Dear Services Australia,

If possible, please treat this as an informal or administrative request. Otherwise, please treat this as a formal request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

I request a copy of the Executive Minute to the Minister for Social Services (copy to the Minister for Human Services), 12 February 2015 (Document 0.6) as referred to in footnote 8 on page 5 of the Commonwealth Ombudsman's report into Centrelink’s automated debt raising and recovery system, dated April 2017 (https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/__data/asse...)

According to the Ombudsman's report, this document contains a proposal for "a new online approach to compliance which would allow it to review all discrepancies from 2010-2011".

If there are multiple versions of this document, I request the same version as that cited by the Commonwealth Ombudsman in their report.

I request that the document be provided in electronic form.

I further request that any charges associated with this request be waved on public interest grounds. The document in question concerns scrutiny of a program at least part of which has been found to be unlawful, and some $700 million is now to be refunded, to some 470,000 people. Giving of access to the document in question is, therefore, in the general public interest and also in the interest of a substantial section of the public.

Yours faithfully,

Justin Warren

Dear FOI.LEGAL.TEAM,

I do not consent to pre-emptive redaction of details from documents I have requested.

If Services Australia decides to refuse access to parts of documents, it will need provide written notice of the reason(s) for its decision to refuse access in accordance with s 26 of the FOI Act.

If Services Australia would like to discuss a change of scope in order to avoid a refusal decision it can contact me to discuss the particular circumstances of the case that justify a change in scope, and seek my consent to a change of scope. You already have my details.

I further note that information that is to be released under administrative access arrangements requires my consent. The Australian Information Commissioner has provided detailed advice on administrative access here: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...

"Agencies and ministers should make sure that the applicant is adequately informed of the implications of consenting to the request being dealt with by way of administrative access, given there is no right to merit review of a decision to refuse access to documents under administrative access. If the applicant’s consent is not obtained, the agency’s or minister’s obligation to process the FOI request remains and the relevant statutory processing period still applies."

Yours sincerely,

Justin Warren