OFFICIAL

Dear Andrew,

 

Acknowledgement

I refer to your correspondence of 26 April 2023 seeking access to
documents held by the Department of Defence (Defence), under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). This email is to advise you that your
request has been received and allocated for Case Management.

 

The scope of your request is:

 

…all such response letters from the leadership of both Combined Team
Uruzgan and Joint Task Force 633 to the AIHRC between 2009 and 2014.

 

Background:

Between 2009 and 2014, via its office in Tarin Kowt, the Afghan
Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) made numerous inquiries into
incidents involving Australian military forces in Uruzgan and neighbouring
provinces that it claimed resulted in civilian casualties. The inquiries
were fielded by ADF legal officers based in Tarin Kowt, who then passed
them up the chain of command.

 

Most AIHRC inquiries received written responses signed by senior leaders
from either Combined Team Uruzgan or Joint Task Force 633.

 

Disclaimer

Where staff details are captured in documents within the scope of your FOI
request, this information will be redacted; this includes private email
addresses, signatures, personnel (PMKeyS) numbers and mobile telephone
numbers, unless you specifically request such details. Defence excludes
duplicates of documents and any documents sent to or from you.
Furthermore, Defence only considers final versions of documents.

 

Charges

Defence may impose a charge for the work involved in providing access to
the documents in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations 2019. We will notify you if your request attracts a charge.

 

Timeframe

The statutory timeframe to provide you with a decision on your request
ends on 26 May 2023. This period may be extended if we need to consult
with third parties, or for other reasons. We will advise you if this
happens.

 

Disclosure Log

Documents released under the FOI Act may be published on Defence’s
disclosure log, located on our website. If you have any concerns about the
publication of documents you have requested, please contact us.

 

Contact Details

We will contact you via the email address you have provided. Please advise
if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.

 

I am the Case Manager for this request. Should you have any questions
relating to your request, please do not hesitate to contact me via email:
[1][email address].

 

Kind Regards

FOI Case Management
Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division

Department of Defence

 

[2]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence

 

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.

 

 

References

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

OFFICIAL

Good Morning Andrew,

  

The current statutory deadline for you to receive a response to your
Defence FOI request is 26 May 2023.

 

Due to processing demands associated with your request, our office is
seeking your agreement to a 30-day extension of the statutory deadline
under section 15AA [extension with agreement] of the FOI Act. This time
will be used by the Decision Maker to consider the sensitivities of the
subject matter, with consultation among multiple relevant line areas in
Defence to provide a robust decision on access. 

 

Should you agree, the statutory deadline for you to receive a response to
your request will expire on 25 June 2023.

 

I would be grateful if you could reply with your agreement to this
extension of time via e-mail by 5:00pm Thursday 18 May 2023.

 

Should you have any questions regarding this matter please do not hesitate
to contact me.

 

Kind regards,

FOI Case Management
Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division

Department of Defence

 

[1]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence

 

 

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.

 

 

References

Visible links
1. https://www.defence.gov.au/about/accessi...