Dear Dr Cole,

 

I am following up on my email below to ensure we can get the information to you in the format you require and by the date you require it.

 

Could you please respond to my queries at your earliest convenience?

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Warm regards,
Leah   

 

 

 

Dear Dr. Cole,

 

Thank you for sending through your FOI Application Form, however I am pleased to advise that I have since spoken with senior management, and as the information you seek is available within the public domain we are happy to ‘direct release’ this to you outside of the FOI process (with any personal information redacted of course). This is great news as it makes your request much more straightforward and will come at no cost to your agency.  

 

We also think that this publication would be extremely informative and a great resource for many areas of RSPCA Vic – so in exchange for the information we would love to receive either a digital copy or a number of printed copies of the Guidebook. Would this please be possible?

 

I have attached the spreadsheet that RSPCA Vic provided to Lawyers for Animals in 2015. Could you please confirm:

 

1. If you are happy for the information to be provided in the same format for this request for the years you have requested

 

2. The deadline you require this information by. Please do note compiling this information will still take a reasonable amount of time, so your consideration of this and providing as much time as possible is appreciated.  

 

 

For future reference for Lawyers for Animals, it is important to note that FOI requests are for existing documents that are within possession of the agency at the time of the request, not creating documents in response to a request.

 

Previously when this information was requested in 2015 the bespoke spreadsheet was provided by Lawyers for Animals, and the RSPCA Vic FOI Officer at the time obliged by filling this out. From an FOI perspective this should not have been the process – however the correct process would have involved providing you with hundreds, if not thousands, of existing documents that contained the statistics you are requesting, and you would then have needed to compile the information into a spreadsheet yourself. It may also have resulted in receiving “Nil Documents” as we may not have an existing document that contains average sentences, for example.

 

Also as this request would have resulted in a voluminous amount of work requiring mandatory consultation with any third parties within those documents (section 33 of the FOI Act) this request may have been refused under Section 25.A of the Act as it may have substantially and unreasonably diverted the resources of RSPCA. So it’s fantastic we can bypass that FOI process and simply give you the statistics, both now and when this information is requested again for future publications.  

 

Should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me, and I look forward to your reply.

 

Warm regards,

Leah  

 

 

Dear Dr Cole,

 

Thank you for your email. Before we proceed I have a few clarifications:  

 

1. In regards to the request for average days spent in prison, we can not provide this as we are not privy to release dates. I presume you still wish to proceed with the rest of the request.   

 

2. Timeframes: do you have a ‘hard date’ you require this information by? I am waiting to hear from our Prosecutions team as to how long it might take to gather this information. The FOI Act states 30 days for RSPCA to respond to an FOI request unless otherwise agreed with the applicant. If compiling this information is a voluminous request we would appreciate your flexibility on timeframes if possible.

 

Once I have further details on the time required to complete this request I can provide you with an estimate of access charges. In the meantime please find attached our FOI Application Form. Would you please be so kind as to complete this and return to me?  Please note that an FOI request must come from a natural person not a company, so please complete the form as an individual.

 

If you have any questions in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Warm regards,
Leah  

 

Leah Marshall

Governance & Compliance Officer

3 Burwood Hwy, Burwood East VIC 3151 | W: www.rspcavic.org

P: 03 9224 2220 | F: 03 9012 4266 | E: [email address]

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Dr Michael Cole <foi+[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 9 July 2018 12:59 PM
To: Governance <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Prosecutions and Penalty outcomes under POCTAA for 2014 to 2018

 

Dear RSPCA Victoria,

 

Please may I obtain the statistics for: number of individual prosecutions, average fine across all fines that year, total prison terms imposed, average prison term imposed, and average days spent in prison;

for: 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018; for Victoria under the POCTAA.

 

This is for an update on the 'Magistrates’ and Law Enforcement Officers’ Guidebook on Animal Cruelty Offences in Victoria' guidebook last published and updated by Lawyers for Animals, Victoria in 2015. The purpose of the guidebook is to draw the attention of officers of the law to community expectations and Parliament's intentions with regard to animal cruelty.

 

RSPCA Victoria kindly last provided these statistics up to 2014 for the 2015 publication.

 

I have been authorised by Lawyers for Animals to obtain these statistics and to update the guidebook. I agree to pay for the reasonable charges in providing the information.

 

Thank you very much for all you do.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Dr Michael Cole FRACP

 

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