OFFICIAL

Good Morning Francis,

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) inquiry.

The information provided in your email is not considered a valid Freedom of Information request in accordance with section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

Your request appears to be a request for information rather than documents. The FOI Guidelines at paragraph 2.33 states that the right of access under the FOI Act is to existing documents, rather than to information.

Noting the timeframe for records outlined in your request, I would advise that any records relevant to you request will be subject to the Archives Act 1983 and not the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

Records created in 2004 or earlier are classed as open access records and must be requested under the Archives Act from the National Archives of Australia (NAA).

This is reflected in the Freedom of Information Act Part 3(12)(1) which reads:

12 Part not to apply to certain documents
(1) A person is not entitled to obtain access under this Part to:
(a) a document, or a copy of a document, which is, under the Archives Act 1983, within the open access period within the meaning of that Act unless the document contains personal information (including personal information about a deceased person); or
(b) a document that is open to public access, as part of a public register or otherwise, in accordance with another enactment, where that access is subject to a fee or other charge; or
(ba) a document that is open to public access, as part of a land title register, in accordance with a law of a State or Territory where that access is subject to a fee or other charge; or
(c) a document that is available for purchase by the public in accordance with arrangements made by an agency.

The following link will take you to the NAA website: https://www.naa.gov.au/

If you require assistance with your request, please use this link: https://www.naa.gov.au/help-your-research

Please note: When perusing the NAA Website, not all documents are automatically uploaded on the website. If you are unable to find what you are looking for, you will need to make an application via NAA to access the documents.

Defence will take no further action on your email.

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information Team
Media and Information Disclosure Branch
Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division
Department of Defence

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