on Wednesday ebony 2s 203 1035 Ph I: ‘Dear Health Minster. Lam writing to you on advice fem he Australian Deparment of Health the Department) to seek clarifeation en information requested in a Feedom of Information (FO) request hat was Sent to the Deparbuent ‘The Deparmint’ intial response on 2th August 2020 (attached “nal FO! 1937 Response”), sated "To obtain the information you sre seeking please crect your request to he vaicus State and trary Deparment of Heal ‘After further correspondence between the FOI author andthe Department, a more formal response was given (attached: ‘FOI 1937"), yet {he outcome remained the sama, am threfor wring o ou to on inital adic by the Deparimant of Health to coir whether you de hold the iformation requested in the original request othe Departmen. 2s shawn in atachment FO! 1997" and pasted again below “Al records in the possession, custody or contre! of Tho Dapartment of Heath descnbing th iolaion ofa SARS-COV-2 vius,drocty from a sample laken rom 9 ievasod pation! where the gabon! campo was nat frst combed with any other source of goraic matrtal {le mantey kidney cela aka vers eal lung cls fram a ung cancer patent) Please nts tnat 2m sng teoltin”m te ev=sj~30) ‘Sense ofthe nord the actef separating ating) em everything ese. am nol requesing records where “soln of SARS-COV-2" ‘elors instead fo 1 the auturing of something, 5 or the perfomance ofan ampliicaton test .e. a PCR tet Bor the sequencing of someting. Please ago note hat my request not finite fo reorde that weve authored by The Depariment of Heath otha pertain fo work dane by The Deparment of Heat MY request includes any sor of record, fr evample (ut not tied to) ary publshed peer reviewed sud) that The Deparment of Heath has downloaded or printed" ook forward o your response2 Referred to DoH for response - FOI 1937- Requesting Further Information| Shino herChach reopened ceanwes comaTete. emsttel eens SARS O42 nln io theusotpeponb cee As ance ‘BrSAaS-SaVS ur weng Pststae ay eo ed 1 te a oe dt Fagen a cena “hag nin Sr | Cape Sean Oe ft ie oe xpath PY tae ok, 0 Roya Svet EAST PERTH WOH rotoongrasmwacasmm w ‘isceuzemincaton ova ma ey Spare vega ‘hae nas Was inane tae SAnievecicgwar nebo gpm nen sae Batya Care Inet tetagd (persion Anan Domini ean oe "be Deprnens nal epon 2th Agu 200 ach "il FOL 1957 Rens “Tb saison on aig pl duress tins Se a ea Dipset Afr fdr cane ewe th FO tae Depennes amc spank thes aad" or 917) pce ete eas em tre wig w 0110 laf yh eprint fe ote wi So ed ron roe in nn ques Deja aie EO {cand the psec or ono of Te Deparment ah dering te anf e SARS C2 dic oc nama ce ger, shart toe ec Astcamd than chi seo rhea may as eevee ole gc, “rem te cer ae Ps at fame “ote yas ews seofemeinga at omc ot nage ae fern o ninicin waa PRI ‘Pian alee tr eet sind roc tha were entre The DeprcofHeth + hpenann wart dey Te Dupre ea Maye ats ceed Ae sre at ii my heroes of anaForwarded message —— From: FOI Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2020, 12:10, ‘Subject: Freedom of Information Request - Studies re isolation of SARS-COV-2 ISPCAUNOFFICTAL TT a] | refer to your request tothe Australian Government Department of Health (department) below: “All records in the possession, custody or contol of The Department of Health desenbing the isolation of a SARS-COV-2 virus, dirocty from a sample taken from a diseased Patient whore the patient sample was nt fest combined wih any oer source of ‘enetc material (ie. monkey kidney cells aka vero cells; lung cols rom a hing cancer pation, tease note that | am using “solation” in the every-day sense ofthe word: the act of ‘Separating a things) fom everthing else. 1 am not requesting records where “isolation of SARS-COV-2" rears instead io: + the cuturing of something ‘+ orthe performance of an ampitication test (ie. a POR test) + orthe soquencing of something, Please also note that my request isnot mtd to reconds that were authored by The Department of Heath or that pertain to wark done by The Department of Health. My ‘request incudes any sor of recor, for example (out not tinted to) any published peor ‘reviewed study that The Department of Heat has downloaded or pried 1 any records mateh the above description of requested records and are currently available fo the publ elsewhere, please provide enough vermeaton about {20ch record so that may tently and aocass each record with crtinty (ete, author(s), date, journal, where the pube may access i). “The depariment does not hold the documents you are seeking access oo, To obtain te information you ate seeking please drect your request othe various State ‘and Terrtory Depariments of Health.ind rogards FOI Offcer FOI Team - FOI and Legislation Support Section Legal & Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group Legal Advice & Legislation Branch ‘Australian Government Department of Health 7: 026269 1666 | E: EO\@heatth gov 0 (GPO Box 9648, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia The Department of Heath acknowledges tho Traditional Custodians of Australia and {heir continued connection to land, sea and commun. We pay our respect to a!” Eiders past and prosont {you recove this ema in eror, please delete it and contact the sender immediately.ae Australian Government Department of Health Department Reference: FO11937 NOTICE OF DECISION: UNDER SECTION 24A (OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 Trefer to your request of 1 August 2020 to the Department of Health (department) seeking access under the Freedom of formation Act 1982 (Cth) (FOL Act) to the following documents: “All records in the possession, custody or control of The Department of Health describing the isolation ofa SARS-COV-2 virus, directly from a sample taken from a sensed patient, where the patient sample was not frst combined with any other source of genetic material (.e. monkey kidney cells aka vero cells; ung ces from a lung cancer patient) lease note that 1 am using “isolation in the every-day sense ofthe word: the act of separating a things) from everything else. Lam not requesting records where “isolation of SARS-COV-2" refers instead to the culturing of something, + the performance ofan amplification test (ie. a PCR test), 1 or the sequencing of something, Please also mote that my request is no limited to records that were authored by The Department of Health or that pertain to work done by The Department of Health. My request includes any sort of record for example (but not limited to) any published pe reviewed study that The Department of Health has downloaded or printed. ‘fany records match the above description of requested records and are currently ‘onilabe tothe public elsewhere, please provide enough information about each record ‘0 that I may identify and acess each record with certainty (.e. ttle author(s), date, journal, here the public may access i) Freedom of Information Unit(MOP 516) GPO Box 9848 Canberra ACT 2601 Telephone: (02) 6289 1665 ABN: 83605 426 759(On 24 August 2020, the department sent you an email advising the department does not hold any documents relating to the scope of yous request and referring you to the states and territories. You responded the same day, seeking a PDF response and asking questions about SARS-COV-2 Virus Isolation. am writing to advise you of my decision, FOI decision Tam authorised under subsection 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to Freedom of Information requests. Lam writing to notify you of my decision on your request. All reasonable steps have been taken to find clocuments referred to in your request including consultation with relevant policy and program areas, thorough searches of departmental file management systems, electronic documents on shared and personal drives and departmental data bases, {lam satisfied the consultation undertaken and the searches conducted were thorough aand all reasonable steps have been taken to locate documents relevant to your request ‘Tam satisfied the documents referred to in your request do not exist. Asa consequence, relying on section 24A of the FOI Act, I cannot provide access to the documents you requested. FOI review rights Ifyou are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for an intemal review or Australian Information Commissioner (Information Commissioner) review of the decision Internal re Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to the department for an internal review of my decision, The internal review application must be made within 30 days ofthe date of this notice (or such further period as the department allows). Where possible please provide reasons why you consider review of the decision is necessary. The internal review will be carvied out by another officer of this department within 30 days. ‘An application for an internal review should be addressed to: Email FOIGhealthgov.ay Mail: FOI Unit (MDP 516) Department of Health GPO Box 9848 CANBERRA ACT 2601 Freedom of ntematon Unit (MDP 516) GPO Box 9848 Canberra ACT 2601 Telephone: (G2) 8289 1665 ABN: 83.605 428 758Information Commissioner Review Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Information Commissioner to review my decision. An application for review must be macle in writing within 60 days ofthis notice (i you do not request an internal review), ‘The Australian Information Commissioner can be contacted by: Email: enquiriestoaic gov.au Phone: 1300 363 992. More about the Information Commissioner review is available on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) website at hitps:/ / www oaic.gov.au/ freedom-of information, reviews/. ‘You may also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner about action taken, by the department in relation to your application. Further information can be obtained. from the OAIC website, Relevant provisions of the FOI Act ‘The FOI Act, including the provisions referred to inthis letter, can be accessed from the Federal Register of Legislation website: hitps:/ / www legislation gov au/Details/C2020C00110 Additional information ‘As mentioned in the department's email to you of 25 August 2020, the FOL Act provides a mechanism for individuals to access ‘documents’ held by entities such as the department. It does not provide a mechanism for making enquiries or asking, ‘questions about issues, However, outside the FOI Act Ian provide you with the following information that may be of assistance to you, Point-of-care testing isa form of testing, in which the analysis is performed where healthcare is provided, close to or near the patient. All point-of-care test kits for identifying the SARS CoV-2 virus (COVID-19 test kits) approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for supply within Australia and inclusion in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods are listed on the TGA website a: www.tga.gov.au /covid-19-test-kitsincluded-artg-legalsupply- australia, Information about the regulation of in vitro diagnostic medical devices in Australia, including the COVID-19 test kts, is also available on the TGA website at www. ga gov au /overview-regulatory-framework-vitro-diagnostic-medicaldevices Freedom of infomation Unit (MOP 516) GPO Box 8848 Canberra ACT 2601 “elophore: (02) 6289 7688 ABN, B3 605 426 758,4 Additionally, there is a publically available paper on the isolation of SARS-CoV-2 at VIDRL (which describes inoculation of Vera/ ASLAM cells which led to the isolation of SARS-CoY-2 in culture), which can be located atthe following link: https://swww mja.comau/joumal/2020/212/ 10/isolation-and:rapid-sharing:2019- novel coronavirus-sars-cov-2-firet-patient Contacts you require clarification of any of the matters discussed in this letter you should contact Freedom of Information Unit on (02) 6289 1666 or at EOI@health gov.au, Yours sincerely Kbde? . K Bishop. Principal Lawyer Legal Advice & Legislation Branch 9 September 2020 Freedom of formation Unt (MOP 516) GPO Box 9848 Canberra ACT 2601 Telephone: (02| 6280 1685 ABN: 82 605.426 758