Dear Ms Lovich

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST – NOTIFICATION OF RECEIPT

I am writing to notify you that the Department of Health (department) has
received your request (in your email attached) for access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).

The department will take all reasonable steps to notify you of a decision
no later than 30 calendar days after the date your request was received.
You will be contacted where a charge is applied for processing your
request or if we need to consult a third party.

Unless you advise otherwise, duplicate documents and Commonwealth employee
names and contact details below Senior Executive Service level and mobile
telephone numbers of all staff will be excluded from the scope of your
request under s22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act.

You can contact the FOI Unit on (02) 6289 1666, or via email at
[1][email address], should you have any enquiries.

Kind regards

FOI Unit

FOI Case Officer – FOI and Legislation Support Section

[2]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220

Legal & Assurance Division |  Corporate Operations Group

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch

Australian Government Department of Health

T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [3][email address] 

GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present. 

If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.

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Dear Department of Health,

Document which shows the number of FOI requests over 30 days old that
relate to COVID19 between 1 February 2020 to today.

Yours faithfully,

Lucy

show quoted sections

Dear Ms Lovich

I refer to your correspondence of 3 June 2021 to the Department of Health
(department) seeking access to FOI request document showing the number of
FOI requests over 30 days old that relate to COVID-19 between 1 February
2020 to today. Your request in its current format is not valid under the
FOI Act.

Section 15 of the FOI Act requires that a request for access meets certain
requirements. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request must:

• state that the request is an application for purposes of the FOI Act;

• provide sufficient information about the document(s) to allow us to
process the request; and

• provide an address for reply.

In order for your correspondence to be processed under the provisions of
the FOI Act, we require further information to enable us to identify the
document or documents you are seeking. Clarification is required on ‘over
30 days’, as this could mean decisions that have not been made within
statutory timeframes or requests being processed that are over 30 days
old.

Based on our interpretation, we have prepared an example of wording which
would make your request valid:

Documents which show the number of FOI requests relating to COVID-19
between 1 February 2020 to today where a decision has not been provided
within statutory timeframes.

Should you prefer, you may indicate that you wish to process your request
with the example wording we have provided. If not, we would greatly
appreciate if you could provide us with more information on the specific
documents that you require.

Further information about how to submit an FOI request available on the
Department of Health website:

[1]https://www.health.gov.au/about-us/corpo...

Please contact the FOI Unit on (02) 6289 1666, or via email at
[2][email address] should you have any further questions.

Kind regards

FOI Team Leader – FOI and Legislation Support Section

[3]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220

Legal & Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch

Australian Government Department of Health

T: 02 6289 1666  | E: [4][email address]

Location: Sirius Building

GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present. 

If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.

show quoted sections

Dear Ms Lovich

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST – NOTIFICATION OF RECEIPT

I am writing to notify you that the Department of Health (department) has
received your request as follows on 10 June 2021 for access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act):

Documents which show the number of FOI requests relating to COVID-19
between 1 February 2020 to today (10 June 2021) where a decision has not
been provided within statutory timeframes.

As 10 June 2021 is the date the department received a valid request
processable under the FOI Act, the department will take all reasonable
steps to notify you of a decision no later than 30 calendar days after
this date. You will be contacted where a charge is applied for processing
your request or if we need to consult a third party.

Unless you advise otherwise, duplicate documents and Commonwealth employee
names and contact details below Senior Executive Service level and mobile
telephone numbers of all staff will be excluded from the scope of your
request under s22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act.

You can contact the FOI Unit on (02) 6289 1666, or via email at
[1][email address], should you have any enquiries.

Kind regards

FOI Unit

FOI Case Officer – FOI and Legislation Support Section

[2]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220

Legal & Assurance Division |  Corporate Operations Group

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch

Australian Government Department of Health

T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [3][email address] 

GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present. 

If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.

show quoted sections

Dear Ms Lovich

I refer to your correspondence of 10 June 2021 to the Department of Health
(department) seeking access to:

Documents which show the number of FOI requests relating to COVID-19
between 1 February 2020 to today (10 June 2021) where a decision has not
been provided within statutory timeframes.

The relevant line area of the department have conducted extensive searches
and I have been advised that we can provide the following information
administratively.

There were two requests within the time period specified in your request
where the decision was not provided within the statutory time frame.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Type of request | 2020 | 2021 |
|---------------------------------+------------------+------------------|
|FOI Initial Requests |0 |1 |
|---------------------------------+------------------+------------------|
|FOI Internal Reviews |0 |1 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Next steps

On the basis that we have provided this information administratively,
please confirm if you agree to withdraw your request.

If the department does not hear from you by COB Wednesday 30 June 2021
indicating your preferred way forward, we will consider your request
withdrawn.

Please do not hesitate to contact the FOI Unit on (02) 6289 1666, or via
email at [1][email address] if you would like to discuss further.

Kind regards

FOI

FOI Unit – FOI and Legislation Support Section

[2]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220

Legal & Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch

Australian Government Department of Health

T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [3][email address]

GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present.

If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.

"Important: This transmission is intended only for the use of the
addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. 
If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or
dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.  If you
receive this transmission in error please notify the author immediately
and delete all copies of this transmission."

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