are being requested.
We understand you are seeking email correspondence dating from 2019 to
2022. It is however not clear to us what subject matter the requested
emails are to pertain to or which areas in the Department are meant to
have sent or received them.

Could you please provide us with further information about the documents
you are requesting?

In particular:

·         Could you please provide more information about the matter you
are referring to? i.e. is it related to a fraud investigation, or is it
something more broadly HOSM-related?

·         Could you please provide more information about the “areas” the
emails have been sent between? i.e. are you asking for emails between PM&C
and DFAT?

Unfortunately, without further information being provided to enable the
Department to identify the documents being requested (as required by
section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act), we are not able to commence processing
this request. We won’t take any further action regarding your request
until we hear from you.

Yours sincerely

FOI Adviser[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [1][DPMC request email]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[5]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[DPMC request email]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
3. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...

OFFICIAL
Dear Trav S

Thank you for your email.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 the 30 day processing period commenced on the day after the day that you provided your revised valid request (7 February 2022). As such, a decision on this matter is currently due 10 March 2022.

Yours sincerely

Adviser | FOI Section
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. (02) 6271 5849
Ngunnawal Country | One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [email address]  w. pmc.gov.au

The Department acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and emerging Elders and Traditional Custodians of Country, and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

show quoted sections

OFFICIAL

Dear Trav S,

We refer to your email, received by the Department of the Prime Minister
and Cabinet (the Department) on 14 March 2022, in which you requested an
internal review regarding your FOI request, which was received on 7
February 2022 in the following terms:

On 6 Jan 2022, PMC released 8 documents in FOI/2021/313. Document 8
states:

“Decision: 8/10/21 it was decided that the Department would not respond as
the allegation is not fraud related and is being managed by a separate
area with PMC and DFAT”

As noted, the allegation is being managed by areas within PMC and DFAT. 
We would like to ask for a copy of all correspondence between PMC and DFAT
relating to this matter.  Please limit the search to correspondence
between 2019 and 2022.

The Department has not yet finalised a decision on your FOI request and we
continue to process the request.

Your review rights

Part VI of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) which is about
internal review of decisions, does not apply in deemed refusals (paragraph
54E(b) of the FOI Act and paragraph 9.10 of [1]the FOI Guidelines).
Therefore, the Department is unable to action your request for an internal
review in this case.

However, you may apply to the Information Commissioner for a review. For
more information on this, please visit:
[2]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

Yours sincerely

FOI Adviser[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [3][DPMC request email]  w. [4]pmc.gov.au

[5]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[6]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[7]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
2. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
5. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
6. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...

OFFICIAL

FOI/2022/023

Dear Trav S

Please find attached the decision regarding your request under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982.

Yours sincerely

Adviser | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country | One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

[3]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/