OFFICIAL

Reference: FOI/2023/110

Dear Mr Foster

Thank you for your email of 16 April 2023, in which you made a request
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department).

You set out the terms of the request as follows:

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act
regarding the Secretaries Board's recent document titled "Principles of
Flexible Work in the APS."

I am specifically interested in obtaining any research or evidence that
was provided to the Secretaries Board to support the following two claims:

1: 'Regular face-to-face (in-person) contact can improve employee
well-being and build tangible team benefits, including for those roles
which are able to be performed from home.'

2: 'Where roles are able to be performed from home, agencies may also
provide benchmarks around the extent of face-to-face contact, such as the
number of days to be spent in the office, or on handling requests to work
from a different location. These benchmarks may be necessary to ensure
consistency and equity across similar roles.'

My request includes the following information:

A) Any studies, surveys, research, or evidence provided to the Secretaries
Board that supports the claim that regular face-to-face contact improves
employee well-being and tangible team benefits.

B) Any studies, surveys, research, or evidence provided to the Secretaries
Board that demonstrate that an absence of benchmarks for face-to-face
contact leads to a lack of equity.

C) Internal communications, briefs or papers discussing the rationale for
promoting face-to-face contact and the decision-making process behind the
creation of the document.

Timeframe for receiving your decision and request for extension of time

The 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the
day after the Department received your request. A decision is therefore
due from us by Tuesday 16 May 2023.

Charges

Agencies may decide that an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect
of a request for access to documents. If the Department decides that you
are liable to pay a charge, we will send you a preliminary assessment of
the charge as soon as possible.

Publication of documents

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log at
[1]https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...,
subject to certain exceptions. If you think you might wish to raise any
objections to the publication of any of the information which may be
released to you please contact us by email at [2][DPMC request email].  If you
do wish to object to the publication of information, you would need to
provide supporting reasons.

Exclusion of officers’ names and contact details

For documents that fall within scope of the request, it is the
Department’s policy to withhold:

·         any person’s signature;

·         the names and contact details of Australian Public Service
officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);

·         the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers;

·         the names and contact details of Ministerial staff at a level
below Chief of Staff.

If you consider that the information categorised above is relevant to the
terms of your request please let us know at [3][DPMC request email], otherwise
we will take it that you agree to that information being excluded from the
scope of your request (that is, the information will be treated as
irrelevant and deleted from any documents for release). The names and
other details of SES officers will not be withheld unless there is some
reason for that information to be exempt from release.

Further information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

Kind regards,

Ruth

Adviser | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [5][email address]  w. [6]pmc.gov.au

[7]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[8]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[9]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...
2. mailto:[DPMC request email]
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
7. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
8. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...

OFFICIAL

FOI Reference: 2023/110

Dear Mr Foster

We refer to your request, made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(the FOI Act) and received by the Department of the Prime Minister and
Cabinet (the Department) on 16 April 2023. Seeking access to the
following:

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act
regarding the Secretaries Board's recent document titled "Principles of
Flexible Work in the APS."

I am specifically interested in obtaining any research or evidence that
was provided to the Secretaries Board to support the following two claims:

1: 'Regular face-to-face (in-person) contact can improve employee
well-being and build tangible team benefits, including for those roles
which are able to be performed from home.'

2: 'Where roles are able to be performed from home, agencies may also
provide benchmarks around the extent of face-to-face contact, such as the
number of days to be spent in the office, or on handling requests to work
from a different location. These benchmarks may be necessary to ensure
consistency and equity across similar roles.'

My request includes the following information:

A) Any studies, surveys, research, or evidence provided to the Secretaries
Board that supports the claim that regular face-to-face contact improves
employee well-being and tangible team benefits.

B) Any studies, surveys, research, or evidence provided to the Secretaries
Board that demonstrate that an absence of benchmarks for face-to-face
contact leads to a lack of equity.

C) Internal communications, briefs or papers discussing the rationale for
promoting face-to-face contact and the decision-making process behind the
creation of the document.

The current due date for a decision on your FOI request is 16 May 2023.
Unfortunately the Department is unable to issue a decision by this date
and we seek your agreement under s15AA of the FOI Act for an extension of
time for 21 days to 6 June 2023.

By way of an update, we can advise searches have concluded and we have a
series of documents that now require review for relevance and assessment
under the FOI Act. We anticipate some consultation may be required.  

We would be grateful for your response indicating whether you agree by
Tuesday 16 May 2023.

Yours sincerely

Janelle

Adviser | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[5]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
3. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...

OFFICIAL

Departmental reference: FOI/2023/110

Good afternoon Mr Foster

I refer to your request for access to documents:

… regarding the Secretaries Board's recent document titled "Principles of
Flexible Work in the APS."

I am specifically interested in obtaining any research or evidence that
was provided to the Secretaries Board to support the following two claims:

1: 'Regular face-to-face (in-person) contact can improve employee
well-being and build tangible team benefits, including for those roles
which are able to be performed from home.'

2: 'Where roles are able to be performed from home, agencies may also
provide benchmarks around the extent of face-to-face contact, such as the
number of days to be spent in the office, or on handling requests to work
from a different location. These benchmarks may be necessary to ensure
consistency and equity across similar roles.'

My request includes the following information:

A) Any studies, surveys, research, or evidence provided to the Secretaries
Board that supports the claim that regular face-to-face contact improves
employee well-being and tangible team benefits.

B) Any studies, surveys, research, or evidence provided to the Secretaries
Board that demonstrate that an absence of benchmarks for face-to-face
contact leads to a lack of equity.

C) Internal communications, briefs or papers discussing the rationale for
promoting face-to-face contact and the decision-making process behind the
creation of the document.

The Department has not made a decision on your request and the time frame
for doing so has passed. Please accept my apologies for the delay.

Current status of your request

Preparation of the documents is underway with further work required to:

•                     Undertake consultation, which is required with at
least one commonwealth agency

•                     Complete the assessment under the FOI Act.

•                     Prepare and issue a decision   

The Department will continue to process the request and is considering
making a request to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
for a one off extension of time under section 15AC of the FOI Act.

I will provide you an update on the progress of your request next week.

Kind regards

Ben | Adviser 

FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

I work Monday to Thursday

[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[5]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
3. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...

OFFICIAL

Departmental reference: FOI/2023/110

Dear Mr Foster

Please find attached the decision regarding your request under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982. Please accept my apologies for the delay in
finalising your request.

Kind regards

Ben | Adviser 

FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

I work Monday to Thursday

[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[5]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

______________________________________________________________________ 
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information 
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or 
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you 
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other 
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you 
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by 
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the 
message from your computer system. 
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
3. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...