Communications with MAJ GEN Brereton Post Resignation May 2023
Dear Office of the Special Investigator,
I request pursuant to the FOI Act, all correspondence and documents:
(i) exchanged between the OSI and IGADF;
(ii) which include MAJ GEN Paul Brereton; and
(iii) are dated after 1 May 2023.
To the extent a claim of privilege is asserted over those any of those materials, those documents should be summarised in a list which provides information regarding the:
1. sender/ author
2. recipient
3. date
4. subject
5. type of privilege asserted
Yours faithfully,
James Smith
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References
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2. https://www.osi.gov.au/contact-us
OFFICIAL
OSI ref: FOI25/06
Dear Mr Smith
Thank you for your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). The Office of the Special Investigator
(OSI) received your request on 10 October 2025.
You request is for:
I request pursuant to the FOI Act, all correspondence and documents:
(i) exchanged between the OSI and IGADF;
(ii) which include MAJ GEN Paul Brereton; and
(iii) are dated after 1 May 2023.
The due date for your request is 10 November 2025.
The 30-day timeframe for processing an FOI request starts the day after we
receive it – we received your request on Friday 10 October 2025.
Purpose of this email
I am writing to tell you that your request – in its current form – could
capture many documents given the OSI regularly engages with the IGADF as
part of its remit.
I would like to work with you to clarify the scope of your request so
that:
o It will capture the documents of most interest to you
o I can process it as quickly as possible for you.
Please clarify what you mean by ‘correspondence and documents which
include MAJ GEN Paul Brereton’? Do you mean that he is a party to it by
the term ‘included’?
What you need to do by COB Friday 17 October 2025:
Please tell me by reply email how (or if) you want to revise your request
so that it is more specific.
o Can you please clarify whether you are seeking access to documents
that included MAJ GEN Paul Brereton as a recipient in the document
correspondence, or whether MAJ GEN Paul Brereton was identified with
his name in the material within scope?
What happens if you do not revise your request
We might need to take steps to refuse your request, but we would prefer to
work with you and find a solution to process it.
Questions and more information
Please contact me by email to [1][OSI request email] if you have any
questions. If you want to talk about your request by telephone, please
provide me your best contact number and I will call you.
Kind regards,
Julie
Information Access and Records
Office of the Special Investigator
E: [2][OSI request email]
[3]cid:image007.jpg@01D70603.F616B1F0
OFFICIAL
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
immediately by return e-mail and delete all copies. If this e-mail or any
attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the e-mail or attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[OSI request email]
2. mailto:[OSI request email]
Dear OSI FOI and Privacy,
"Include" should be taken in relation to documents or correspondence to mean:
- where Brereton is the recipient (either directly or by way of CC or BCC)
- where Brereton is the sender/author
- where Brereton is being asked/requested to do something via the IGADF (e.g. review or comment on a document or answer a question).
I trust the above clarifies.
Yours sincerely,
James Smith
OFFICIAL
OSI ref: FOI25/06
Your ref: FOI Request 2
Dear Mr Smith
Freedom of Information Request FOI25/06
Thank you for your email received by the Office of the Special
Investigator today (17 October 2025) clarifying your request for access to
documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
Your request is for:
All correspondence and documents:
(i) exchanged between the OSI and IGADF;
(ii) which include MAJ GEN Paul Brereton; and
(iii) are dated after 1 May 2023.
By way of clarification, ‘includes’ means:
- where Brereton is the recipient (either directly or by way of CC or BCC)
- where Brereton is the sender/author
- where Brereton is being asked/requested to do something via the IGADF
(e.g. review or comment on a document or answer a question
The due date for your request is 10 November 2025.
The 30-day timeframe for processing an FOI request starts the day after we
receive it – we received your request on Friday 10 October 2025.
The processing timeframe may be extended if you agree to it, or if we need
to contact third parties before making a decision - we will tell you if
this happens.
Please note that when we process a request we usually:
• Release the names of senior officers and publicly available
contact information.
• Delete personal information of junior officers of the OSI
and other government authorities (e.g. names, direct
telephone numbers, flexible working and leave arrangement information).
• Exclude duplicates and incomplete email chains within the
scope of the FOI request.
• Publish any documents we release in response to an FOI
request to our Disclosure Log unless there is an exception (e.g.
personal information).
Please contact me at [1][OSI request email] if you have any
questions.
Kind regards
Julie
Information Access and Records
Office of the Special Investigator
E: [2][OSI request email]
OFFICIAL
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
immediately by return e-mail and delete all copies. If this e-mail or any
attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the e-mail or attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[OSI request email]
2. mailto:[OSI request email]