Health Insurance 2022 Rejected Rate Increases
Ben Fairless made this Freedom of Information request to Department of Health as part of a batch sent to 2 authorities
Dear Department of Health,
Media reporting says that the Minister rejected the recent rate increase applications from all health funds for 2022.
This request is for the documents submitted to the minister from each health fund for approval that were rejected by the minister.
I am happy to exclude personal information (such as names, email addresses, phone numbers etc) from these documents.
If it assists you in processing this request faster, please consider processing it as an administrative request. If not, please treat this a Freedom of Information request.
Yours faithfully,
Ben Fairless
Good morning Mr Fairless
Thank you for your two requests for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
You have submitted a request to the Department of Health and a request to the Minister for Health in the following terms:
Media reporting says that the Minister rejected the recent rate increase applications from all health funds for 2022.
This request is for the documents submitted to the minister from each health fund for approval that were rejected by the minister.
I am writing to acknowledge both of your requests, noting that the Department provides administrative assistance to the Minister's Office for FOI requests received by that office.
The Department notes that the documents that would be captured by your request relate to the provisions of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007. The Private Health Insurance Act is listed in schedule 3 of the FOI Act and as such, any documents that may exist in relation to your request are subject to the secrecy provisions of section 38 of the FOI Act and are likely to be assessed as being exempt documents.
In the circumstances, could you please advise if you wish to continue with these FOI requests, or whether you would be willing to withdraw them?
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me on the details below.
With kind regards
Alison
Freedom of Information Unit
Legal and Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group
Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Australian Government Department of Health
P: 02 6289 1666 E: [Health request email]
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.
Please note that this email and attachments may contain confidential or legally privileged information. Please consult with Legal Division before disclosing any part of this email, or attachment, outside the Department. 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."
Good morning Mr Fairless
Thank you for your two requests for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
You have submitted a request to the Department of Health and a request to the Minister for Health in the following terms:
Media reporting says that the Minister rejected the recent rate increase applications from all health funds for 2022.
This request is for the documents submitted to the minister from each health fund for approval that were rejected by the minister.
I am writing to acknowledge both of your requests, noting that the Department provides administrative assistance to the Minister's Office for FOI requests received by that office.
The Department notes that the documents that would be captured by your request relate to the provisions of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007. The Private Health Insurance Act is listed in schedule 3 of the FOI Act and as such, any documents that may exist in relation to your request are subject to the secrecy provisions of section 38 of the FOI Act and are likely to be assessed as being exempt documents.
In the circumstances, could you please advise if you wish to continue with these FOI requests, or whether you would be willing to withdraw them?
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me on the details below.
With kind regards
Alison
Freedom of Information Unit
Legal and Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group
Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Australian Government Department of Health
P: 02 6289 1666 E: [Health request email]
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.
Please note that this email and attachments may contain confidential or legally privileged information. Please consult with Legal Division before disclosing any part of this email, or attachment, outside the Department. 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."
Dear Mr Fairless
I refer to your two requests received on 11 December 2021 for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act). One request was addressed to the Department of Health and the second request was addressed to the Minister for Health. Both requests sought access to:
Media reporting says that the Minister rejected the recent rate increase applications from all health funds for 2022. This request is for the documents submitted to the minister from each health fund for approval that were rejected by the minister.
On 16 December 2021, we wrote to you providing you with some background information regarding your requests and sought you views as to whether you would be agreeable to withdrawing the requests. We have not received a response from you and as such we are continuing to process your requests under the formal FOI framework.
Transfer of request
The request addressed to the Minister for Health (our reference FOI-3469) has been transferred to the Department under section 16 of the FOI Act as any documents relevant to that request would be in the possession of the Department.
As such, requests 3463 and 3469 will be processed simultaneously, and one decision issued in relation to both requests.
Request for extension of time
As you are aware, the statutory timeframe for processing your request is 30 calendar days, within which a decision on access to the requested documents is due to be notified to you. The current statutory due date for these requests falls on 10 January 2022. Section 15AA of the FOI Act enables us to seek your agreement to an extension of time of up to 30 days. Given the upcoming Christmas and New Year period, we are seeking your agreement to an extension of time of 10 day to reflect this holiday period. This would result in the decision on access in your request becoming due on or before 20 January 2022. If you agree to this extension of time, could you please confirm in writing.
The department may impose a charge for the work involved in providing access to the documents. If this request attracts a charge you will be notified in writing.
Unless you advise otherwise, draft and 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 via email at [email address], should you have any questions.
Kind regards
FOI Officer
Freedom of Information Section
Legal & Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group
Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Australian Government Department of Health
E: [Health request email]
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."
Dear Mr Fairless,
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your Freedom of
Information request to the Department of Health.
On 22 December 2021, the department wrote to you advising that your
request addressed to the Minister for Health (our reference FOI-3469) has
been transferred to the Department under section 16 of the FOI Act as any
documents relevant to that request would be in the possession of the
Department.
As such, requests 3463 and 3469 were processed simultaneously, the
attached decision relates to both requests.
Kind regards,
FOI Case Officer
Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Legal & Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group
Australian Government Department of Health
T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [1][Health request email]
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."
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Health request email]
Dear Mr Fairless,
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your Freedom of
Information request to the Department of Health.
On 22 December 2021, the department wrote to you advising that your
request addressed to the Minister for Health (our reference FOI-3469) has
been transferred to the Department under section 16 of the FOI Act as any
documents relevant to that request would be in the possession of the
Department.
As such, requests 3463 and 3469 were processed simultaneously, the
attached decision relates to both requests.
Kind regards,
FOI Case Officer
Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Legal & Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group
Australian Government Department of Health
T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [1][Health request email]
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."
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Health request email]