Complaints about officers - FOI - APS Code of Conduct
Ben Fairless made this Freedom of Information request to Department of Home Affairs
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Department of Immigration and Border Protection,
I would like a copy of:
- Any complaint about Department Officers in the FOI and Privacy Policy Section which specifically reference the APS Code of Conduct in the preceding 2 years.
- Any Internal communications to or from Departmental Officers of the FOI and Privacy Policy Section which reference compliance or non-compliance with the APS Code of Conduct in the preceding 12 months.
- All current Policies or Guidelines issued to Departmental Officers within the FOI and Privacy Policy division which specifically refer to their personal liability under the Public Service Act 1999 and the APS Code of Conduct
- The most recent policy or procedure which details how the Department deals with alleged breaches of the Public Service Act 1999, and the APS Code of Conduct.
Please deal with this request in accordance with your Administrative Access scheme if practicable, otherwise as an application under the Freedom of Information Act.
Yours faithfully,
Ben Fairless
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/12/01392; ADF2015/456
Dear Mr Fairless
Please find attached the acknowledgement of receipt for your recent FOI
Request.
Yours sincerely
Penelope Robb
FOI Helpdesk
Freedom of Information Section
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch | Immigration and Border
Protection Portfolio
E: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Important Notice: If you have received this email by mistake, please
advise
the sender and delete the message and attachments immediately. This
email,
including attachments, may contain confidential, sensitive, legally
privileged
and/or copyright information. Any review, retransmission, dissemination
or other use of this information by persons or entities other than the
intended recipient is prohibited. DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au. See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/12/01392; ADF2015/456
Dear Mr Fairless
This email refers to your FOI request received on 31 December 2014
seeking access to:
- Any complaint about Department Officers in the FOI and Privacy Policy
Section which specifically reference the APS Code of Conduct in the
preceding 2 years.
- Any Internal communications to or from Departmental Officers of the FOI
and Privacy Policy Section which reference compliance or non-compliance
with the APS Code of Conduct in the preceding 12 months.
- All current Policies or Guidelines issued to Departmental Officers
within the FOI and Privacy Policy division which specifically refer to
their personal liability under the Public Service Act 1999 and the APS
Code of Conduct
- The most recent policy or procedure which details how the Department
deals with alleged breaches of the Public Service Act 1999, and the APS
Code of Conduct.
Please deal with this request in accordance with your Administrative
Access scheme if practicable, otherwise as an application under the
Freedom of Information Act.
The purpose of this email is to advise you, as required under s.24AB of
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) that I consider a practical
refusal reason exists under s.24AA of the FOI Act in relation to your
request. I have set out my reasons and the actions required by you (to
consult on the scope of your request) in the attached notice.
The current due date for your FOI request is 30 January 2015. In
accordance with s.24AB(8) of the FOI Act the legislated processing time
for your request is suspended during the consultation period. Please refer
to the attached notice for further details.
Consultation period
The FOI Act requires that you respond to this notice before the end of the
consultation period, which is close of business Tuesday, 27 January 2015.
You may consult with me by replying to this email: [1][email address]
Yours Sincerely
Beth Morrison
FOI Inbox Manager
Freedom of Information Section - Department of Immigration and Border
Protection
Email: [2][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Important Notice: If you have received this email by mistake, please
advise
the sender and delete the message and attachments immediately. This
email,
including attachments, may contain confidential, sensitive, legally
privileged
and/or copyright information. Any review, retransmission, dissemination
or other use of this information by persons or entities other than the
intended recipient is prohibited. DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au. See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Fairless
Thank you for your e-mail. This request has now been closed.
Yours sincerely,
Beth Morrison
FOI Coordinator
Freedom of Information Section - Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Email: [email address]
Phillip Sweeney left an annotation ()
Dear Ben
Here is an example of someone seeking documents related to the conduct of officers of a Department and compliance with the APS Code of Conduct.
The agency may have possession of the documents requested but cannot refuse to release them on the basis that that the documents may cause embarrassment to the agency or Department.
The FOI Act grants wide, but not unlimited, rights on Australian citizens to have access to documents held by government agencies.
This is an important "right".
Suggestions that agencies should withhold documents on the basis that people may no longer "trust" the agency if the documents were disclosed is misconceived as to why the FOI Act exists in the first place.
Persons seeking documents should not "self censor" their requests for this reason. They have a right to documents and agencies need a genuine reason not to release documents in their possession.
Yours Sincerely
Phillip SWeeney
Locutus Sum left an annotation ()
It is a very strange reply from the Deparment. The letter mentions 8489 officers in the Department but why is that number of relevance to request? It is not! Maybe Ms Morrison could have said that the Department has decided to refuse the request because the population of Australia is 23630169; it is a bigger number than 8489, it has a bigger impress, and it is also so relevant to the request as the number 8489.
The number that has a relevance is the number of "Department Officers in the FOI and Privacy Policy Section" because only these people have a link to the request.