OFFICIAL

Dear Jane,

 

Acknowledgement

I refer to your correspondence of 3 February 2026, 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:

 

…documents held by the Department of Defence relating to the podcast Life
on the Line – Episode 38 (recorded May 2018, released August 2018). It
features a serving Army soldier who promoted a private business while
identified as an Army Photographer. Presenter stated Defence Media
organised the interview?  The episode raises serious concerns with
conflict of interest, outside employment, and compliance with Defence
policy, including MILPERSMAN provisions.

 

As part of the FOI, the following documents showing if the Australian
Army, Defence Media, Army Headquarters, or any part of the soldiers chain
of command:

 

1. Conducted an interview / review / Quick Assessment, or inquiry
following the podcast appearance.

 

2. Considered issues of conflict of interest, outside employment, or
business promotion arising from the podcast.

 

3. Assessed compliance with MILPERSMAN Part 2 Chapter 13, Defence
Instructions on outside employment, or related Defence policy.

 

4. Any administrative or disciplinary action, or decided no action was
required, including reasons for such a decision.

 

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.
Please note that there is no charge for documents that contain the
personal information of the applicant.

 

Timeframe

The statutory timeframe to provide you with a decision on your request
ends on 5 March 2026. This period may be extended if we need to consult
with third parties, or for other reasons. We will advise you if this
happens.

 

Please note that where the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public
holiday, the timeframe will expire on the next working day. This is in
accordance with the FOI Guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act.

 

Disclosure Log

Documents released under the FOI Act may be published on Defence’s
disclosure log, located on our website.

 

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.

 

Should you have any questions relating to your request, please do not
hesitate to contact us via email: [1][email address].

 

Kind regards

 

Freedom of Information Team

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

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