LEX 53717
Decision and Statement of reasons issued under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982
Decision and reasons for decision of Ramona (Position Number 62336362), Assistant Director,
Information Access Unit, Client Access and Rehabilitation Branch, Department of Veterans’
Affairs
Applicant:
Mr Alan Ashmore
Decision date:
24 October 2022
FOI reference number:
LEX 53717
Sent by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Ashmore
Freedom of Information Request: LEX 53717
Decision
1. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (
Department) has undertaken a reasonable search of its
records and identified two (2) documents relevant to your request.
2. I have made a decision to grant full access to two (2) documents, and refuse access to the
last two dot points of your request (i.e. the total additional cost to the Government of
veterans and war widows in receipt of a Gold Card) under section 24A(1)(b)(i ) of the FOI Act,
on the basis that the documents do not exist.
3. Document 1 is publicly available as part of the ‘Stats at a Glance’ on the Department’s
website a
t: https://www.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-05/saag_mar2022.pdf. Document 2 was created under section 17 of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (
FOI
Act).
4. The documents which I have decided to grant access to are set out in
Schedule 1.
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Authority to make decision
5. I, Ramona (Position Number 62336362), Assistant Director, Information Access Unit, Client
Access and Rehabilitation Branch, am an officer authorised by the Secretary of the
Department to make decisions about access to documents in the possession of the
Department in accordance with section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
Summary 6. On 8 September 2022, you made a request for access to a document in the possession of the
Department. Your request sought access to:
‘…I am seeking the latest document/worksheet listing the fol owing, namely:
: The total cost to DVA of a veteran in receipt of a Gold Card.
: The total cost to DVA of a war widow in receipt of a Gold Card
: The total additional cost to Government of a veteran in receipt of a Gold Card, and
: The total additional cost to Government of a war widow in receipt of a Gold Card.
All documentation/worksheets to list the complete breakdown of costs, e.g. optical,
dental, hospital, transport, medical, pharmaceutical, etc...’
7. On 15 September 2022, the Department acknowledged your request via email.
8. As an extension of time was applied to process your request in accordance with section
15AA of the FOI Act, a decision on your request is due by 24 October 2022.
9. I have decided not to impose a charge in relation to this request, in accordance with
Regulation 8 of the
Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019.
Material taken into account
10. In accordance with section 26(1)(a) of the FOI Act, my findings on any material question of
fact, the material on which those findings were based, and the reasons for my decision to
grant full access to the documents, follow.
11. I have taken the following material into account in making my decision:
the terms of your request on 8 September 2022;
the types of information and documents that are in the Department’s possession;
the content of the documents that fal within the scope of your request;
2
the availability of information relevant to your request, including the practicality and
time required in which the Department may create a document under section 17 of
the FOI Act;
Sections 3, 11 and 11A of the FOI Act which give the Australian community a legally
enforceable right to obtain access to information held by the Government of the
Commonwealth. I also considered the following provisions of the FOI Act relevant to
my decision:
- Section 15 Request for Access
- Section 17 Requests involving use of computers etc. (e.g. request for the
Department to create a Document)
- Section 24A Request may be refused if documents cannot be found or do not exist
the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A
of the FOI Act (
FOI Guidelines).
12. A full extract of all FOI Act provisions used to make my decision are provided in
Schedule 2.
Reasons for decision
13. I have decided to
grant ful access to two (2) documents, and
refuse access to the last two
dot points of your request (i.e. the total additional cost to the Government of veterans and
war widows in receipt of a Gold Card) under section 24A(1)(b)(ii) of the FOI Act, on the basis
that the documents do not exist.
Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or have not been received
(section 24A)
14. Section 24A(1) of the FOI Act provides that an agency or Minister may refuse a request for
access to a document if:
a. al reasonable steps have been taken to find the
document; and
b. the
agency o
r Minister is satisfied that the
document:
(i) is i
n the agency's or
Minister's possession but cannot be found; or
(ii) does not exist.
15. I am satisfied that al reasonable steps have been taken to find information relevant to your
request, having regard to:
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• the terms of your request;
• the subject matter of the documents;
• the current and past file management systems and the practice of orderly
destruction or removal of documents;
• the Department’s record management systems and practices; and
• the individuals and areas within the Department who may be able to assist
with the location of the information you seek access to.
16. The last two dot points of your request seek access to the total additional cost to the
Government of veterans and war widows in receipt of a Gold Card.
17. The Department’s Data & Insights team have advised that the data requested is not
produced as a report, thus no documentation is available to fully address the request.
18. On the advice provided by the business area, I am satisfied that documents do not exist for
the last two dot points of your request. On this basis, I am refusing those parts your request
for access to documents in accordance with section 24A(1)(b)(i ), on the basis that
documents do not exist.
Creation of a document in response to your FOI request (section 17)
19. In order to provide you access to relevant information regarding your request, the
Department’s Data & Insights team extracted and complied the data listed in the
Department’s wider databases to create document 2 in scope of your request.
20. Document 2 is comprised of a breakdown of the average costs to the Department of a
veteran and war widow in receipt of a Gold Card as requested in the first dot points of your
request.
21. Document 2 is listed in
Schedule 1 and was created in accordance with section 17 of the FOI
Act.
Access to documents
22. The documents released to you in accordance with the FOI Act are enclosed.
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Information Publication Scheme
23. The Information Publication Scheme requires the Department to publish information
released in response to individual requests made under the FOI Act, except in specified
circumstances.
24. I am of the view that details of your request should be made available on the Department’s
FOI Disclosure Log. As such, details of your request will be published on the Department’s
FOI Disclosure Log which can be accessed at:
http://www.dva.gov.au/about-dva/freedom-
information/foi-disclosure-log. Please note that the Department does not publish details of
FOI applicants, it only publishes details of the FOI request and the documents released in
response to the request.
Your rights of review
25. If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for internal review or request the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (
OAIC) review my decision. We
encourage you to seek internal review as a first step to resolve any concerns you may have.
Internal review
26. 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 of the
date of this letter. Where possible please attach reasons why you believe review of the
decision is necessary. The internal review will be carried out by another officer within 30
days.
27. You can make your application for Internal Review in one of the fol owing ways:
Post:
Information Access Unit
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
OAIC review
28. Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the OAIC to review my decision. An
application for review by OAIC must be made in writing within 60 days of the date of this
letter, and be lodged in one of the fol owing ways:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
Director of FOI Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
5
Facsimile:
(02) 9284 9666
Phone:
1300 363 992
Email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
29. More information about your review rights under the FOI Act is available in Fact Sheet 12
published by the OAIC:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-
complaints/information-commissioner-review/
Contact us
30. If you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the Information Access
Unit using the following details:
Online:
https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview/reporting/freedom-
information/access-information
Post:
Information Access Unit
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001
Phone:
1800 838 372
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Ramona (Position Number 62336362)
Assistant Director
Information Access Unit
Client Access and Rehabilitation Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
24 October 2022
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LEX 53717
Schedule 1
Schedule of documents
Applicant:
Mr Alan Ashmore
Decision date:
24 October 2022
FOI reference number:
LEX 53717
Document
Date of
Document description
Page
Decision
FOI Act
reference document
number
provision
1
March 2022 Document 1 – SAAG_March 2022
1
Full Access
N/A
2
Unavailable Document 2 - DATA-4967 - ATCM - Veteran and
1
Full Access
N/A
War Widow Gold Card Cost
7
LEX 53717
Schedule 2
Schedule of relevant provisions in the FOI Act
3
Objects—general
(1)
The objects of this Act are to give the Australian community access to information held by
the Government of the Commonwealth or the Government of Norfolk Island, by:
(a)
requiring agencies to publish the information; and
(b)
providing for a right of access to documents.
(2)
The Parliament intends, by these objects, to promote Australia’s representative democracy
by contributing towards the fol owing:
(a)
increasing public participation in Government processes, with a view to promoting
better informed decision-making;
(b)
increasing scrutiny, discussion, comment and review of the Government’s
activities.
(3)
The Parliament also intends, by these objects, to increase recognition that information held
by the Government is to be managed for public purposes, and is a national resource.
(4)
The Parliament also intends that functions and powers given by this Act are to be
performed and exercised, as far as possible, to facilitate and promote public access to
information, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost.
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Right of access
(1)
Subject to this Act, every person has a legally enforceable right to obtain access in
accordance with this Act to:
(a)
a document of an agency, other than an exempt document; or
(b)
an official document of a Minister, other than an exempt document.
(2)
Subject to this Act, a person’s right of access is not affected by:
(a)
any reasons the person gives for seeking access; or
(b)
the agency’s or Minister’s belief as to what are his or her reasons for seeking
access.
11A Access to documents on request
Scope
(1)
This section applies if:
(a)
a request is made by a person, in accordance with subsection 15(2), to an agency or
Minister for access to:
(i)
a document of the agency; or
(ii)
an official document of the Minister; and
(b)
any charge that, under the regulations, is required to be paid before access is given
has been paid.
(2)
This section applies subject to this Act.
Note:
Other provisions of this Act are relevant to decisions about access to documents, for example the fol owing:
(a)
section 12 (documents otherwise available);
(b)
section 13 (documents in national institutions);
(c)
section 15A (personnel records);
(d)
section 22 (access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted).
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Mandatory access—general rule
(3)
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document in accordance with
this Act, subject to this section.
Exemptions and conditional exemptions
(4)
The agency or Minister is not required by this Act to give the person access to the
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is an exempt document.
Note:
Access may be given to an exempt document apart from under this Act, whether or not in response to a request
(see section 3A (objects—information or documents otherwise accessible)).
(5)
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document if it is conditionally
exempt at a particular time unless (in the circumstances) access to the document at that
time would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.
Note 1: Division 3 of Part IV provides for when a document is conditional y exempt.
Note 2: A conditional y exempt document is an exempt document if access to the document would, on balance, be
contrary to the public interest (see section 31B (exempt documents for the purposes of Part IV)).
Note 3: Section 11B deals with when it is contrary to the public interest to give a person access to the document.
(6)
Despite subsection (5), the agency or Minister is not required to give access to the
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is both:
(a)
a conditional y exempt document; and
(b)
an exempt document:
(i)
under Division 2 of Part IV (exemptions); or
(ii)
within the meaning of paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of exempt
document in subsection 4(1).
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Requests for access (as related to the requirements for requests)
Persons may request access
(1) Subject to section 15A, a person who wishes to obtain access to a document of an agency
or an official document of a Minister may request access to the document.
Requirements for request
(2)
The request must:
(a)
be in writing; and
(aa) state that the request is an application for the purposes of this Act; and
(b)
provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably necessary to
enable a responsible officer of the agency, or the Minister, to identify it; and
(c)
give details of how notices under this Act may be sent to the applicant (for
example, by providing an electronic address to which notices may be sent by
electronic communication).
(2A) The request must be sent to the agency or Minister. The request may be sent in any of the
following ways:
(a)
delivery to an officer of the agency, or a member of the staff of the Minister, at the
address of any central or regional office of the agency or Minister specified in a
current telephone directory;
(b)
postage by pre-paid post to an address mentioned in paragraph (a);
(c)
sending by electronic communication to an electronic address specified by the
agency or Minister.
17
Requests involving use of computers etc.
(1) Where:
(a) a request (including a request in relation to which a practical refusal reason exists) is
made in accordance with the requirements of subsection 15(2) to an agency;
(b) It appears from the request that the desire of the applicant is for information that is not
available in discrete form in written documents of the agency; and
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(ba) it does not appear from the request that the applicant wishes to be provided with a
computer tape or computer disk on which the information is recorded; and
(c) the agency could produce a written document containing the information in discrete
form by: (i) the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the
agency for retrieving or collating stored information; or
(ii) the making of a transcript from a sound recording held in the agency;
the agency shall deal with the request as if it were a request for access to a written
document so produced and containing that information and, for that purpose, this
Act applies as if the agency had such a document in its possession.
(2) An agency is not required to comply with subsection (1) if compliance would substantial y and
unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from its other operations.
23
Decisions to be made by authorised persons
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a decision in respect of a request made to an agency may be made, on
behalf of the agency, by the responsible Minister or the principal officer of the agency or, subject to
the regulations, by an officer of the agency acting within the scope of authority exercisable by him or
her in accordance with arrangements approved by the responsible Minister or the principal officer of
the agency.
(2) A decision in respect of a request made to a court, or made to a tribunal, authority or body that is
specified in Schedule 1, may be made on behalf of that court, tribunal, authority or body by the
principal officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body or, subject to the regulations, by an officer
of that court, tribunal, authority or body acting within the scope of authority exercisable by him or
her in accordance with arrangements approved by the principal officer of that court, tribunal,
authority or body.
(see section 11A).
24A Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or have not been received
Document lost or non-existent
(1) An
agency or Minister may refuse
a request for access to
a document if:
(a) all reasonable steps have been taken to find th
e document; and
(b) th
e agency or Minister is satisfied that th
e document:
(i) is in the
agency's or
Minister's possession but cannot be found; or
(ii) does not exist.
Document not received as required by contract
(2) An
agency may refuse
a request for access to
a document if:
(a) in order to comply with
section 6C, th
e agency has taken contractual measures to ensure
that it receives the
document; and
(b) th
e agency has not received th
e document; and
(c) th
e agency has taken all reasonable steps to receive the
document in accordance with
those contractual measures.
26
Reasons and other particulars of decisions to be given
(1)
Where, in relation to a request, a decision is made relating to a refusal to grant access to a
document in accordance with the request or deferring provision of access to a document,
the decision-maker shal cause the applicant to be given notice in writing of the decision,
and the notice shal :
(a)
state the findings on any material questions of fact, referring to the material on
which those findings were based, and state the reasons for the decision; and
(aa)
in the case of a decision to refuse to give access to a conditionally exempt
document—include in those reasons the public interest factors taken into account
in making the decision; and
Note:
Access must general y be given to a conditional y exempt document unless it would be contrary to the public
interest (see section 11A).
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(b)
where the decision relates to a document of an agency, state the name and
designation of the person giving the decision; and
(c)
give to the applicant appropriate information concerning:
(i)
his or her rights with respect to review of the decision;
(ii)
his or her rights to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner in
relation to the decision; and
(iii)
the procedure for the exercise of the rights referred to in subparagraphs (i)
and (ii); including (where applicable) particulars of the manner in which an
application for internal review (Part VI) and IC review (Part VII) may be
made.
(1A)
Section 13 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 does not apply to a
decision referred to in subsection (1).
(2)
A notice under this section is not required to contain any matter that is of such a nature
that its inclusion in a document of an agency would cause that document to be an exempt
document.
(see section 11A).
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Document Outline
