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