Evaluation of Primary Health Networks
Dear Department of Health,
Could you please send through a copy of the latest contract and related reports, including workplans, between the Department and the Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network.
If possible, please treat this as an administrative/informal request. Otherwise please proceed with my request as a formal information request under the Act,
Thank you
Kind regards
Melissa Sweet
Dear Ms Sweet
As discussed on the phone last week with Casey from the FOI Unit, the
scope of the below email relates to another FOI request of yours that the
Department of Health is currently processing. You advised that for this
request, the scope of the request is Evaluation of Primary Health
Networks.
Could you please confirm the scope of your request by Friday 2 November
2018.
Please contact the FOI Unit on (02) 6289 1666 if you wish to discuss your
requests with a Case Officer.
Kind regards
Chantal
FOI Unit
Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Legal & Assurance Division
Australian Government Department of Health
T: (02) 6289 1666 | E: [Health request email]
PO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
The Department of Health acknowledges the traditional owners of country
throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and
community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to elders
both past and present.
If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.
Dear Ms Sweet
I refer to your request to the Department of Health seeking access under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to:
‘Evaluation of Primary Health Networks.’
Ms Kristin English, Director – Freedom of Information and Legislation
Section, an officer authorised under subsection 23(1) of the FOI Act to
make decisions in relation to freedom of information requests, has decided
that you are liable to pay a charge in respect of the processing of your
request.
Preliminary Assessment
In accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act and the Freedom of
Information (Charges) Regulations 1982, my preliminary assessment of the
charge you are liable to pay is $173.70.
This has been calculated as follows:
search and 1.02 $15.30
retrieval hours
time @
(including $15.00
time spent per
locating hour
relevant
files and
collating
relevant
documents
contained on
those files)
decision 12.92 $258.40
making time hours
(including @
time spent $20.00
examining the per ($100.00)
documents, hour
considering
exemptions,
undertaking
consultation, Less
writing the first
decision and 5
preparing any hours
documents for free
release)
TOTAL
$173.70
Deposit
Ms English has also decided that you are required to pay a deposit of
$43.40. Payment of a deposit is taken as your authority to proceed with
processing of your request and your agreement to pay the full charge in
which case you will become liable to the Commonwealth for the full cost of
processing the charge.
Payment
The Department can accept credit card, money order or cheque payments.
If you choose to pay by cheque (personal or bank) or money order it should
be sent to the following:
FOI Unit (MDP 516)
Department of Health
GPO Box 9848
CANBERRA ACT 2601
If you wish to pay by credit card, please contact the Department’s FOI
unit on (02) 6289 1666 to be further advised.
Response
Under the FOI Act, you have 30 days to respond in writing to this notice.
You must, within 30 days after this notice is given, do one of the
following things in writing: (i) advise the Department that you agree to
pay the charge, or (ii) advise the Department that you contend that the
charge has been wrongly assessed, or should be reduced or not imposed,
giving reasons for your contention, or (iii) advise the Department that
you withdraw the request for access to the documents concerned. Please
send your response to the above postal address or [1]this email address.
If you do not provide a response within 30 days, your freedom of
information request will be taken to have been withdrawn.
If you choose to make a contention that the charge should be reduced or
not imposed, the Department must, in making a decision on your contention,
take into account the matters set out in section 29(5) of the FOI Act or
any relevant matter.
Processing time
Processing of your request and counting the 60 calendar days are suspended
from the date you receive this notice and resume either when you pay the
deposit or when any contention you make about the charge has been
resolved.
Relevant provisions
The FOI Act, including the provisions referred to in this email, can be
accessed from the Federal Register of Legislation website.
If you require clarification of any of the matters discussed in this
letter you should contact the Department’s FOI Unit on (02) 62891666, or
by email at [2][email address].
Kind regards
Chantal
FOI Unit
[3]cid:image002.png@01D152AA.D704F7C0
Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Legal & Assurance Division
Australian Government Department of Health
T: (02) 6289 1666 | E: [4][Health request email]
PO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
The Department of Health acknowledges the traditional owners of country
throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and
community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to elders
both past and present.
If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.
Locutus Sum left an annotation ()
The applicant has not told Right to Know the status of this request and I have been asked to update the status.
Note 1: Mostly I classify a response like this one to say "clarification requested" because the agency has told the applicant that some more information (or money!) is needed before the request will be processed. With this request, I have put the response in the category of "refused" because it is some time since the agency responded and the applicant does not appear to have made a follow-up. It is possible that a follow-up has been made by the ordinary post or by private email but Right to Know has not heard anything about this. Even if the applicant did not follow-up agency questions, it does not mean that the agency will refuse the request when an application is made in the correct (required) manner.
Note 2: Although an application under the Freedom of Information Act 1983 of the Commonwealth of Australia does not require an application fee,Commonwealth agencies might demand payment of a fee to cover extra processing costs. If the fee is not paid, the request will not be processed.