Dear Department of Finance,
This is a request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

I seek access under the FOI Act 1982 to Question Time briefs (however described). This request is limited to Question Time briefs for the 47th Parliament (ie Question Time briefs prepared for 27 – 28 July and 1-4 August).

I also request a copy of the Department’s current index of Question Time briefs.

Duplicate copies of the same document are not required, although different or updated versions of a document are. If a document contains tracked changes or comments, it is requested that the document be provided in a form where all tracked changes and comments are visible.

Names and contact details for departmental staff below the SES level are not required and can be treated as irrelevant under s22 of the Act for the purposes of this request.

Yours faithfully,

BE

FOI Requests, Department of Finance

Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.

 

Kind regards

 

FOI Coordinator

 

FOI Requests, Department of Finance

1 Attachment

SEC=OFFICIAL

Dear BE

 

Freedom of Information Request – FOI 22/57

Thank you for your email to the Department of Finance (Finance) requesting
access to the following under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act):

 

I seek access under the FOI Act 1982 to Question Time briefs (however
described).  This request is limited to Question Time briefs for the 47th
Parliament (ie Question Time briefs prepared for 27 – 28 July and 1-4
August).

 

I also request a copy of the Department’s current index of Question Time
briefs.

 

Duplicate copies of the same document are not required, although different
or updated versions of a document are.  If a document contains tracked
changes or comments, it is requested that the document be provided in a
form where all tracked changes and comments are visible.

 

Names and contact details for departmental staff below the SES level are
not required and can be treated as irrelevant under s22 of the Act for the
purposes of this request.

 

Your request was received by Finance on Thursday 4 August 2022. The
statutory period for processing your request commences from the day after
Finance received your request and a decision is due on Monday 5 September
2022.

 

The processing period may be extended if we need to consult third parties,
impose a charge or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.

 

Liability to pay a charge

You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon as
possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge.

 

Publication

As required by the FOI Act, any documents provided to you under the FOI
Act will be published on our [1]disclosure log, unless an exemption
applies or the documents are characterised as containing personal
information. Documents will be published within one working day after they
are released to you.

 

Policy to exclude junior officer contact details and signatures

Finance has adopted a policy to generally exclude from any documents
released under FOI, the names and contact details of junior staff (non-SES
officers) and staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act
1984 (adviser level and below). Finance has also adopted a policy to
exclude signatures from any documents released under FOI (unless publicly
available). Finance’s preference is to reach agreement with FOI applicants
to exclude these details from the scope of the request. Where there is no
objection, the names and contact details of junior officers, as well as
any signatures appearing in identified documents, will be redacted under
section 22 of the FOI Act on the basis that these details are irrelevant
to the request.

 

Please contact the FOI Team on the below contact details if you wish to
discuss your request.

 

Kind regards

 

[2]cid:image001.jpg@01D20F6A.F1CA1B30

 

FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch

Business Enabling Services

Department of Finance

E: [3][Finance request email]

A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603

SEC=OFFICIAL

 

References

Visible links
1. https://www.finance.gov.au/about-us/free...
3. mailto:[Finance request email]

FOI Requests, Department of Finance

3 Attachments

SEC=OFFICIAL

Dear BE

 

Please see attached a request consultation in relation to your FOI request
(our reference FOI 22/57).

Kind regards

 

[1]cid:image001.jpg@01D20F6A.D20DB770

 

Jonathan Messieh | FOI Officer

Legal and Assurance Branch

Business Enabling Services

Department of Finance

A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603

SEC=OFFICIAL

 

References

Visible links

Dear FOI Requests,

I confirm that I agree to revise my scope to remove drafts from the scope of the request as per your recommendation. I understand that on that basis you will be able to process my request within the statutory time frame.

Yours sincerely,

BE

FOI Requests, Department of Finance

Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.

 

Kind regards

 

FOI Coordinator

 

FOI Requests, Department of Finance

1 Attachment

SEC=OFFICIAL

Dear BE

 

Finance will be conducting third party consultation for your request (FOI
22/57). As provided for under the FOI Act, the processing period has been
extended by 30 days to allow for this consultation. As such, a decision is
currently due to you by 3 October 2022.

 

Please contact the FOI team if you would like to discuss your request
further.

 

Kind regards

[1]cid:image001.jpg@01D20F6A.F1CA1B30

 

FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch

Business Enabling Services

Department of Finance

E: [2][Finance request email]

A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603

SEC=OFFICIAL

 

References

Visible links
2. mailto:[Finance request email]

FOI Requests, Department of Finance

3 Attachments

SEC=OFFICIAL

Dear BE

Please see attached a decision in relation to your FOI request (our
reference FOI 22/57).

Kind regards

 

[1]cid:image001.jpg@01D20F6A.F1CA1B30

 

FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch

Business Enabling Services

Department of Finance

E: [2][Finance request email]

A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603

SEC=OFFICIAL

 

References

Visible links
2. mailto:[Finance request email]