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Your request
1.  On 13 March 2024, you sought to access:
Please can you release a spreadsheet of data on all formal complaints submitted against all
government schools in Victoria. The fields of data to include: the school name, type of school
(mainstream, special), number of formal complaints. By year, from 2000 to 2023.

2.  On 9 April 2024, the FOI Unit wrote to you advising that your request was invalid and therefore
did not comply with section 17(2A) of the Act, as you had not paid the application fee. On 10 April
2024, payment of the application fee was received, and your request became valid.

The timeframe applying to your request

3.  On 7 May 2024, you agreed to extend the statutory time period for processing your request by 30
days in accordance with section 21(2)(b) of the Act. On 30 May 2024, you agreed to a further 14-
day extension.

4.  The due date for your request is now 25 June 2024.

Documents

5.  A thorough and diligent search has been conducted to identify documents held by the department
which meet the terms of your request.

6.  The FOI Unit caused searches to be undertaken to identify documents with the Operations and
Governance Division.

Requests involving use of computers

7.  There were no discrete documents available which meet the terms of your request. However, I
note that section 19(1)I(i) of the Act provides that an agency can use a computer or other
equipment that is ordinarily available for retrieving or collating stored information to produce a
discrete written document containing the information sought in a request.

8.  Operations and Governance Division advise that it is not possible to create a document in
accordance with section 19(1)(c)(i) of the Act.

9.  Operations and Governance Division state that the department does not have a centralised
system for capturing data on complaints. Complaints are managed using a 3-tier process, including
the school, regional office, and central office. Some of these complaints are registered on the
STAR case management system however, not al  complaints are captured, due to the 3-tier
process and the number of complaints that are informally resolved. Operations and Governance
Division further advise that creation of a document using STAR would exceed the department’s
obligations under section 19(1)(c)(i) of the Act.

Decision and reasons for decision

Authority to make this decision

10.  I am an officer authorised by the Secretary of the department under section 26(1) of the Act to
make decisions in relation to FOI requests on behalf of the department.
Your details wil  be dealt with in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973 and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014. Should you have any
queries or wish to gain access to your personal information held by this department please contact our Privacy Officer at the above address

Material taken into account

11.  I have taken the following material into account in making my decision:
•
the Act (specifical y sections 3, 13, 16, 19)

Decision

12.  I found that:
•
no documents that meet the terms of your request exist and a document could not be
created in accordance with 19(1)(c)(i) of the Act.

Making a complaint

13.  If you are dissatisfied with our handling of your request, you have the right to complain to the
Information Commissioner.

14.  Your complaint must be in writing, set out the nature of your complaint and must be made within
60 days after you receive this notice of decision.

15.  You may lodge your complaint by:

email:  xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xxx.xx

post:  Information Commissioner

PO Box 24274

MELBOURNE   VIC   3001

fax:
(03) 8684 7588

16.  More information about complaints to the Information Commissioner, including a form to assist
you in making your complaint, is available at www.ovic.vic.gov.au.

Contacting the department regarding your decision

17.  If you wish to discuss this decision, please contact the FOI Unit on (03) 7022 0856 or by email at
xxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely

Damien O’Shea
Director, Executive and Ministerial Services

25 June 2024

Your details wil  be dealt with in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973 and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014. Should you have any
queries or wish to gain access to your personal information held by this department please contact our Privacy Officer at the above address

Document Outline