Detailed results of entity Data Maturity Ratings, including each agencies individual responses
Dear Department of Finance,
The recently updated Data and Digital strategy Implementation plan, available at https://www.dataanddigital.gov.au/sites/... contains the following description
"Overall entity Data Maturity Rating APS average data maturity (2024): 2.02 of 5
Source: Department of Finance New metric based on the Data Maturity Assessment Tool, which measures data maturity across the APS and was rolled out by Department of Finance in 2024."
This FOI request seeks access to the detailed agency ratings for all agencies included in the Department's assessment, including each agencies individual responses.
Yours faithfully,
MatureData
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant
Freedom of Information Request – FOI 24-25/086
Thank you for your email to the Department of Finance (Finance) requesting
access to the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act):
The recently updated Data and Digital strategy Implementation plan
[available on the Data and Digital Government Strategy [1]website]
contains the following description
"Overall entity Data Maturity Rating APS average data maturity (2024):
2.02 of 5
Source: Department of Finance New metric based on the Data Maturity
Assessment Tool, which measures data maturity across the APS and was
rolled out by Department of Finance in 2024."
This FOI request seeks access to the detailed agency ratings for all
agencies included in the Department's assessment, including each agencies
individual responses.
Request for assistance
Background information
The Data Maturity Assessment Tool is a survey composed of 57 questions,
divided across 7 focus areas, which participants can rate themselves
against on a scale of 0 to 5 to determine their current levels of data
maturity. The Tool was developed by the Department of Finance to provide
agencies with a consistent approach to measuring and understanding their
organisation’s data maturity, providing a longitudinal evidence-based
means of measuring APS data maturity and capability. Moving forward, it
will support the Government’s data agenda as outlined in the [2]Data and
Digital Government Strategy. By objectively measuring and tracking
whole-of-APS data maturity, the Tool will help agencies, and the
Government identify areas for improvement and action. The Tool complements
other assessments like the NAA's Check-up Survey to provide the Government
with a comprehensive picture of the data landscape.
The Tool involves an annual self-assessment for each of the 7 focus areas:
Strategy and Governance; Architecture; Operations; Risk; Quality,
Reference, and Metadata; Integration; and Analytics.
Agencies are ‘in-scope’ for completing the Tool if they are:
o non-corporate Commonwealth entities;
o have primary responsibility for their data management regime; and
o are not National Intelligence Community agencies.
A copy of the Tool and the accompanying Guide to the Tool are available on
the Department of Finance website here:
[3]https://www.finance.gov.au/government/pu...
Practical Refusal Reason
We seek further clarity about the documents you have requested. The
current scope of your request requires extensive consultation with 92
other government agencies, all of which used the Tool. Significant time
would be spent reviewing and examining the documents in scope, considering
any objections raised, all prior to deciding whether to grant, refuse or
defer access to a document to which the request relates, or to grant
access to an edited copy of such a document.
Therefore, processing your request would substantially and unreasonably
divert the resources of Finance from its other operations. This could
result in your request being refused under section 24 of the FOI Act on
the basis that a ‘practical refusal reason’ exists.
We kindly ask that you reply to this email by COB Monday 1 January 2025
providing further details regarding the type of documents that you are
seeking and narrowing the scope.
o For example, are you only seeking a specific agency/agencies
individual response and assessment, rather than all 92 agencies?
We kindly ask that you reply this email by – providing further details
regarding the type of documents that you are seeking. If we do not receive
a response, we will issue a formal consultation letter in accordance with
section 24AB of the FOI Act. We appreciate your assistance in this matter.
General FOI matters
Your request was received by Finance on 13 December 2024. The statutory
period for processing your request commences from the day after Finance
received your request and a decision is due on Monday 13 January 2025.
The processing period may be extended if we need to consult third parties,
impose a charge or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
Liability to pay a charge
You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon as
possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge.
Publication
As required by the FOI Act, any documents provided to you under the FOI
Act will be published on our [4]disclosure log, unless an exemption
applies or the documents are characterised as containing personal
information. Documents will be published the next working day after they
are released to you.
Policy to exclude junior officer contact details, signatures and mobile
phone numbers
Finance has adopted a policy to generally exclude from any documents
released under FOI, the names and contact details of junior staff (non-SES
officers) and staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act
1984 (adviser level and below). Finance has also adopted a policy to
exclude signatures and mobile phone numbers from any documents released
under FOI (unless publicly available). Finance’s preference is to reach
agreement with FOI applicants to exclude these details from the scope of
the request. Where there is no objection, the names and contact details of
junior officers, as well as any signatures and mobile phone numbers
appearing in identified documents, will be redacted under section 22 of
the FOI Act on the basis that these details are irrelevant to the request.
Please contact the FOI Team on the below contact details if you wish to
discuss your request.
Kind regards
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
References
Visible links
1. https://www.dataanddigital.gov.au/sites/...
2. https://www.finance.gov.au/publications/...
3. https://www.finance.gov.au/government/pu...
4. https://www.finance.gov.au/about-us/free...
Dear FOI Requests,
I am willing to revise the scope of my request to avoid practical refusal under section 24.
Could you advise the maximum number of agencies I could include that would not substantially or unreasonably divert the resources of Finance from its other operations and therefore not result in you making a practical refusal.
Yours sincerely,
MatureData
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant
Thank you for your prompt reply.
An alternate approach would be to narrow the scope to aggregate
information, such as average data maturity across the Australian Public
Service by agency size and average data maturity against each of the Data
Maturity Assessment focus areas.
You may consider submitting individual FOI requests to each agency of
interest.
Please advise if you would like to proceed with this scope.
Kind regards
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
-----Original Message-----
From: MatureData <[FOI #12563 email]>
Sent: Monday, 23 December 2024 9:45 PM
To: FOI Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: FOI 24-25/086 - Acknowledgement and request for assistance
[SEC=OFFICIAL]
[You don't often get email from
[1][FOI #12563 email]. Learn why this is
important at [2]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear FOI Requests,
I am willing to revise the scope of my request to avoid practical refusal
under section 24.
Could you advise the maximum number of agencies I could include that would
not substantially or unreasonably divert the resources of Finance from its
other operations and therefore not result in you making a practical
refusal.
Yours sincerely,
MatureData
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant
Freedom of Information Request – FOI 24-25/086
Thank you for your email to the Department of Finance (Finance) requesting
access to the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act):
The recently updated Data and Digital strategy Implementation plan
[available on the Data and Digital Government Strategy [1]website]
contains the following description
"Overall entity Data Maturity Rating APS average data maturity (2024):
2.02 of 5
Source: Department of Finance New metric based on the Data Maturity
Assessment Tool, which measures data maturity across the APS and was
rolled out by Department of Finance in 2024."
This FOI request seeks access to the detailed agency ratings for all
agencies included in the Department's assessment, including each agencies
individual responses.
Request for assistance
Background information
The Data Maturity Assessment Tool is a survey composed of 57 questions,
divided across 7 focus areas, which participants can rate themselves
against on a scale of 0 to 5 to determine their current levels of data
maturity. The Tool was developed by the Department of Finance to provide
agencies with a consistent approach to measuring and understanding their
organisation’s data maturity, providing a longitudinal evidence-based
means of measuring APS data maturity and capability. Moving forward, it
will support the Government’s data agenda as outlined in the [2]Data and
Digital Government Strategy. By objectively measuring and tracking
whole-of-APS data maturity, the Tool will help agencies, and the
Government identify areas for improvement and action. The Tool complements
other assessments like the NAA's Check-up Survey to provide the Government
with a comprehensive picture of the data landscape.
The Tool involves an annual self-assessment for each of the 7 focus areas:
Strategy and Governance; Architecture; Operations; Risk; Quality,
Reference, and Metadata; Integration; and Analytics.
Agencies are ‘in-scope’ for completing the Tool if they are:
o non-corporate Commonwealth entities;
o have primary responsibility for their data management regime; and
o are not National Intelligence Community agencies.
A copy of the Tool and the accompanying Guide to the Tool are available on
the Department of Finance website here:
[3][3]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Practical Refusal Reason
We seek further clarity about the documents you have requested. The
current scope of your request requires extensive consultation with 92
other government agencies, all of which used the Tool. Significant time
would be spent reviewing and examining the documents in scope, considering
any objections raised, all prior to deciding whether to grant, refuse or
defer access to a document to which the request relates, or to grant
access to an edited copy of such a document.
Therefore, processing your request would substantially and unreasonably
divert the resources of Finance from its other operations. This could
result in your request being refused under section 24 of the FOI Act on
the basis that a ‘practical refusal reason’ exists.
We kindly ask that you reply to this email by COB Monday 1 January 2025
providing further details regarding the type of documents that you are
seeking and narrowing the scope.
o For example, are you only seeking a specific agency/agencies
individual response and assessment, rather than all 92 agencies?
We kindly ask that you reply this email by – providing further details
regarding the type of documents that you are seeking. If we do not receive
a response, we will issue a formal consultation letter in accordance with
section 24AB of the FOI Act. We appreciate your assistance in this matter.
General FOI matters
Your request was received by Finance on 13 December 2024. The statutory
period for processing your request commences from the day after Finance
received your request and a decision is due on Monday 13 January 2025.
The processing period may be extended if we need to consult third parties,
impose a charge or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
Liability to pay a charge
You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon as
possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge.
Publication
As required by the FOI Act, any documents provided to you under the FOI
Act will be published on our [4]disclosure log, unless an exemption
applies or the documents are characterised as containing personal
information. Documents will be published the next working day after they
are released to you.
Policy to exclude junior officer contact details, signatures and mobile
phone numbers
Finance has adopted a policy to generally exclude from any documents
released under FOI, the names and contact details of junior staff (non-SES
officers) and staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act
1984 (adviser level and below). Finance has also adopted a policy to
exclude signatures and mobile phone numbers from any documents released
under FOI (unless publicly available). Finance’s preference is to reach
agreement with FOI applicants to exclude these details from the scope of
the request. Where there is no objection, the names and contact details of
junior officers, as well as any signatures and mobile phone numbers
appearing in identified documents, will be redacted under section 22 of
the FOI Act on the basis that these details are irrelevant to the request.
Please contact the FOI Team on the below contact details if you wish to
discuss your request.
Kind regards
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
References
Visible links
1.
[4]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
2.
[5]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
3.
[6]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
4.
[7]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
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[8][FOI #12563 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
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More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[9]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
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References
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1. mailto:[FOI #12563 email]
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3. https://www.finance.gov.au/government/pu...
4. https://www.dataanddigital.gov.au/sites/...
5. https://www.finance.gov.au/publications/...
6. https://www.finance.gov.au/government/pu...
7. https://www.finance.gov.au/about-us/free...
8. mailto:[FOI #12563 email]
9. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Dear FOI Requests,
Thank you but you did not answer my question. I am seeking access to detailed ratings on an agency by agency basis, not aggregated scores.
Again, would you please advise the maximum number of agencies I could include that would not substantially or unreasonably divert the resources of Finance from its other operations and therefore not result in you making a practical refusal, so I may revise my application accordingly.
Yours sincerely,
MatureData
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant
We consider ten agencies would not unreasonably divert resources.
Finance would be required to consult individual agencies before providing
a response and as such it would be more efficient for you to approach
agencies of interest directly rather than making the request through
Finance.
Kind regards
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
-----Original Message-----
From: MatureData <[FOI #12563 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 24 December 2024 12:41 PM
To: FOI Requests <[email address]>
Subject: RE: FOI 24-25/086 - Acknowledgement and request for assistance
[SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear FOI Requests,
Thank you but you did not answer my question. I am seeking access to
detailed ratings on an agency by agency basis, not aggregated scores.
Again, would you please advise the maximum number of agencies I could
include that would not substantially or unreasonably divert the resources
of Finance from its other operations and therefore not result in you
making a practical refusal, so I may revise my application accordingly.
Yours sincerely,
MatureData
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant
Thank you for your prompt reply.
An alternate approach would be to narrow the scope to aggregate
information, such as average data maturity across the Australian Public
Service by agency size and average data maturity against each of the Data
Maturity Assessment focus areas.
You may consider submitting individual FOI requests to each agency of
interest.
Please advise if you would like to proceed with this scope.
Kind regards
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[1][FOI #12563 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[2]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Be careful with this message
External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you
recognise the sender and know the content is safe.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #12563 email]
2. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Dear FOI Requests,
Thank you for the clarification.
I am happy to narrow the scope of my request to the following 9 agencies only
Australian Public Service Commission
Department of Home Affairs
Department of Finance
Department of Defence
Department of Health and Aged Care
Department of Industry, Science and Resources
Department of Social Services
Department of the Treasury
Department of Veterans' Affairs
I appreciate that this request will require Finance to consult individual agencies before providing
a response, that is in part my intent, rather than approach each agency individually, as I believe this data should be published by Finance anyway, for all agencies.
Publishing this data would contribute towards the objects of the Freedom of Information Act which aims to increase public participation in government processes and increase scrutiny of government activities.
The data maturity assessment results provide insights into how government agencies are performing in a key area of government operations, namely, data management.
Publishing this information would allow for greater scrutiny of government performance in this area and would lead to improved data management practices across government.
Furthermore, the publication of this data would align with the object of the FOI Act to increase recognition that information held by the government is to be managed for public purposes and is a national resource.
The Department of Finance has acknowledged that the Data Maturity Assessment Tool will support the government’s data agenda, therefore the results of this assessment should be considered a national resource and proactively published.
Thanks for your consideration,
Yours sincerely,
MatureData
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your email on 24 December 2024 confirming the revised scope
of your request. This has been helpful.
Unfortunately, the Department of Finance (Finance) may be unable to
finalise your request by the current due date of Monday 13 January 2025.
This is due to decreased staff resources over the recent holiday period
and that Finance requires further time to consider and analyse the
documents within the scope of your request to ensure a robust decision is
provided to you.
Section 15AA of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 provides that an
applicant can consent to an extension of time up to 30 calendar days.
Finance seeks your agreement for a short extension of 4 days to the
processing period, with a new due date of Friday 17 January 2025.
If you consent to the extension, Finance will notify the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) of the extension, which is part
of Finance’s reporting requirements.
We kindly ask that you reply by either:
1. Consenting to an extension of time to Friday 17 January 2025; or
2. Consenting to an extension of time for a date less than that requested
by Finance; or
3. Refusing to grant an extension of time.
We kindly seek your response by 12pm Thursday 9 January 2025.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
Dear FOI Requests,
I am happy to consent to an extension of time to Friday 17 January 2025
Yours sincerely,
MatureData
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon,
Thank you for granting a short extension of time for the Department of
Finance to finalise consideration of your request (our ref: FOI
24-25/086).
Please see a decision letter attached.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
Dear Department of Finance,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Finance's handling of my FOI request 'Detailed results of entity Data Maturity Ratings, including each agencies individual responses'.
The exemptions in 47E(a) and 47E(b) are about preserving the accuracy and reliability of testing, auditing, and examination processes. 47E(a) deals with the method and process, and 47E(b) with the integrity of the result and the object/aim of the process itself. The documents covered by these exemptions are ones that reveal the how and why of an agency's investigative and assessment procedures. If disclosure would allow people to undermine, manipulate or avoid detection then it is likely that these exemptions would be engaged.
My FOI request is for the results of Government entities' self-assessment of their Data Maturity, including the individual responses provided by each agency. My request does not relate to the methodology of the DMAT, or the processes used by the Department of Finance to collect, review or assess the responses. As such, 47E(a) and (b) do not apply to my request. In exempting the documents I have requested from release under 47E(a) or 47E(b), this implies that the release of this information, which is purely data submitted in response to the DMAT, would be used by the entities subject to the "examination", i.e., Government Departments, to "game the system", and this argument is unconvincing.
The decision maker also cited 47E(d), with the claim that releasing detailed entity ratings would "have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of an agency". My request is not for any documents that could impact the operations of an agency. My request is for the responses submitted by each agency, and there is no reasonable expectation that this information could negatively impact the efficient operations of an agency. It is not clear what operational impact is being claimed by the decision maker, and it is not clear how the release of this data would impact operations. Furthermore, releasing this information is in the public interest, as it is important to ensure transparency and accountability of government operations, and it is vital to understand how the public money is being spent. The data maturity of government agencies directly impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of government services, and therefore impacts the public expenditure and efficiency of agencies. Therefore, the public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs the reasons put forward by the decision maker for non-disclosure.
I note that in the Data Maturity Assessment Tool Guide, it states:
"The Department of Finance regards sign off for the assessment by the recognised agency head as assurance that the Tool has been completed accurately and accountability by the agency in accordance with governance responsibilities including the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013."
To me, this indicates agencies are required to complete the assessment as per their obligations under the PGPA, which would lead me to view with scepticism the decision maker's argument that public scrutiny of the detailed assessment would result in agencies withdrawing from the process - why would agencies be allergic to public accountability? It would be expected that a transparent system of accountability would actually assist agencies in meeting their obligations and provide an additional incentive for them to improve their data maturity. It appears that the reasons for non-disclosure are related to a fear of embarrassment of reputational damage, rather than protecting the integrity of the DMAT.
Finally, the decision maker cites security concerns. I note that if there are specific responses the decision maker considers would open agencies to cyber security attack, there are exemptions that could be applied to deal with those questions specifically, rather than exempting the entirety of my requested documents. I would be open to redaction of specific questions and responses that the decision maker considers a legitimate cyber security threat, although I note that only 3 of the 57 questions mention security, and I would not expect any questions that do not mention security to be exempt from release under security concerns. Again, embarrassment is not valid under the FOI Act for with-holding information.
For the reasons set out above, the decision to exempt the requested documents is invalid. Therefore, I respectfully request that the original decision be overturned, and that my documents be released.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/d...
Yours faithfully,
MatureData