Documents related to de-escalation in the war in Gaza
Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
I would like to request all documents including reports, correspondence, file notes, talking points, meeting minutes or memos that relate to the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade’s position on “De-escalation” or "Ceasefire" in the current Gaza war that began in October 2023.
Yours faithfully,
Moe
OFFICIAL
FOI Request: LEX 9295
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for your email dated 17 October 2023 seeking access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
This email sets out some information about how your request will be processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the department).
Scope of request:
You have sought access to:
"...all documents including reports, correspondence, file notes, talking points, meeting minutes or memos that relate to the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade’s position on “De-escalation” or "Ceasefire" in the current Gaza war that began in October 2023."
If it emerges that the scope of your request is unclear or is too large for processing, the department will contact you to discuss re-scoping the request.
Timeframe for receiving our decision:
We received your request on 17 October 2023, and the 30-day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date. A decision is currently due to you by 17 November 2023. The period of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances.
Charges:
Please note that the Department may issue charges for processing FOI requests. If applicable, we will advise you of any relevant charges when we are in a position to estimate the resources required to process your request.
Disclosure log:
Please note that, with some exceptions (such as personal information), documents released under the FOI Act may later be published on the department’s disclosure log.
Exclusion of officials’ names and contact details:
It is the Department’s policy to withhold the mobile numbers of all government officials, and the names, gender pronouns, and contact details of government officials not in the Senior Executive Service (SES) or equivalent. If you require the mobile numbers of all government officials, or the names and contact details of non-SES officials, please let us know at [DFAT 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.
Personal Information:
If we need to consult with other people or organisations regarding your FOI request, we may need to disclose your personal information (e.g. your name). When we consult it may be apparent that you have made a request, even if we do not disclose your identity. Please let us know if you have any concerns in this regard. You can access on the department’s website a copy of the privacy policy.
Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us by return e-mail at [DFAT request email]
Kind regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
dfat.gov.au | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to their Elders, past, present and emerging.
OFFICIAL
Dear applicant
Given the recent events unfolding in Israel, the department's Middle East Branch, who, if documents exist in relation to your request, are most likely to hold documents, are extremely busy supporting the crisis response.
As such, the department seeks your agreement to an extension of 30 calendars days to process your request (under section 15AA of the FOI Act). We will continue to work to finalise your matter as soon as possible.
We would be grateful if you are minded to agree, that you please confirm your agreement by COB Wednesday 25 October 2023.
If we do not hear from you, we may apply to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for an extension to the statutory timeframe.
Kind regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
dfat.gov.au | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to their Elders, past, present and emerging.
OFFICIAL
Dear Moe
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request.
Kind regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram | [5]LinkedIn
© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)
[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.
Dear FOI,
As per the FOI guidelines there is a requirement for agencies to assist the applicant to revise the scope of the request so that the request does not attract section 24AA too voluminous provision. Given that the timeframe I have requested for documents is exceptionally small (7th October 2023 - 17th October 2023).
My understanding is that you have taken multiple requests from different applicants, and assessed them all as too large. I only require documents regarding "Ceasefire" and "De-escalation" during this time period. I believe if you did not merge my requests with others, it would not attract the section 24AA provision.
Given this, can you please advise on how the request can be amended so that it is not too large?
Yours sincerely,
Moe
OFFICIAL
Dear Moe
Many thanks for your email.
Our cyber team has re-run a search of the 77 inboxes based on your
specified date range of 7 October 2023 to 17 October 2023 and using the
search terms "ceasefire" or "de-escalation" and they have located 1,476
items.
This is considered to be a conservative estimate as it only includes a
sample of people’s email addresses used to run the original searches, and
does not include many other areas within the department, including
overseas posts, that have also been identified as holding documents.
Additionally this search is confined to emails only, and your request was
for “all documents including reports, correspondence, file notes, talking
points, meeting minutes or memos”.
On this basis, your request attracts a practical refusal reason, whether
it is a standalone request or combined.
To reduce the size of your request you may consider limiting your request
to a particular document type (such as a talking points or diplomatic
cables).
Kind regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram | [5]LinkedIn
© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)
[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.
Dear FOI,
Can we limit the scope to talking points, diplomatic cables and minitrial submissions?
Thanks,
Yours sincerely,
Moe
OFFICIAL
Dear Moe
Thank you for your instructions. We will take your revised scope to be:
“Talking points, diplomatic cables and ministerial
submissions for the date range 7 October 2023 to 17 October 2023 that
relate to the Department of Foreign Affairs &
Trade’s position on “De-escalation” or "Ceasefire" in the
current Gaza war that began in October 2023"
The consultation period ends on 28 November 2023, so please let us know if
this interpretation is incorrect before then. Otherwise we will proceed on
the basis of this being your revised scope.
Kind regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram | [5]LinkedIn
© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)
[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.
OFFICIAL
Dear Moe
Please find attached correspondence relating to your FOI request.
Kind regards
DFAT FOI Team
_______________________________
Freedom of Information Section
Public Interest Law Branch | Regulatory and Legal Policy Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
[1]dfat.gov.au | [2]Twitter | [3]Facebook | [4]Instagram | [5]LinkedIn
© Kim Hill, Among Women (2011)
[6]We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, their cultures and to
their Elders, past, present and emerging.