#2 Reason for amendments to s 67CC(2)
Dear Services Australia (attn Kylie),
This is a new request following on from request LEX71589. Page and paragraph references in this request are to the decision documents in LEX71589.
I note I have made a similar request to the Department of Education. I am happy for the 2 requests to be dealt with jointly, provided all documents within scope of both requests are provided. Or put another way, I don't need to receive the same document via both requests. I trust the 2 departments are able to deconflict in a sensible fashion.
I request:
1. Any emails or written correspondence that are:
a. dated 7 March - 29 November 2023, and
b. related to the amendment to s 67CC(2), and
c. not within scope of LEX71589, and
d. sent or received by an entity acting on behalf of Services Australia (e.g., employee, contractor, etc.). This includes emails or written correspondence sent directly to or received directly from an external source (e.g., a minister's office).
2. Any documents in the possession of Services Australia that explain or could be perceived to explain why 'we [the Department of Education?] are looking at amending s 67CC(2)(d)'
3. Any documents in the possession of Services Australia that confirm who the 'we' is in 2 above
4. Any documents in the possession of Services Australia, not covered by point 2 above, that provide information as to what caused, prompted, or contributed to, the Department of Education making the 1059 28 July 2022 request for advice (page 2).
5. I am not clear whether the 'comprehensive layperson explanation for internal use only' was later published. Assuming it was not published, or that the internal version is different to the published version, I request the final version of the 'comprehensive layperson explanation for internal use only'.
6. A document setting out, from page 5, any/all 'Minister's Rule changes by 1 July 2023' that are conseuqent to or otherwise relate to the amendment to s 67CC(2)
7. The names of any CCS claimants, where Services Australia considered those claimant's claims as part of considering s 67CC(2) amendments (e.g., as an example of why the amendment was needed, or a case study of what the amendment would achieve, or similar). I will grant extensions of time to consult with the relevant third party CCS claimants
8. To the extent not included in point 5 above, a copy of (from page 9) 'the taper graph demonstrating the new CCS rates and a very handy layperson explanation of the amendments in the ED'
9. Documents that set out why Services Australia thought it mattered to make it so that, from page 15 at [73], 'It would not matter whether or not the child received care for which another individual was receiving CCS.'
10. Documents that set out why, from page 15 at [74], the 'policy intent' needed to be clarified.
11. Documents documents that consider and/or justify, from page 15 at [75], the retrospective application of the amendment.
12. Copies of any emails or written correspondence related to LEX71589 that were sent or received by an SES or equivalent (regardless of which department the SES worked for, and regardless of whether they were in the 'to', 'from, 'cc', or 'bcc' field).
13. Copies of any emails or written correspondence related to LEX71589 that were sent or received by a minister, minister's office, or ministerial staff (regardless of which minister, and regardless of whether they were in the 'to', 'from, 'cc', or 'bcc' field).
Yours faithfully,
Me
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
Charges
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and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No charge is
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Your address
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Please advise us as soon as possible if you wish correspondence to be sent
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Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements in place for the release
of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI request. These
arrangements do not extend to information or material of third parties.
Exclusion of staff details
The Agency is working towards ensuring all staff have a choice about
whether they provide their full name, personal logon identifiers and
direct contact details in response to FOI requests. Where such details are
included in documents they will be redacted. If you request staff details
as part of your FOI application, this may add to processing time and
applicable charges as it will be necessary to consider whether these
details are exempt under the FOI Act.
Dear Services Australia,
I amend point 1 of my request to be for 7 March - 29 November 2022 (not 2023! Lol.)
Yours faithfully,
Me
Good morning,
I am writing in relation to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request to
Services Australia (the Agency).
Firstly, the Agency is unable to process this request jointly with the
Department of Education. As you have sent requests to both
departments/agencies, they will need to be processed separately based on
the documents each entity may hold.
Secondly, I would like to clarify point 13 of the request with you, which
is currently:
13. Copies of any emails or written correspondence related to LEX71589
that were sent or received by a minister, minister's office, or
ministerial staff (regardless of which minister, and regardless of whether
they were in the 'to', 'from, 'cc', or 'bcc' field).
Please note that the Minister's Office is a separate entity to the Agency.
Additionally, your request refers to ‘regardless of which Minister’;
however, the Agency can only comment on the Minister for Government
Services, not any other Minister. Therefore, so we can assist you in
processing this request, we would like to you to consider rescoping this
part to:
13. Copies of any emails or written correspondence sent by the Agency to
the Minister for Government Services (Minister, Minister’s office, or
ministerial staff) in relation to LEX 71589 (regardless of whether they
were in the 'to', 'from, 'cc', or 'bcc' field).
Please note, the processing of your previous FOI request LEX 71589 was
managed by the Agency. Therefore, any communication to the Minister’s
Office about LEX 71589 would have come from the Agency and therefore would
be captured in the above revised scope.
Please confirm by 12 noon 21 April 2023 if you agree, by responding to
this email with ‘I agree’. If you do not respond within this timeframe, we
intend to consult with you formally under section 24AB of the FOI Act.
Many thanks.
Kind regards,
Cherie
Freedom of Information
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]cid:image002.jpg@01D6BC07.2D63B370
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Dear Cherie,
I see what you mean
I would also like correspondence received from the Minister. Correspondence received from the Minister (e.g., in reply to what SA sent) will also be in the possession of SA (?)
I don’t quite understand the limit on the minister. Yes SA has a primary minister. It may have other ministers for some aspects (I haven’t checked). Either way, even if it would be unusual for SA to write to a different minister, it’s possible? Looking for mincorro on 67CC(2) would turn it up anyway without additional checks (?)
So subject to your further advice, yes, if:
- corro from the minister is included
- corro to/from any minister is included
- (noting both are limited in scope to considering 67CC(2) etc.)
Yours sincerely,
Me
Dear Me
Thank you for your email and I note your comments.
Please advise if you agree to the following revised scope for Point 13:
Copies of any emails or written correspondence sent by or received by the
Agency to/from the Minister for Government Services (Minister, Minister’s
office, or ministerial staff) in relation to LEX 71589 (regardless of
whether they were in the 'to', 'from, 'cc', or 'bcc' field). Additionally,
any emails or written correspondence in relation to LEX 71589 sent by or
received by the Agency to/from another Minister.
Once we have your agreement on the scope for this point, we can formally
acknowledge and commence the processing of your request.
A response by close of business today would be appreciated, if possible.
Kind regards,
Cherie
Freedom of Information & Ombudsman Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]cid:image002.jpg@01D6BC07.2D63B370
Please note: This email and any attachments may contain information
subject to legal professional privilege or information that is otherwise
sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this
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Dear Me
Please find attached correspondence from Services Australia in relation to
your request for access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
Kind regards,
Cherie
Freedom of Information & Ombudsman Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]cid:image002.jpg@01D6BC07.2D63B370
Please note: This email and any attachments may contain information
subject to legal professional privilege or information that is otherwise
sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this
email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication.
If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender
immediately and permanently delete this email.
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Dear Me,
I am writing to you in regards to your Freedom of Information request (LEX
73069).
I am currently in the process of retrieving the documents related to your
request. Unfortunately this process is taking a little longer than
anticipated, therefore the Agency is unlikely to be in a position to
provide you with a decision by the current due date of 17 May 2023. On
this basis, we respectfully request an additional 14 day extension of time
to process this request. The effect of the extension would mean the new
decision due date would be 31 May 2023.
If you agree with this extension of time, we would appreciate if you could
please respond to this email stating ‘I agree’ by close of business
Wednesday 3 May 2023.
Kind regards
Leanne, FOI Officer
Freedom of Information and Ombudsman Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]B3997F7F
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands we live on. I pay my
respects to all Elders, past and present, of all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander nations.
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.
References
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Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
Charges
The Agency will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request
and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No charge is
payable for providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires you to provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. We will send correspondence and notices to your email address.
Please advise us as soon as possible if you wish correspondence to be sent
to another address or if your email address changes.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements in place for the release
of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI request. These
arrangements do not extend to information or material of third parties.
Exclusion of staff details
The Agency is working towards ensuring all staff have a choice about
whether they provide their full name, personal logon identifiers and
direct contact details in response to FOI requests. Where such details are
included in documents they will be redacted. If you request staff details
as part of your FOI application, this may add to processing time and
applicable charges as it will be necessary to consider whether these
details are exempt under the FOI Act.
Dear Me,
I am writing to you in regards to your Freedom of Information request (LEX
73069).
I am currently in the process of reviewing the documents related to your
request. Unfortunately this process is taking a little longer than
anticipated, therefore the Agency is unlikely to be in a position to
provide you with a decision by the current due date of 31 May 2023. On
this basis, we respectfully request an additional 14 day extension of time
to process this request. The effect of the extension would mean the new
decision due date would be 14 June 2023.
If you agree with this extension of time, we would appreciate if you could
please respond to this email stating ‘I agree’ by close of business
Thursday 25 May 2023.
Kind regards
Leanne, FOI Officer
Freedom of Information and Ombudsman Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]B3997F7F
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands we live on. I pay my
respects to all Elders, past and present, of all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander nations.
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.
References
Visible links
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
Charges
The Agency will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request
and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No charge is
payable for providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires you to provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. We will send correspondence and notices to your email address.
Please advise us as soon as possible if you wish correspondence to be sent
to another address or if your email address changes.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements in place for the release
of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI request. These
arrangements do not extend to information or material of third parties.
Exclusion of staff details
The Agency is working towards ensuring all staff have a choice about
whether they provide their full name, personal logon identifiers and
direct contact details in response to FOI requests. Where such details are
included in documents they will be redacted. If you request staff details
as part of your FOI application, this may add to processing time and
applicable charges as it will be necessary to consider whether these
details are exempt under the FOI Act.
Dear Me,
Please find attached the decision letter and documents relating to your
request for access to documents held by Services Australia, under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982.
If you are unable to open the attachments please contact me by replying to
this email.
Kind Regards,
Leanne, FOI Officer
Freedom of Information and Ombudsman Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]B3997F7F
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands we live on. I pay my
respects to all Elders, past and present, of all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander nations.
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.
References
Visible links
Dear Services Australia,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Services Australia's handling of my FOI request '#2 Reason for amendments to s 67CC(2)'.
I have emailed a PDF of the first instance decision with my notes to [email address] (sent 1416 Friday 7 July 2023)
Please consider anything in the PDF that is not part of the first instance decision to be my internal review submissions (it should all be in dot points in green text).
Please do not reply to the email with the PDF; please send any/all correspondence to the Right To Know email address this email has come from.
If relevant: I mention some admin law grounds of review - including unreasonableness and similar. Always a bit mean to argue someone's decision was unreasonable; just noting it is a law argument, not an attack on the first instance decision-maker.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/2...
Yours faithfully,
Me
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
Charges
The Agency will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request
and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No charge is
payable for providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires you to provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. We will send correspondence and notices to your email address.
Please advise us as soon as possible if you wish correspondence to be sent
to another address or if your email address changes.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements in place for the release
of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI request. These
arrangements do not extend to information or material of third parties.
Exclusion of staff details
The Agency is working towards ensuring all staff have a choice about
whether they provide their full name, personal logon identifiers and
direct contact details in response to FOI requests. Where such details are
included in documents they will be redacted. If you request staff details
as part of your FOI application, this may add to processing time and
applicable charges as it will be necessary to consider whether these
details are exempt under the FOI Act.
Dear Me,
Please find attached correspondence dated 12 July 2023 in relation to your
request for internal review of a decision made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.
Kind regards,
TY
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI and Ombudsman Branch
Legal Services Division
Dear TY,
Thanks
Could I request you confirm SA received the PDF with my internal review points?
Yours sincerely,
Me
Dear Me,
I can confirm receipt of the PDF document with your internal review
points.
Regards,
TY
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI and Ombudsman Branch
Legal Services Division
Dear Me,
Following my below email, please be advised that due to the complexities
surrounding the subject matter of your internal review request as well as
the detailed submission you have provided, the Agency will not be in a
position to provide you a decision by 7 August 2023.
At this stage, we expect to be able to provide you with a decision by 4
September 2023.
Thank you for your patience with this matter. Please feel free to reach
out if you have any queries.
Regards,
TY
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI and Ombudsman Branch
Legal Services Division
[1]cid:image001.jpg@01D6B8DA.3399D830
From: FOI.LEGAL.TEAM <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 14 July 2023 4:09 PM
To: Me <[FOI #10169 email]>
Cc: FOI.LEGAL.TEAM <[email address]>
Subject: RE: LEX 74480 – Your Internal Review Request – Acknowledgement
[SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear Me,
I can confirm receipt of the PDF document with your internal review
points.
Regards,
TY
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI and Ombudsman Branch
Legal Services Division
[2]cid:image001.jpg@01D9C165.54A8DA30
Our reference: RQ23/04377
Agency reference: LEX74480
FOI Applicant
By email: [1][FOI #10169 email]
CC: [2][Services Australia request email]
FOI Extension of Time decision
Dear FOI Applicant,
Please find attached an FOI Extension of time decision relating to your
FOI request with Services Australia. A copy of this decision has been
provided to Services Australia today.
Kind regards,
Thomas Hanaee
[3][IMG] Assistant Review Adviser
Freedom of Information Branch
Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 |
[4]oaic.gov.au
1300 363 992 | [5][email address]
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Good afternoon,
Please find attached the decision letter relating to your request for
access to documents held by Services Australia, under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.
If you have any questions regarding this matter or are unable to open the
attachments please contact me by replying to this email.
Regards,
TY
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI and Ombudsman Branch
Legal Services Division
[1]cid:image001.jpg@01D6B8DA.3399D830
References
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