Dear Mr Fairless

I refer to your request, received by the Department of Employment and
Workplace Relations (department) on 22 July 2023, for access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to the following:

“I request the below documents:

- Current Draft Legislation related to reform of the gig economy

- Policy Proposals put forward by the Department to the Minister, or put
forward by the Minister to the Department

- Diary or file notes related to any meetings held between the Department
and/or the Minister, and the stakeholders that represent both gig economy
workers and the industry.”

Your request has been allocated the reference number LEX 734. Please
include this reference number in all correspondence relating to your FOI
request.

Interpretation of request

The department has interpreted:

o the first point of your request to be seeking access to the latest
draft version of the legislation related to reform of the gig economy
as at the date of the request; and
o the third point of your request as seeking diary or file notes
relating to any meetings held between the Department and stakeholders
or the Minister and stakeholders that represent both gig economy
workers and the industry.

If we have misinterpreted your request, please let us know by 10 August
2023.  If we do not hear otherwise from you by that date, we will proceed
on the basis that we have correctly interpreted your request.

Informal consultation

While the relevant line areas are conducting their searches, they have
preliminarily advised that the current scope of points two and three of
your request will yield results that are both far too voluminous in nature
and complex in terms of extraction.

The line areas have proposed amending points two and three of your request
to the following to promote the reasonable practicality of processing your
request:

o final versions of formal policy submissions (excluding emails) put
forward by the department to the Minister or put forward by the
Minister to the department, within the last three months from the date
of the request; and
o diary or file notes (excluding correspondence via emails) within the
last three months from the date of the request, relating to any
meetings held between the department and stakeholders or the Minister
and stakeholders that represent both gig economy workers and the
industry; or alternatively
o diary or file notes within the last month from the date of the
request, relating to any meetings held between the department and
stakeholders or the Minister and stakeholders that represent both gig
economy workers and the industry.

If you are agreeable to informally amending the scope as proposed, please
let us know by 10 August 2023, advising your preference out of the two
options above for the treatment of point three of your request.  If we do
not hear from you by 10 August 2023, we will proceed on the basis that you
do not agree with the suggested approach and will proceed with formal
consultation under section 24AB of the FOI Act.

Timeframe for request

Your request was received by the department on 22 July 2023 and under
section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act the 30-day statutory period for processing
your request commenced from the day after that date. You should therefore
expect to receive a decision from us by 21 August 2023. The 30-day
timeframe may be extended if we need to consult third parties or for other
reasons permitted under the FOI Act. We will notify you if this happens.

Charges

The department will advise you if a charge is payable to process your
request and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable.  Please
note that as per section 29(1)(f) of the FOI Act, you can only seek waiver
or contend charges not be imposed after a charges notice is issued to you
by the department. Accordingly your request for waiver of charges below
has not been considered at this time. You can elect to re-submit your
request for waiver or contend charges should not be imposed, if and after
a charges notice is issued to you by the department.

Your address

The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address that we can send
notices to. You have advised your electronic address is
[1][FOI #10494 email]. Unless you tell us
otherwise, we will send all notices and correspondence to this address.

Disclosure log

Information released under the FOI Act may be published on a disclosure
log on our website, subject to certain exceptions. These exceptions
include where publication of personal, business, professional or
commercial information would be unreasonable.

Exclusion of staff details

Further to the information you have already excluded in your request, to
the extent the department has documents in its possession that fall within
the scope of your request, we will treat the names, signatures, position
titles, staff identification numbers and direct contact details of staff
as irrelevant in accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act, unless you
tell us otherwise by 10 August 2023. We note you have excluded from your
request parts of documents that contain information that stakeholders
representing either workers or industry have specifically indicated is
confidential.

Irrelevant material

To the extent the department has documents in its possession that fall
within the scope of your request, we will treat the following types of
material as irrelevant in accordance with section 22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI
Act:

o any duplicate documents
o drafts where there is a final version available, and
o documents that are publicly available.

If any of the above material falls within the scope of your request,
please advise if you wish it to be included by 10 August 2023.

Further assistance

If you have any questions about your request or the partial transfer,
please email [2][email address].

Yours sincerely

Jonathan

Information Law Team

Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Fairless [3][FOI #10494 email]
Sent: Saturday, July 22, 2023 8:33 AM
To: DEWR - FOI [4][DEWR request email]
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Draft Gig Economy Legislation

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CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not
click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know
the content is safe.

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Dear Department of Employment and Workplace Relations,

== Background ==

The government has expressed a desire to implement reforms to the “gig
economy”, which includes but is not limited to the ride share and food
delivery industries which have significantly expanded over the last
several years.

Public articles suggest that the Department and/or the Minister for
Employment and Workplace Relations (Minister) have met stakeholders that
represent both gig economy workers and the industry that engages them.

== Request ==

I request the below documents:

- Current Draft Legislation related to reform of the gig economy

- Policy Proposals put forward by the Department to the Minister, or put
forward by the Minister to the Department

- Diary or file notes related to any meetings held between the Department
and/or the Minister, and the stakeholders that represent both gig economy
workers and the industry.

== Irrelevant Material ==

To assist the Department with processing this request, I exclude as
irrelevant under section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) personal information of members of the public. I also exclude contact
information of public servants and government contractors.

Further, I exclude parts of documents that contain information that
stakeholders representing either workers or industry have specifically
indicated is confidential.

Prior to engaging in a formal request consultation period, I am open to
informally discussing any other exclusions the Department may wish to
propose.

== Administrative Access ==

Accordingly to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, it
is open to agencies to consider administrative access as an option to
release information outside of the FOI Act.

The OAIC has published a helpful article for agencies explaining the
benefits of Administrative Access:
[5]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...

I respectfully request that the Department consider processing the request
above administrative access arrangements. If this is not possible, this
email should be considered a formal FOI request.

== Charges ==

I respectfully contend that charges should not be imposed for this
request, or alternatively should be significantly reduced. This is
because:

- Payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause financial hardship. I
am in receipt of social security. Further information can be provided
privately to the Department outside of Right to Know if required.

- Giving access to the requested documents is in the interest of a
substantial section of the public. According to just one rideshare/food
delivery business:

— Last year, Australians earned more than $3.8 billion driving or
delivering with Uber — Every month, more than 150,000 people in Australia
choose to earn flexibly with Uber.

Source: [6]https://www.uber.com/au/en/u/gig-reform/

This information is provided to assist the Department in considering to
reduce charges. I respectfully reserve the right to make further
submissions should a charges notice be issued.

== Applicant Information ==

For the avoidance of doubt, this request is made in my personal capacity
as a member of the public.

The request is not made on behalf of Right to Know, the OpenAustralia
Foundation, or any stakeholders that represent either workers or industry.

Additionally, any comments or submissions in relation to this request are
made in a personal capacity and not made on behalf of Right to Know, the
OpenAustralia Foundation, or any stakeholders that represent either
workers or industry.

== Address for Contact ==

Communication regarding this request should be sent by return email to the
unique email address created by Right to Know for this request.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or wish to
discuss further.

Yours faithfully,

Ben Fairless

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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[7][FOI #10494 email]

Is [8][DEWR request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Employment and Workplace Relations? If so,
please contact us using this form:

[9]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

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:

[10]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Notice:

The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #10494 email]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[FOI #10494 email]
4. mailto:[DEWR request email]
5. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
6. https://www.uber.com/au/en/u/gig-reform/
7. mailto:[FOI #10494 email]
8. mailto:[DEWR request email]
9. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
10. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

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Dear Mr Fairless                              

I refer to your FOI request (our reference: LEX 734) made to the
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (department) under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act). The department is
currently due to provide you with a decision on your request by 21 August
2023.

Due to the complexity of your request, it has taken the department longer
than anticipated to collate the relevant documents. On preliminary review,
the documents will require consultation with the Department of Prime
Minister & Cabinet (PM&C) and the Office of the Minister for Employment
and Workplace Relations (Minister’s Office). The department will then need
to consider comments made by PM&C and the Minister’s Office on the
documents in issue.  

Due to the further consultation required with both PM&C and the Minister’s
Office, the department will unfortunately not be in a position to finalise
its decision on your request by 21 August 2023. The department seeks your
agreement under section 15AA of the FOI Act to a 30-day extension of time
to process your request. If agreed, a decision on your request would be
due by 20 September 2023.

Could you please confirm by 3 pm AEST Tuesday 15 August 2023 whether you
agree to the extension of time.

If you agree, the department will notify the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner (OAIC) of the extension in accordance with
subsection 15AA(b) of the FOI Act, and provide the OAIC with your name and
email address as part of this notification.

Thank you in advance for considering this extension request.

Kind regards

Jonathan

Information Law Team

Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Notice:

The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.

Dear Mr Fairless

Please find attached the preliminary estimate of charges relating to your
FOI request of 22 July 2023.

Further to our email of 10 August 2023, we have extended the time for you
to respond to the department’s request for a 30-day extension of time to
process your request by agreement under section 15AA of the FOI Act to 4PM
AEST Thursday 16 August 2023.

If agreed, a decision on your request would be due by 20 September 2023.

Kind regards

Information Law Team

Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Notice:

The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.

Dear Mr Fairless

Thank you for your email. We accept your offer of the 15 day extension and shall notify OAIC accordingly.

Kind regards

Information Law Team

Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Fairless <[FOI #10494 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2023 3:19 PM
To: DEWR - FOI <[DEWR request email]>
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - Notice of Charges + Extension of Time - LEX 734 [SEC=OFFICIAL]

**************************************************************************
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.
**************************************************************************

Dear DEWR - FOI,

Sorry for the delayed response. Can we agree on a 15 day extension and I can authorise additional time if required at the 15 day mark?

I’ll reply substantively to the charges assessment shortly.

Yours sincerely,

Ben Fairless

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mr Fairless

Please find attached the preliminary estimate of charges relating to your FOI request of 22 July 2023.

Further to our email of 10 August 2023, we have extended the time for you to respond to the department’s request for a 30-day extension of time to process your request by agreement under section 15AA of the FOI Act to 4PM AEST Thursday 16 August 2023.

If agreed, a decision on your request would be due by 20 September 2023.

Kind regards

Information Law Team

Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Notice:

The information contained in this email message and any attached files may be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use, disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #10494 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:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Notice:

The information contained in this email message and any attached files may be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use, disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Local time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.

hide quoted sections

Dear Mr Fairless

I refer to your email dated 17 August 2023 to the Department of Employment
and Workplace Relations (department) and our notice of preliminary
assessment of charges dated 16 August 2023.

As requested, please find below brief descriptions for the identified
documents, for your consideration:

o Ministerial submission to the Minister for Employment and Workplace
Relations titled Employee-like forms of work - direction for reform
(Document 1), attaching:

o (A) Framework for consultation, outlining issues, views of
stakeholders and proposed options (Document 2);
o (B) Summary of stakeholder consultation on 'employee-like' forms
of work and related measures (Document 3); and
o (C) Proposed timeline to introduce employee-like legislation
(Document 4).

o Ministerial submission to the Minister for Employment and Workplace
Relations titled Closing the Loopholes Legislation 2023: Policy
Approval (Document 5), attaching:

o (A) Policy advice on the Government’s commitment to the gig
economy (Document 6); and
o (C) Policy advice on the Government’s commitment to unfair
contract terms and termination (Document 7).

o Draft Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing the Loopholes) Bill
2023: employee-like workers, regulated road transport contractors and
unfair contracts (Document 8 – Latest version as at the date of the
FOI request).
o Draft Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing the Loopholes) Bill
2023: right of entry consequentials (Document 9 – Latest version as at
the date of the FOI request).

If you would like to revise your request, we ask that you please respond
to our notice of preliminary assessment of charges by 15 September 2023.
Upon receipt of any revised request, the department will consider whether
the charge be corrected, reduced or not imposed in accordance with section
29(1)(f)(ii) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

Alternatively, if you would like to continue with your request as
currently worded, please refer to our notice of preliminary assessment
charges for details about the options available to you.

Kind regards

Information Law Team

Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Notice:

The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.