Progress and evaluation updates on the Newcastle–Sydney High Speed Rail business case
Dear Infrastructure Australia,
I am lodging a request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).
I seek access to documents held by Infrastructure Australia that relate to the status, progress, or anticipated publication of the evaluation of the High Speed Rail (Newcastle–Sydney) business case, prepared by the High Speed Rail Authority and accepted for evaluation in January 2025.
To assist your search, I specifically request:
1. Internal or external correspondence (including emails or briefing notes) created between 1 July 2025 and the date of this request, which refer to:
- The status, progress, or completion of Infrastructure Australia’s evaluation of the High Speed Rail business case; or
- Any anticipated timeframe for finalisation or public release of the evaluation.
2. Documents or summaries (if available) describing:
- The expected or planned publication date of Infrastructure Australia’s evaluation of the High Speed Rail (Newcastle–Sydney) business case; or
- Communications between Infrastructure Australia and the High Speed Rail Authority or the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, and the Arts regarding evaluation timelines or next steps.
For clarity, I am not seeking access to:
- The business case itself or any attachments submitted to Cabinet;
- Material that would reveal Cabinet deliberations; or
- Draft evaluation reports or purely deliberative content.
I would appreciate any document summaries or factual progress information that can reasonably be released without breaching section 34 or section 47C of the FOI Act.
Please process this as a request for administrative release if possible, or as a formal FOI request if required.
Thank you for your assistance.
Kind regards,
Rhys McDacy
OFFICIAL:Sensitive
Dear Rhys, I hope this email finds you well.
You have confirmed you wish to pursue access under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to “seek access to documents held by
Infrastructure Australia that relate to the status, progress, or
anticipated publication of the evaluation of the High Speed Rail
(Newcastle–Sydney) business case, prepared by the High Speed Rail
Authority and accepted for evaluation in January 2025.”
I confirm that the 30 day statutory period for processing your request
commenced on Wednesday, 8 October 2025.
Subject to any suspension of the processing period or extension of the
time for deciding this application, Infrastructure Australia is required
to make a determination in relation to this application by Thursday, 6
November 2025. Please note that processing charges may be imposed and that
consultation with third parties may be required. If it is necessary to
seek agreement to pay charges or to consult with third parties, additional
processing time is provided under the FOI Act. You will be advised of any
charges as well as any need to consult third parties in relation to your
request.
You should also be aware that by making an FOI request, you are providing
personal information to Infrastructure Australia. Infrastructure Australia
will manage any such information in accordance with Infrastructure
Australia’s Privacy Policy. Details of that policy are available on
Infrastructure Australia’s website: Privacy | Infrastructure Australia.
Please note that personal information (such as your name) may be disclosed
in the course of processing this request, for instance for the purposes of
consultation or internal reporting.
I will consider your request and provide you with a decision as soon as
practicable.
Kind regards,
Aleks Petrovski on behalf of Infrastructure Australia FOI
+-------------------------------------------------------+
|Aleks Petrovski |
|Director of Governance, Risk and Compliance |
|-------------------------------------------------------|
|[1][email address] |
| |
|Level 28, Parkline Place, 252 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW,|
|2000 | Gadigal Land |
| |
|[2]LinkedIn | [3]Subscribe | |
|[4]infrastructureaustralia.gov.au |
|-------------------------------------------------------|
| |[5]A colorful marker with text Description |
| |automatically generated |
|-------------------------------------------------------|
|Infrastructure Australia acknowledges the Traditional |
|Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises |
|the continuing connection to lands, waters, and |
|communities. We pay our respect to First Nations |
|cultures and to Elders past and present. |
| |
| |
|-------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|-------------------------------------------------------|
|We value flexible working. While it suits me to send |
|this email now, I do not expect a response outside of |
|your own working hours. |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
OFFICIAL:Sensitive
OFFICIAL:Sensitive
Our ref FOI 2025-06
Dear Mr McDacy
Please find attached decision and documents released in relation to your
FOI request below.
Kind regards
Aleks
Aleks Petrovski
Director Governance, Risk and Compliance & Company Secretary
[1]A colorful marker with blue text AI-generated content may
be incorrect.
0419 267 373
[2][email address]
[3]LinkedIn | [4]Subscribe | [5]infrastructureaustralia.gov.au
Infrastructure Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country
throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands,
waters, and communities. We pay our respect to First Nations cultures and
to Elders past and present.
We value flexible working. While it suits me to send this email now, I do
not expect a response outside of your own working hours.
OFFICIAL:Sensitive
From: FOI <[Infrastructure Australia request email]>
Sent: Thursday, 16 October 2025 9:49 AM
To: Rhys McDacy <[FOI #13808 email]>; FOI
<[Infrastructure Australia request email]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Progress and evaluation
updates on the Newcastle–Sydney High Speed Rail business case
OFFICIAL:Sensitive
Dear Rhys, I hope this email finds you well.
You have confirmed you wish to pursue access under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to “seek access to documents held by
Infrastructure Australia that relate to the status, progress, or
anticipated publication of the evaluation of the High Speed Rail
(Newcastle–Sydney) business case, prepared by the High Speed Rail
Authority and accepted for evaluation in January 2025.”
I confirm that the 30 day statutory period for processing your request
commenced on Wednesday, 8 October 2025.
Subject to any suspension of the processing period or extension of the
time for deciding this application, Infrastructure Australia is required
to make a determination in relation to this application by Thursday, 6
November 2025. Please note that processing charges may be imposed and that
consultation with third parties may be required. If it is necessary to
seek agreement to pay charges or to consult with third parties, additional
processing time is provided under the FOI Act. You will be advised of any
charges as well as any need to consult third parties in relation to your
request.
You should also be aware that by making an FOI request, you are providing
personal information to Infrastructure Australia. Infrastructure Australia
will manage any such information in accordance with Infrastructure
Australia’s Privacy Policy. Details of that policy are available on
Infrastructure Australia’s website: Privacy | Infrastructure Australia.
Please note that personal information (such as your name) may be disclosed
in the course of processing this request, for instance for the purposes of
consultation or internal reporting.
I will consider your request and provide you with a decision as soon as
practicable.
Kind regards,
Aleks Petrovski on behalf of Infrastructure Australia FOI
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│Aleks Petrovski │
│Director of Governance, Risk and Compliance │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│[6][email address]│
│ │
│Level 28, Parkline Place, 252 Pitt Street, Sydney, │
│NSW, 2000 | Gadigal Land │
│ │
│[7]LinkedIn | [8]Subscribe | │
│[9]infrastructureaustralia.gov.au │
├─────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │[10]A colorful marker with text Description │
│ │automatically generated │
├─────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│Infrastructure Australia acknowledges the Traditional │
│Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises │
│the continuing connection to lands, waters, and │
│communities. We pay our respect to First Nations │
│cultures and to Elders past and present. │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│We value flexible working. While it suits me to send │
│this email now, I do not expect a response outside of │
│your own working hours. │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
OFFICIAL:Sensitive