OFFICIAL

Dear Hayley

Acknowledgement

I refer to your correspondence of 30 November 2025 seeking access to
documents held by the Department of Defence (Defence), under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

The scope of your request is:

I seek access via FOIA to the final policy, doctrine or guidelines related
to the introduction of the new ADF Command Commendation (also known as the
Wearable CO Commendation, Commanders Commendation, or any similar title
used within Defence).

Request copies of the following:

1. New Command Commendation Document(s) which outline creation, purpose,
governance, design, uniform guidance, criteria for award, or issuing
procedures for the new Command Commendation with Instructions issued to
Commands regarding eligibility, assessment, approval, recording in PMKeyS,
and rules for wearing this award. Including any document which sets out
where these awards sits relative to other commendation levels.

2. Retrospective consideration, with regards to any documents which
address whether retrospective awarding of the Command Commendation was
considered, supported, or rejected during policy development.

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 and Request for Extension

The statutory timeframe to provide you with a decision on your request
ends on 30 December 2025. 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 Defence is subject to a reduced work period during
December and January. We seek your agreement to a 30-day extension of time
under section 15AA of the FOI Act. If you agree to the extension, the new
statutory timeframe to provide you with a decision will end on 29 January
2025. 

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.

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 via email: [1][email address].

Kind regards

FOI Case Manager
Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division

Department of Defence

[2]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence

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References

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