Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,

Under the FOI Act, I request a list of which Ministers have been sworn to administer each department and portfolio since 22 May 2022, including the period of appointment. If this document does not already exist in this form, I request that a document containing this information is created by the Department under section 17 of the FOI Act.

If the Department is not able to produce the document requested above, I request access to all instruments appointing Ministers to administer portfolios or agencies since 22 May 2022.

I am not seeking access to the Ministry list that is publicly available at https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/g.... Rather I am seeking confirmation of which Ministers are, or have been, sworn to administer each portfolio.

Yours faithfully,

BE

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

2 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Reference: FOI/2022/222

 

Dear BE

 

Thank you for your email of 16 August 2022 in which you made a request
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department).

 

You set out the terms of the request as follows:

 

I request  a list of which Ministers have been sworn to administer each
department and portfolio since 22 May 2022, including the period of
appointment.  If this document does not already exist in this form, I
request that a document containing this information is created by the
Department under section 17 of the FOI Act.

 

If the Department is not able to produce the document requested above, I
request access to all instruments appointing Ministers to administer
portfolios or agencies since 22 May 2022.    

 

I am not seeking access to the Ministry list that is publicly available at
[1]https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/g...
Rather I am seeking confirmation of which Ministers are, or have been,
sworn to administer each portfolio. 

 

 

Timeframe for receiving your decision

The 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the
day after the Department received your request, you should therefore
expect a decision from us by 15 September 2022.  The processing period of
30 days may be extended in certain circumstances and we will write to you
separately regarding any extension of time.

 

Charges

Agencies may decide that an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect
of a request for access to documents. If the Department decides that you
are liable to pay a charge, we will send you a preliminary assessment of
the charge as soon as possible.

 

Publication of documents

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log at
[2]https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...,
subject to certain exceptions. If you think you might wish to raise any
objections to the publication of any of the information which may be
released to you please contact us by email at [3][DPMC request email].  If you
do wish to object to the publication of information, you would need to
provide supporting reasons.

 

Exclusion of officers’ names and contact details

For documents that fall within scope of the request, it is the
Department’s policy to withhold:

·         any person’s signature;

·         the names and contact details of Australian Public Service
officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);

·         the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers;

·         the names and contact details of Ministerial staff at a level
below Chief of Staff.

 

If you consider that the information categorised above is relevant to the
terms of your request please let us know at [4][DPMC request email], otherwise
we will take it that you agree to that information being excluded from the
scope of your request (that is, the information will be treated as
irrelevant and deleted from any documents for release). The names and
other details of SES officers will not be withheld unless there is some
reason for that information to be exempt from release.

 

Further information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
[5]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

 

Yours sincerely

Leisha

 

 

Coordinator | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country | One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [6][email address]  w. [7]pmc.gov.au

 

[8]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/g...
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. mailto:[DPMC request email]
5. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
6. mailto:[email address]
7. https://www.pmc.gov.au/

Dear FOI,

Thank you for your email acknowledging my request. Since I submitted this request, the Prime Minister has indicated publicly that this type of information should be public and has directed the Department to work with the Office of the GG to ensure this happens going forward. In light of this, and the very obvious public interest in this issue, I would ask that the documents requested be released.

Yours sincerely,

BE

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

2 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Dear BE

 

I am writing regarding your Freedom of Information request made to the
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on 16 August 2022.

 

You requested “a list of which Ministers have been sworn to administer
each department and portfolio since 22 May 2022, including the period of
appointment”.

 

Since receiving your request a list of ministerial appointments from 23
May 2022 has been published on the Department’s website. The updated list
includes appointments for each portfolio from that date to the date of
publication on 2 September 2022 and can be viewed at [1]Ministerial
Appointments and Departments of State | Department of the Prime Minister
and Cabinet (pmc.gov.au)

 

If you consider that the information available through the above link
satisfies your request we would appreciate it if you would give
consideration to withdrawing your request.

 

Please provide us with your advice on how you would like to proceed by 14
September 2022.

 

Kind regards

 

Adviser – Freedom of Information

Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

e. [2][DPMC request email] | [3]www.pmc.gov.au

One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600

[4]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/g...
2. mailto:[DPMC request email]
3. http://www.pmc.gov.au/

Dear FOI,

I have reviewed the publicly available information and whilst it assists it does not fulfil the request unfortunately. In particular, it only shows the information for the following 3 timeframes:

1. The Interim Ministry sworn in on 23 May 2022 and the Departments of State that the Prime Minister and four other Ministers were appointed to administer.
2. The Full Ministry sworn in on 1 June 2022 and the Departments that Ministers were appointed to administer. These appointments reflect the Departments of State prior to the Machinery of Government changes that took effect on 1 July 2022.
3. The Full Ministry as of 2 September 2022, which reflects the current Departmental arrangements following the Machinery of Government changes that took effect on 1 July 2022.

In addition to the above, I would like to know any changes that occurred between 1 July 2022 and the date of my request (or if it is easier 2 September 2022). If there were no changes to any of the appointments or arrangements between 1 July - 2 September (ie the list as at 2 September is the same list as applies from 1 July with no changes) please let me know as this may satisfy my request.

Yours sincerely,

BE

Dear FOI,
Following up on the status of this request - the due date was today.

Yours sincerely,

BE

Dear FOI,
Following up on status of this request which is due today.

Yours sincerely,

BE

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

4 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Dear Applicant,

 

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your request for access
to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).

 

Kindest regards,

 

Adviser | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country | One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

 

[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D89219.0A97D530 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

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