Bob Buckley
Via em
ail: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Buckley
Freedom of Information Request 51700 – Notice of intention to refuse
I refer to the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (
FOI Act) request made to the Department of Social
Services (
the Department) on 16 September 2024. The request seeks access to:
all documents generated since 1 July 2020 that relate to policy development, program
implementation, and general attitudes for disability advocacy for individual Autistic Australians.
I am authorised to make decisions in respect of FOI requests under subsection 23(1) of the FOI Act.
Practical refusal reason
This request seeks every document that relates to policy development, program implementation, and
general attitudes for disability advocacy for individual Autistic Australians generated in the past 4 years.
Included within these documents would be every email that has a passing reference to the subject
matter within the timeframe, and we can comfortably say that it would amount to thousands of
documents.
I consider that the Department has limited capacity to process a request of this size. For this reason the
work involved in processing the request would substantial y and unreasonably divert the resources of
the Department from its other operations.
In accordance with s 24(1) of the FOI Act, I consider that a practical refusal reason exists in relation to
the request for access to documents.
Request consultation process
Under section 24(1)(b) of the FOI Act, the Department is required to provide you with the opportunity
to revise the scope of your request so that a ‘practical refusal reason’ no longer exists. One way you
could achieve this is to refine the scope of your request, for example by specifying more specific types
of documents or subject matter that you are interested in and specifying a shorter timeframe that they
were generated within. We also suggest not using the words
relate or
related within the scope of the
request as this can tend to increase its size significantly.
In our prior correspondence we suggested refining the scope of your request to:
Formal reports and reviews that discuss advocacy service availability and provisions for Autistic
Australians.
You advised that this scope was too limited for the information you are seeking, but this is an example
of a more limited request that you could make if you were so minded.
Please note that refining the scope of the request may remove the practical refusal reason, but does not
necessarily mean that that any documents subject to the request will be released in part or in full.
GPO Box 9820 Canberra ACT 2601
Email Facsimile Telephone 1300 653 227
National Relay Service: TTY: 133 677, Speak and listen: 1300 555 727, Internet relay: www.relayservice.com.au
www.dss.gov.au
Next steps
Should you wish to revise the request, you must do so
within 14 days after the day you are sent this
notice. The 14 day deadline ends at
11:59pm on 7 October 2024 by which time
you are required to
take one of the below actions
. If you are unable to meet this deadline and require an extension of time
to discuss ways to revise the scope of your request, please contact the FOI Section by email at
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
In accordance with subsection 24AB(6) of the FOI Act, you must, before the end of the 14-day
consultation period, do one of the fol owing by written notice to the department:
a) withdraw the request;
b) make a revised request; or
c) indicate that you do not wish to revise the request.
Please note that under subsection 24AB(7), the request is taken to have been withdrawn at the end of
the 14 day consultation period if:
a) the applicant does not consult the contact person during the consultation period in
accordance with this notice; or
b) the applicant does not do one of the things mentioned in subsection(6) before the end of the
consultation period.
In accordance with subsection 24AB(8) of the FOI Act, the 14-day consultation period is to be
disregarded in calculating the processing period for the request.
Yours sincerely
Sarah B
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
23 September 2024
