Documents containing "NDIS" and "AUKUS" (2022–24)
Dear Department of the Treasury,
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, I request:
1. Any briefs, talking points, options papers or minutes prepared by Treasury's Fiscal Group or Macroeconomic Group between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2024 where the text of the document contains both the words "NDIS" and "AUKUS".
2. Any emails (including attachments) sent to or from SES officers in Treasury's Fiscal Group (including the Fiscal Policy, Social Policy and Budget Policy units) within the same period where the body of the email or any attachment contains both of the words "NDIS" and "AUKUS".
For the purposes of this request:
- I am happy for you to limit your search in item 2 to SES officers reporting to the Deputy Secretary responsible for Fiscal and Social Policy, and SES officers reporting to the Deputy Secretary responsible for the Macroeconomic Group or for national security/defence/AUKUS matters.
- I am not seeking duplicate copies of the same document, purely administrative emails (e.g. calendar invites), or drafts that differ only in trivial formatting.
If you consider that processing this request in full would involve a substantial and unreasonable diversion of resources, I ask that you first provide me with a practical refusal consultation and, if necessary, a schedule of documents or search results (e.g. keyword hit list) so I can further narrow the scope.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Pietsch
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team of the
Department of the Treasury (Treasury).
FOI request acknowledgement
We acknowledge receipt of your request under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (FOI Act). The FOI Act provides that we have 30 days to process
the request. This period may be extended if we need to consult third
parties or for other reasons.
We will advise you if this happens.
We will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request and the
amount of any such charge as soon as possible.
It is our usual practice:
• not to disclose the personal information of government employees or the
personal contact details of senior government employees (including those
of the Treasury). The names of senior officers will generally be released.
• not to release duplicates of any document captured within the scope of
the request.
• only the final version of a document will be considered within scope.
Please inform us if you do not agree to the request being processed on the
above assumptions. If we do not hear from you, your request will be
processed on the basis that these documents are outside the scope of your
request.
We will contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if
you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.
We will also contact you if your request is invalid because it does not
meet the requirements of section 15(2) of the FOI Act.
If you have any questions in relation to your application, please reply to
this email.
Requests to ministers
The Treasury provides secretariat services to its portfolio ministers in
FOI matters. If you are seeking documents from the Treasury and a
minister’s office, you must submit separate requests (one per recipient),
clearly identifying in each request where it
is intended to be directed.
Request for extension of time
Due to a higher than usual volume of FOI requests, we are experiencing
some delays in our FOI processes. We therefore seek your agreement to
extend the processing time by 30 days under section 15AA of the FOI Act.
If you agree to this additional time, we would
be grateful if you could reply to this email with “I agree to a 30-day
extension of time” at your earliest opportunity.
Non-FOI matters
If your correspondence does not relate to FOI, is not an FOI request, or
is not seeking access to your personal information, we are unable to
assist you through this inbox, and your correspondence will not be
responded to. For non-FOI matters, please refer
to Treasury contact details here:
https://treasury.gov.au/the-department/c.... Please Note: The
information contained in this e-mail message and any attached files may be
confidential information and may also be the subject of legal professional
privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or
copying of this e-mail is unauthorised. If you have received this e-mail
by error please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and delete
all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Pietsch
We write to seek your agreement to an extension of time. The Treasury
received your request on 10 December 2025. As you may be aware, the
Treasury closes between Christmas and New Year and a large number of staff
schedule additional leave around this time. Due to this disruption and the
current workload of the Treasury in preparing for the Mid-Year Economic
and Fiscal Outlook, we may not be able to process your request within the
expected timeframe.
We would be grateful if you would agree to extend the statutory timeframe
by 21 days to 30 January 2025. Under section 15AA of the FOI Act you can
agree to extensions of up to 30 days. A response by COB Monday 22 December
2025 would be appreciated.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Officer
The Treasury
Ph: +61 2 6263 2800
e: [1][email address]
The Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) may collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email
address and telephone number in order to contact you about your request or
privacy complaint. We hold personal information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint
about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6263 2800 or
via e-mail [2][email address]. You can find further information
about how the Treasury handles personal information in the Treasury’s
[3]privacy policy.
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by
return email and delete all copies. If this email 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
contained within the email or attachments.
OFFICIAL
Dear FOI,
I am happy to agree to an extension of time, though I would like to request a scoping meeting as soon as practicable to discuss the request after initial searches have been conducted, to help refine the direction of the investigation in order to reduce any administrative burden or voluminous document releases.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Pietsch
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Pietsch
Please see attached correspondence regarding your request.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Officer
The Treasury
Ph: +61 2 6263 2800
e: [1][email address]
The Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) may collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email
address and telephone number in order to contact you about your request or
privacy complaint. We hold personal information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint
about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6263 2800 or
via e-mail [2][email address]. You can find further information
about how the Treasury handles personal information in the Treasury’s
[3]privacy policy.
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by
return email and delete all copies. If this email 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
contained within the email or attachments.
OFFICIAL