UNCLASSIFIED

 

Dear Mr Guzzardi

 

I refer to your email of 2 March with the below enquiry:

 

“Please advise whether MP Julie Bishop has acquired a diplomatic spousal
passport for her "partner" David Panton?”

 

The Department is unable to proceed with your request as it does not
satisfy section 15(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). 
Specifically, you are requesting ‘advice’ on whether the Department has
issued a diplomatic passport to Mr Panton-  your request, as it’s
currently framed, is not a request for documents and is therefore not a
valid request under the FOI Act. 

 

Even if you framed your request such that it satisfied the elements in
section 15(2) of the FOI Act, as you are seeking information about a third
party, the Department would need to consult with that individual on the
release of any documents the Department may hold that comprise his or her
personal information and the information you may ultimately obtain (if
any) would be limited in nature without the consent of the affected third
party.

 

We also take this opportunity to advise you the Department issues
processing charges for FOI requests.

 

Yours sincerely

 

DFAT FOI Team

___________________________________
FOI and Privacy Law Section
Corporate Legal Branch | Legal Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
[1]www.dfat.gov.au

Web | [2]Twitter | [3]YouTube | [4]Flickr

 

This email and any attachments may contain confidential information or
legal advice over which legal professional privilege can be claimed.  Such
privilege is not waived and you should ensure that, in your handling of
the advice, you avoid waiving privilege.  Please consult the author of the
advice if unsure about appropriate handling.

 

 

 

 

References

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