Dear Mr Smith

 

The Department of the Environment and Energy acknowledges receipt of your
request on 4 April 2017.

 

The Department is required to process valid requests within 30 days after
the day a request was received. This 30 day processing period may be
extended under certain circumstances, for example, where the Department
decides it reasonable to consult with third parties. If the processing
period is extended, the applicant will be informed of the extension and
the reasons for it.

 

As at the date of writing, we have not scoped your request. If it is a
valid request under the FOI Act the statutory deadline for providing a
decision on this request is 4 May 2017.

 

The Department makes two assumptions that affect the scope of your
request. These are set out below.

 

It is the usual practice of the Department:

•                    not to disclose the personal information of junior
officers or the personal contact details of senior officers of the State
or Federal governments (including those of the Department). The names of
senior officers will generally be released. Your request will be processed
on the assumption that you do not intend to capture these details within
its scope.

•                    not to release duplicates of any document captured
within the scope of the request. Further, where two documents fall within
the scope one differs from the other only with respect to minor editorial
changes (such as spelling or grammar corrections), only the later version
of the document  will be treated as within scope.  Your request will be
processed on the assumption that you do not intend to capture duplicates
or documents that the Department considers duplicates (as per the above
explanation) within the scope of your request.

 

Please inform us if you do not agree to your request being processed by
the Department on the above assumptions.

 

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log.

 

We will contact you using the email you provided. Please advise if you
would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.

 

If you have any questions, please contact the FOI team on (02) 6274 2098.

 

Regards

 

FOI Contact Officer | Climate Change, Science and Corporate Legal Section
|General Counsel Branch Department of the Environment and Energy

a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600

t: (02) 6274 2098

e: [1][Department of the Environment and Energy request email]  

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: James Smith [mailto:[FOI #3344 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 4 April 2017 8:10 PM
To: FOI Contact Officer <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Enterprise Agreement ballots -
were employees informed of what data about them was used in the ballot?

 

Dear Department of the Environment and Energy,

 

Through a previous FOI request, you have indicated the department has used
certain information relating to your employees to conduct your enterprise
agreement ballots for at least one enterprise agreement proposed under
either the governments current bargaining policy or the one before it.

 

In one or more of your ballots, I have determined you passed on
information about your employees that goes beyond the minimum required in
order to conduct the ballots.

 

This may include information such as classification level, branch within
the department, employment type, etc.

 

I would like to determine to what extent the department explained to
employees what information about them was required for ballots, and what
information about them was used in ballots.

 

I would also like to understand the rationale of the department in using
employee information to profile employees' votes (in a breakdown of
results), and I would like to know who authorised the decision to use such
data.

 

I therefore request:

 

1. All documents sent to all employees which explain what information
about them was passed onto the ballot provider for each ballot.

 

2. Any documents sent to the relevant decision maker(s) who approved the
use of the data that was used in the ballots.

 

3. Any documents which explain the rational for obtaining breakdowns of
votes

 

4. Any documents which mention benefits to the department or to the
bargaining process in obtaining a breakdown of votes.

 

5. Any documents between the departmental bargaining team and the
departmental Executive which discuss breakdowns of votes and suggest how
that information should be used or otherwise taken into consideration by
the department.

 

6. Any documents from the APSC that mention what information about
employees can or should be used in ballots.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

James Smith

 

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

[2][FOI #3344 email]

 

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contact us using this form:

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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:

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Department of the Environment and Energy request email]
2. mailto:[FOI #3344 email]
3. mailto:[Department of the Environment and Energy request email]
4. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
5. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Dear Mr Smith

 

Please see attached correspondence relating to FOI request (ref: 170402)
received by the Department of the Environment and Energy on 4 April 2017.

 

Kind regards

 

FOI Officer

General Counsel Branch
Department of the Environment and Energy
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2603 
e: [1][Department of the Environment and Energy request email]

 

 

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Department of the Environment and Energy request email]

Dear Mr Smith

 

Please see the attached FOI decision letter and document.

 

Regards

 

FOI Contact Officer | Climate Change, Science and Corporate Legal
Section |General Counsel Branch
Department of the Environment and Energy
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2098 
e: [1][Department of the Environment and Energy request email]

 

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Department of the Environment and Energy request email]