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.

Administrative release of documents   

The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate.  

Any parts of your FOI request that are addressed by documents being
released under the arrangements will be considered withdrawn. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements. 

Personal information of Agency staff 

We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:  

* names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff) 
* direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and
email addresses. 

If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act. 

Charges 

No charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.
If you are requesting non-personal information the Agency will advise you
as soon as practicable if a charge is payable to process your request, and
the amount of any such charge. 

How we will send documents to you 

Unless you have requested to receive correspondence and documents relating
to your FOI request via post we will communicate with you via this email
address. Some documents may be too large to send to you via email. If
applicable, we will seek your consent to provide the requested documents
to you electronically via a secure file sharing platform. Please advise us
as soon as possible if you wish correspondence or documents to be sent to
another address, or if your email address changes. 

How long do I have to wait? 

We are required to answer your request within 30 days unless the time
frame is extended under the FOI Act.  

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Dear Frankly Speaking,

I refer to your correspondence received by Services Australia (the Agency)
on 28 August 2024, requesting the following:

It would appear that many people using MyGov are having their accounts
compromised and are becoming victims of fraud. A Commonwealth Ombudsman
investigation confirmed this and in July 2024 your CEO confirmed you would
implement the recommendations that were made from that investigation.

I am requesting monthly data for period 1/1/2022 - 30/6/2024 showing how
many Centrelink online accounts have been locked manually by staff due to
“unauthorised use - no consent”. From my understanding this can be
initiated by a customer or a staff member and it locks the link between
myGov and Centrelink preventing access/updates.

I am not requesting a breakdown of data just simply monthly figures for
the dates above.

Your request does not meet the requirements for the Agency to release
documents to you through the FOI Act as a person is not entitled to obtain
access to a document if it is available elsewhere (section 12(1)(c)).

Access Data

The Agency has arrangements in place for the purchase of statistical
information and data. Therefore, in accordance with section 12(1)(c) of
the FOI Act, you are not entitled to request access to the documents under
the FOI Act.

You can submit a request for statistical data by contacting the External
Information Release team via email at:
[1][email address].

Further information

The Agency also makes a range of statistical information and data
available to the public. Further information is available on our website
regarding public statistical information and lodging requests for
statistics and data.

[2]Statistical information and data - Services Australia

I trust this information will assist you.

Kind regards,

Cherie
Senior FOI Officer

Freedom of Information & Reviews Branch, Legal Services Division

[3]Visual brand element showing Services Australia progress symbol to left
with Services Australia wording to the right of the symbol. Underneath is
servicesaustralia.gov.au and icons representing our social media accounts.
To follow us on social media go to servicesaustralia.gov.au/socialmedia
Aligning the bottom of the signature block is the Services Australia
indigenous artwork strip consisting of cultural elements depicting our
agency’s progress story for First Nations people.

Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands we
live on. We pay our respects to all Elders, past and present, of all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.

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References

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1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/sta...