OFFICIAL

Dear Jane

Acknowledgement

I refer to your correspondence of 17 December 2025, seeking access to
documents held by the Department of Defence (Defence) under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). This email is to advise you that your
request has been received and allocated for Case Management.

The scope of your request is:

I am seeking a full copy of the 2025 Department of Defence APS census free
text comments as completed by staff.

I am also seeking a full copy of the 2025 census results for the
Strategic, Policy and Industry group with free text comments as completed
by staff.

I do not need the details of staff names below the Senior Executive
Service (SES) level  and direct internal contact details of Department of
Defence staff members.

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

The statutory timeframe to provide you with a decision on your request
ends on 16 January 2026. 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 15 February
2026. 

It would be much appreciated if you could confirm your agreement to this
extension of time via e-mail by close of business 22 December 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.

Disclosure Log

Documents released under the FOI Act may be published on Defence’s
disclosure log, located on our website.

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 contact:
[1][email address].

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Team

Media and Information Disclosure Branch

Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division

Department of Defence

[2]Freedom of information requests | About | Defence

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence.
Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email
may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in
error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email
immediately.

References

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

OFFICIAL
Good morning Jane,

Thank you for your email.

As your decision for FOI 933/25/26 is now overdue, it is considered a deemed refusal decision under the FOI Act.

As such, you are only able to request a review of the decision through the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Defence FOI will continue to process your request and provide you with a decision in the meantime.

If you wish to request review from the OAIC, you are able to do so using the following web link: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...

Please contact Defence if you have any questions.

Kind Regards,

Freedom of Information Team
Media and Information Disclosure Branch
Ministerial & Executive Coordination and Communication Division
Department of Defence

Freedom of information requests | About | Defence

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence. Unauthorised communication and dealing with the information in the email may be a serious criminal offence. If you have received this email in error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email immediately.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jane Doe <[FOI #14131 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 17 February 2026 6:15 AM
To: FOI <[Defence request email]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Seeking accountability - APS survey results

EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click any links or open any attachments unless you trust the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear Department of Defence,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Defence's handling of my FOI request 'Seeking accountability - APS survey

The initial response was due December however I agreed to an extension until end of January.
I am yet to receive a response or any correspondence from the Department of Defence regarding this.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Jane Doe

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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #14131 email]

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

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