** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **

Thank you for contacting the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Your email has been received and will be actioned shortly.

National Information Access Processing

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

Phone: 1800 555 254

[1]www.dva.gov.au/about-us/our-business-reporting/freedom-information

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/our-busin...

Dear Ms Penny Imnes,

I refer to your request for access to documents held by the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs (Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(Cth) (FOI Act).

Your request was received by the Department on 12 October 2020 and was
made in the following terms:

‘… May I please access the current Labour Hire Contract in place between
DVA (WA office) and Adecco Group.

May I please access the current Labour Hire Contract in place between DVA
(WA office) and Hudson.

May I please view the V2 funding arrangement, specifically in relation to
the hiring of V2 classified staff in the Perth DVA office during 2020.

May I please access the number of Labour Hire staff working specifically
for - "Perth DRCA PI team" or "perth PI - DRCA processing team" on the
following dates:

01/03/2019

01/06/2019

01/10/2019

01/11/2019

01/01/2020

01/03/2020

01/10/2020

01/11/2020 (or day of request processing)

May I please have access to the costs of labour hire staff in the Perth
DVA office for September 2020.

A list of projects and dates of commencement and completion which required
the need for labour hire workforce within the WA DVA office.

Any other reason/justification for the need to utilise labour hire staff
in the Perth Office and the number used from 01/01/2020 to present…’

The Department has 30 days to finalise your request. The 30 day statutory
timeframe commenced the day after your request was received by the
Department.

Ordinarily you should expect a decision from the Department by 11 November
2020.

Interrupted work practices impacted by COVID-19

The Department is continuing to work through its FOI case load as quickly
as possible. However, the Department is and will continue to experience an
interruption in the way it will be able to manage FOI requests.

As you are likely to be aware, COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has been declared a
pandemic by the World Health Organisation.

As the Department focuses its efforts on managing the impact of COVID-19
on its critical services and employees, other non-critical services may
not be delivered within expected timeframes. It is possible that during
this time, business areas that would ordinarily have capacity to undertake
searches and assist in the processing of FOI requests may not be readily
available to provide that assistance. This may have an impact on the
manner and timeframe in which the Department can process FOI requests.

We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience and
cooperation during this period.

Removal of non-SES staff details for more efficient decision making

To allow for more efficient decision making, the Department will remove
all non-SES staff names and contact details from documents falling within
the scope of your request. This will not include those staff details that
have been provided to you, such as in correspondence sent by the staff
member to you.

The need to assess whether staff details should be withheld adds to the
decision making time. The Department is committed to processing as many
access requests as it can during the pandemic. This means ensuring
requests are specific and that they allow for more efficient decision
making.

On this basis, unless you tell us otherwise, we will assume that these
staff details are excluded from the scope of your request and they will be
redacted under section 22 of the FOI Act; as being irrelevant to your
request.

When the processing period may be extended or suspended

As noted above, there are times when the timeframe for processing your
request might be extended by an additional 30 days. This can occur where
an extension of time has been agreed to by yourself under section 15AA of
the FOI Act or where the OAIC has granted an extension of time under
sections 15AB or 15AC of the FOI Act.

In addition, if documents you seek contain information of third parties
and the Department is of the view that is practical to consult with the
third parties, then the Department will be afforded an additional 30 days
to undertake that consolation process (see sections 15(6), 26A, 27 and 27A
of the FOI Act).

The Department will advise you if a third party consultation process is
required and of the revised due date for your request to be finalised by.

Communication with you

The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. You have advised your electronic address is
[1][FOI #6791 email]. We will send all notices
and correspondence to this address. Please advise us if you wish
correspondence to be sent to another address or if your address changes.
If you do not advise us of changes to your address, correspondence and
notices will continue to be sent to the address specified above.

FOI Disclosure log – Publication of documents released under the FOI Act

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may be published
in a disclosure log on the Department’s website at
[2]https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview....
Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this publication, however it is
subject to certain exceptions, including where publication of personal,
business, professional or commercial information would be unreasonable.

When a decision is provided to you, the Department will advise if the
documents released to you will be published on the Department’s FOI
Disclosure log.

Contacting us about your FOI request

We will email again when the Department has more information. Should you
have any enquiries concerning this matter, please send an email to
[3][email address].

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

Yours sincerely,

Famida (Position Number 62212449)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

[5][email address] | [6]www.dva.gov.au

[7]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

Please consider the environment before printing this email

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #6791 email]
2. https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://www.dva.gov.au/

hide quoted sections

Dear Penny,

The Department is considering issuing a notice to you under section 24AB
of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 in relation to FOI 38581 and FOI
38604.

As these requests are publicly available on the Right to Know website, the
Department can see that both of these requests are linked to the same
account.

Could you please confirm that you are the same applicant for both of these
requests?

Kind regards,

Famida (Position Number 62212449)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/

hide quoted sections

** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Thank you for your email. The Department will take all reasonable efforts
to respond to your email and process your request.

Please note that due the threat of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Department
is experiencing a diversion of resources that are critical to managing
Australia’s response. This means we may not be able to process your
request within the expected timeframe and where needed, will be seeking
extensions of time to manage requests and may need to consult with you if
your request is not clear or is for a large and unmanageable number of
documents. The Department remains committed to ensuring it can process as
many information access requests as it can during the pandemic. We ask for
your assistance by only making requests where they are of a priority and
to ensure those requests are as specific as possible.

We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,
cooperation and patience during this difficult time for all Australians.

More detailed messaging can be found on the Department’s website at
[1]https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n....

Kind regards,

Information Law Section
Department of Veterans' Affairs

References

Visible links
1. https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n...

Dear Penny,

I refer to your FOI matters 38581 and 38604.

Please find attached, a notice issued under section 24AB of the [1]Freedom
of Information Act 1982.

Kind regards,

Famida (Position Number 62212449)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [2][email address] | [3]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[4]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.dva.gov.au/

hide quoted sections

Dear Penny,

I refer to your FOI matters 38581 and 38604.

Please find attached, a notice issued under section 24AB of the [1]Freedom
of Information Act 1982.

Kind regards,

Famida (Position Number 62212449)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [2][email address] | [3]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[4]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.dva.gov.au/

hide quoted sections

** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Thank you for your email. The Department will take all reasonable efforts
to respond to your email and process your request.

Please note that due the threat of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Department
is experiencing a diversion of resources that are critical to managing
Australia’s response. This means we may not be able to process your
request within the expected timeframe and where needed, will be seeking
extensions of time to manage requests and may need to consult with you if
your request is not clear or is for a large and unmanageable number of
documents. The Department remains committed to ensuring it can process as
many information access requests as it can during the pandemic. We ask for
your assistance by only making requests where they are of a priority and
to ensure those requests are as specific as possible.

We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,
cooperation and patience during this difficult time for all Australians.

More detailed messaging can be found on the Department’s website at
[1]https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n....

Kind regards,

Information Law Section
Department of Veterans' Affairs

References

Visible links
1. https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n...

Dear Penny,

We thank you for revising the scope of your request as attached. I confirm
that the Department has been processing your request and is working
towards issuing you with a decision on your FOI matter as soon as
possible.

At present, we have retrieved documents relevant to points 3 and 4 of your
FOI request. We are still working with the business area to identify and
retrieve the documents relevant to points 1 and 2 of your FOI request.

Noting that a decision for this matter is due on 11 November 2020, the
Department considers that it will require more time to process this
request to retrieve all relevant documents, apply the relevant exemptions
and to draft and finalise a decision. For this reason we would be grateful
for your agreement to an extension of time under Section 15AA of the
[1]Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). This would have the effect
of extending the decision date for this matter to 11 December 2020.

Please note that if you do not agree to an extension of time, and the
Department considers that it will require more time to process your
request, we may apply to the Office of Australian Information Commissioner
for an extension of time under section 15AB of the FOI Act.

We thank you for your patience and cooperation with this process. We would
be grateful if you could you please advise by 12pm 10 November 2020
whether you agreeable to the requested extension of time.

Kind regards,

Famida (Position Number 62212449)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [2][email address] | [3]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[4]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.dva.gov.au/

hide quoted sections

** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Thank you for your email. The Department will take all reasonable efforts
to respond to your email and process your request.

Please note that due the threat of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Department
is experiencing a diversion of resources that are critical to managing
Australia’s response. This means we may not be able to process your
request within the expected timeframe and where needed, will be seeking
extensions of time to manage requests and may need to consult with you if
your request is not clear or is for a large and unmanageable number of
documents. The Department remains committed to ensuring it can process as
many information access requests as it can during the pandemic. We ask for
your assistance by only making requests where they are of a priority and
to ensure those requests are as specific as possible.

We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,
cooperation and patience during this difficult time for all Australians.

More detailed messaging can be found on the Department’s website at
[1]https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n....

Kind regards,

Information Law Section
Department of Veterans' Affairs

References

Visible links
1. https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n...

Dear Penny,

We thank you for your email attached.

The Information Law Team only received the documents relevant to parts 3
and 4 of your request on 9 November 2020. In order to be in a position to
issue you with a decision on these documents, the Department would still
require time to review the documents, consider any relevant exemptions
under the [1]Freedom of Information Act 1982 and to draft and finalise a
decision.

The Department is not able to issue you with a decision in accordance with
its obligations under the FOI Act until we have been able to identify and
collate all the documents relevant to the scope of your FOI request.

We note that the Department has applied for an extension of time to the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner under section 15AB of
the FOI Act, as we did not receive a response form you to our request for
an extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. Should this
extension be granted, the decision date for your FOI request will be
extended to 11 December 2020. We will of course notify you if this
extension of time is granted.

Also, I note your request regarding receipt of documents for parts 3 and 4
whilst waiting for the remaining documents. I am happy to issue you with a
decision and release should that be more expedient. I will review and get
back to you on this option.

We thank you for your patience and cooperation with this process. Please
do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.

Kind regards,

Famida (Position Number 62212449)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [2][email address] | [3]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[4]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.dva.gov.au/

hide quoted sections

** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Thank you for your email. The Department will take all reasonable efforts
to respond to your email and process your request.

Please note that due the threat of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Department
is experiencing a diversion of resources that are critical to managing
Australia’s response. This means we may not be able to process your
request within the expected timeframe and where needed, will be seeking
extensions of time to manage requests and may need to consult with you if
your request is not clear or is for a large and unmanageable number of
documents. The Department remains committed to ensuring it can process as
many information access requests as it can during the pandemic. We ask for
your assistance by only making requests where they are of a priority and
to ensure those requests are as specific as possible.

We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,
cooperation and patience during this difficult time for all Australians.

More detailed messaging can be found on the Department’s website at
[1]https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n....

Kind regards,

Information Law Section
Department of Veterans' Affairs

References

Visible links
1. https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n...

Dear Penny,

Thank you for your email below.

More information about the circumstances under which the Department is
able to request an extension of time can be found on the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) website on the following link:
[1]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

I note that in this instance the Department has sought an extension of
time under section 15AB of the FOI Act as the Department has experienced a
number of delays and complexities in processing your request. In our
application to the OAIC we have noted the following complexities:

·         The applicant did not respond to our request for an extension of
time under section 15AA of the FOI Act;

·         The Department encountered delays in identifying the correct
business areas to assist with conducting reasonable searches. This is due
to the voluminous nature of the request and difficulty identifying
relevant documents due to the unclear nature of some of the terms of the
request;

·         The consultation process undertaken with you under section 24AB
of the FOI Act; and

·         The delays encountered by the Department’s business areas in
providing the Information Law Team with the documents relevant to this
request.

The Information Law Team applied to the OAIC for an extension of time
under section 15AB of the FOI Act so that this decision would not be a
deemed decision, and to afford you internal review rights. I confirm that
the Department is processing your request and that a decision for this
matter will provided as soon as it is practicable.

Kind regards,

Famida (Position Number 62212449)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [2][email address] | [3]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[4]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

-----Original Message-----
From: Penny
Sent: Wednesday, 11 November 2020 1:40 PM
To: INFORMATION.LAW
Subject: Re: Response & Notification of Application for Extension of Time
under Section 15AB of the FOI Act [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Dear INFORMATION.LAW,

I am unsure where to review the request for an extension time?

Can you please send me a link to the explanation of under what
circumstances a request for extension can be reasonably requested?

Yours sincerely,

Penny

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

Dear Penny,

We thank you for your email attached.

The Information Law Team only received the documents relevant to parts 3
and 4 of your request on 9 November 2020. In order to be in a position to
issue you with a decision on these documents, the Department would still
require time to review the documents, consider any relevant exemptions
under the [1]Freedom of Information Act 1982 and to draft and finalise a
decision.

The Department is not able to issue you with a decision in accordance with
its obligations under the FOI Act until we have been able to identify and
collate all the documents relevant to the scope of your FOI request.

We note that the Department has applied for an extension of time to the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner under section 15AB of
the FOI Act, as we did not receive a response form you to our request for
an extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. Should this
extension be granted, the decision date for your FOI request will be
extended to 11 December 2020. We will of course notify you if this
extension of time is granted.

Also, I note your request regarding receipt of documents for parts 3 and 4
whilst waiting for the remaining documents. I am happy to issue you with a
decision and release should that be more expedient. I will review and get
back to you on this option.

We thank you for your patience and cooperation with this process. Please
do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.

Kind regards,

Famida (Position Number 62212449)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [2][email address] | [3][5]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[4][6]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

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

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

[7][FOI #6791 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:

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

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.

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

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.dva.gov.au/
5. http://www.dva.gov.au/
6. file:///tmp/cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
7. mailto:[FOI #6791 email]
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hide quoted sections

Our reference: RQ20/03837

Agency reference: 38581

Ms Penny Imnes

Sent by email: [1][FOI #6791 email]

Extension of time application by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs

Dear Ms Imnes

I write to advise that on 10 November 2020 the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner (the OAIC) received an application from the
Department of Veterans’ Affairs (the Department) for an extension of
time, to process your FOI request.

The Department has applied for an extension of time under s 15AB of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) because your request is considered
to be complex.

The Department has advised the OAIC that:

o The Department attempted to obtain an agreement under s 15AA of the
FOI Act for an extension of time from you. The Department did not
receive a response from you.

o Since the revision of the scope on 29 October 2020, the Department has
consulted with the relevant business areas.

o The Department has received documents relating to two points of your
FOI request and are awaiting documents for another two points.

o The relevant business area encountered some complexities in
identifying and retrieving the requested documents and are in the
process of collating the documents.

The Department has requested an extension to 11 December 2020. I will
take any comments you may have to make into account when deciding the
application.

Please respond to this email by close of business 16 November 2020. If I
do not hear from you by this date, the decision maker will make a decision
on the basis of the information provided to me by the Department.

You will be notified of the decision once the matter has been finalised.

Further information about extension of time requests may be found on our
website at [2]Extensions of time.

Contact

If you have any questions about this letter, please contact me on 02 9284
9625 or via email [3][email address]. In all
correspondence please include OAIC reference number at the top of this
letter.

Kind regards

[4][IMG]   Avanithah Selvarajah  |  Review and
Investigations Adviser (Legal)
(A/g)

Freedom of information

Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner

GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001  |
 [5]oaic.gov.au

+61 2 9284 9625 | 
[6][email address]
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Our reference:  RQ20/03837

Agency reference: 38581

Ms Penny Imnes

Sent by email: [1][FOI #6791 email]

Extension of time under s 15AB

Dear Ms Imnes

Please find attached a decision of today’s date.

Kind regards,

[2][IMG]   Avanithah Selvarajah  |  Review and
Investigations Adviser (Legal)
(A/g)

Freedom of information

Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner

GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001  |
 [3]oaic.gov.au

+61 2 9284 9625 | 
[4][email address]
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hide quoted sections

Dear Penny,

I refer to your FOI matter 38581.

The Department has been able to identify and collate documents matching
the terms of your request. In reviewing these documents, the Department
has identified that it will be required to undertake third-party business
information consultation in accordance with section 27 of the [1]Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), and the possibility of third-party
personal privacy consultations under section 27A of the FOI Act. The
requirement to undertake third-party consultations will have the effect of
extending the decision date by an additional 30 days in accordance with
15(6) of the FOI Act.

Before undertaking any formal consultations, we would like to consult with
you to further revise the scope of your request.

Revision of Scope - Personal Privacy:

The Department has identified that the documents falling within the scope
of your request, contains the personal information of persons other than
yourself. Because of this, the Department will have to turn its mind to
the personal privacy exemption provided for under section 47F of the FOI
Act. Specifically the Department must be satisfied that disclosure of the
requested information to you, would not be an unreasonable disclosure of a
person’s personal information.

The Department has identified that the documents falling within the scope
of your request would require the release of personal information in
relation to persons other than yourself. In particular, the documents
contain the names, contact details, signatures and names of other persons
contracted with the Department, representatives acting on behalf of
third-parties and the personal details of Departmental staff members.
Under section 27A of the FOI Act, the Department is required to undertake
third party personal privacy consultations with individuals where the
terms of an FOI request would require the release of their personal
information and it appears that those individuals may wish to make an
objection to that disclosure under the FOI Act.

To assist the Department with more efficient decision-making, we recommend
that you revise the scope if your request by agreeing to remove the
personal information of third parties and Departmental staff members from
the scope of your request. I would be grateful if you could whether you
agree to this revision.

I note that some this information may still be captured by the exemption
under section 47F, even if third-party consultations are not required.

Could you please also confirm whether you are the same applicant who
submitted FOI request 38882 to the Department, as this will have a bearing
on the decision-making process and the application of the relevant
exemptions.

Please provide confirmation of the above and whether you agree to the
above revision of scope no later than COB 19 November 2020.

Kind regards,

Famida (Position Number 62212449)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [2][email address] | [3]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[4]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

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** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Thank you for your email. The Department will take all reasonable efforts
to respond to your email and process your request.

Please note that due the threat of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Department
is experiencing a diversion of resources that are critical to managing
Australia’s response. This means we may not be able to process your
request within the expected timeframe and where needed, will be seeking
extensions of time to manage requests and may need to consult with you if
your request is not clear or is for a large and unmanageable number of
documents. The Department remains committed to ensuring it can process as
many information access requests as it can during the pandemic. We ask for
your assistance by only making requests where they are of a priority and
to ensure those requests are as specific as possible.

We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,
cooperation and patience during this difficult time for all Australians.

More detailed messaging can be found on the Department’s website at
[1]https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n....

Kind regards,

Information Law Section
Department of Veterans' Affairs

References

Visible links
1. https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n...

Our reference:  RQ20/03837

Agency reference: 38581

Ms Penny Imnes

Sent by email: [1][FOI #6791 email]

Extension of time application by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs

Dear Ms Imnes

Thank you for your email and I respond on behalf of my colleague Ms
Selvarajah.           

On 17 November 2020, Ms Selvarajah  provided you with a decision and
reasons for decision to grant the extension of time based on the
information before the OAIC at that time.

In Ms Selvarajah ‘s decision, she decided to grant the Department an
extension of time to process your FOI request under s 15AB of the FOI Act.
This meant that the Department had until 11 December 2020 to process your
requested under the extended statutory timeframe.

It appears that since making the decision to extend the timeframe, the
Department has notified you that it may need to conduct consultation with
third parties pursuant to s 15(6) of the FOI Act and if so, a 30 extension
would be applied and a decision would be due by 11 January 2020.

It appears the Department is awaiting your advice regarding a revision of
scope.

If the Department does require consultation with third parties and if you
do not receive a decision from the Department by 11 January 2021, it is
open to you to seek Information Commissioner review (IC review) of a
deemed decision by applying to the OAIC [2]here.

For further information about IC reviews, please see our [3]website.

Kind regards

[4][IMG]   Shelley Napper  |  Assistant
Director

Freedom of Information

Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner

GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001  |
 [5]oaic.gov.au

[Phone Number Hidden]  | 
[6][email address]
[10]Subscribe [11]Subscribe to
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-----Original Message-----
From: Penny <[FOI #6791 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 18 November 2020 5:12 AM
To: Avanithah Selvarajah <[email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Labour Hire -
DVA Perth Office

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

Dear Avanithah Selvarajah,

I accepted your decision and understood why why you made the decision.

I do not understand why I received further communication from the
Department citing further law in regards to prolonging the FOI request.

Why did the Department not disclose their intentions to you?

Does the Department not wish to disclose the information, if so can they
please explain why in accordance with FOI law.

Did you know the intentions of the Department when you approved the
request?

I am unsure whether the behaviour is appropriate., and confused as to why
they apparently have the information a day after your decision and they
are now giving further reason which I am struggling to understand not to
disclose.

Yours sincerely,

Penny

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

Our reference:  RQ20/03837

Agency reference: 38581

Ms Penny Imnes

Sent by email: [1][FOI #6791 email]

Extension of time under s 15AB

Dear Ms Imnes

Please find attached a decision of today’s date.

Kind regards,

[2][IMG]   Avanithah Selvarajah  |  Review and

Investigations Adviser (Legal)

(A/g)

Freedom of information

Office of the Australian

Information Commissioner

GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001  |

  [3]oaic.gov.au

[Phone Number Hidden] | 

[4][email address]

[9]Subscribe to

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hide quoted sections

Dear Penny,

Confirmation of Revised Scope:

I refer to the Department’s informal consultation with you on 17 November
2020. On this date you agreed to revise the scope of your request to the
following:

‘…1. A copy of the contracts in relation to the Contract Number's
CN3689970 and CN3685665 between the Department of Veterans' Affairs and
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd.

2. A copy of the contract in relation to Contract Number CN3685667 between
the Department of Veterans' Affairs and Hudson Global Resources (Aust) Pty
Ltd

3. E-mails between the acting assistant director, [staff member], and
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present.

4. E-mails between the APS 6 Team Leader, [staff member], and Adecco
Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present

Excluding:

The Personal Information of third-parties and Departmental staff members…’

Section 27 Formal Notification - Third Party Consultation Required:

As mentioned in our email of 17 November 2020, the Department has
identified that it will need to undertake a third-party business
consultation in relation to the documents identified under this FOI
request, in accordance with section 27 of the FOI Act.

As your request covers documents which contain information concerning the
business, commercial or financial affairs of an organisation, or a
person’s business or professional affairs the Department is required to
consult with the person or organisation concerned (under section 27 of the
FOI Act) before making a decision on the release of those documents.

For this reason the period for processing your request has been extended
by 30 days in order to allow our agency time to consult with that person
or organisation (section 15(6) of the FOI Act). The processing period for
your request will now end on 11 January 2021. While the FOI Act
accommodates for this deadline, the Department is working towards issuing
you with a decision on this matter before this date. We appreciate your
patience and cooperation with this process.

The consultation mechanism under section 27 applies when we believe the
person or organisation concerned may wish to contend that the requested
documents are exempt because their release would disclose trade secrets or
commercially valuable information or may adversely affect their business
or financial affairs. We will take into account any comments we receive
from the person or organisation but the final decision about whether to
grant you access to the documents you requested rests with this
Department.

More information about exemptions under the FOI Act is available on the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website:
[1]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

Kind regards,

Famida (Position Number 62212449)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [2][email address] | [3]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[4]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

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please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
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hide quoted sections

Dear Ms Imnes,

My name is Jess and I have been transferred your matter in order to carry
out the Third Party Consultations referred to by Famida in her email to
you of 30 November 2020.

On 17 November 2020 you responded providing agreement to the revised
scope. For ease of reference, the revised scope is as follows:

‘…1. A copy of the contracts in relation to the Contract Number's
CN3689970 and CN3685665 between the Department of Veterans' Affairs and
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd.

2. A copy of the contract in relation to Contract Number CN3685667 between
the Department of Veterans' Affairs and Hudson Global Resources (Aust) Pty
Ltd

3. E-mails between the acting assistant director, [staff member], and
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present.

4. E-mails between the APS 6 Team Leader, [staff member], and Adecco
Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present

Excluding:

The Personal Information of third-parties and Departmental staff members…’

Before I proceed, out of an abundance of caution I would like you to
confirm please that I am correct in assuming that points 3 and 4 of the
new scope are specifically seeking the following:

-          Emails between the acting assistant director, [staff member],
and Adecco Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present, specifically
concerning the contract numbers mentioned in points 1 and 2 of the request

-          Emails between the APS 6 Team Leader, [staff member], and
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present, specifically
concerning the contract numbers mentioned in points 1 and 2 of the request

I also confirm that any emails between the above-mentioned parties that
solely contain the personal information of third-parties/Department staff
will be considered out of scope of your request.

Please could you confirm by reply email that this is correct? As soon as
you are able to let me know, I will proceed with the Third Party
Consultations.

Thank you very much for your patience and understanding in liaising with
us regarding this request.

Yours sincerely,

Jess

Jess (position number 62227602)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

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IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

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please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
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a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
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Dear Ms Imnes,

I hope you are well and I want to thank you very much for your patience
and understanding during this process, it is appreciated.

As I have not heard from you following my last email (below), I am
touching base with you to make sure you received it, and see whether you
had any questions or wish for me to clarify any points?

I seek confirmation from you regarding points 3 and 4 of your request, to
make sure I have correctly understood that:

·         you would like the emails between [staff members] and Adecco
that are in relation to the contract numbers CN3689970, CN3685665 and
CN3685667 only.

If you are able to reply to let me know that this is correct, I would be
grateful. This will allow me to continue to process your request and
contact the third parties for consultations.

If I do not hear back from you by COB 10 December 2020, I will proceed on
this understanding of scope.

Kind regards,

Jess

Jess (position number 62227602)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

From: INFORMATION.LAW <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 4 December 2020 12:18 PM
To: '[FOI #6791 email]'
<[FOI #6791 email]>
Cc: INFORMATION.LAW <[email address]>
Subject: Seeking clarification of items 3 and 4 of revised scope in
relation to FOI 38581 [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Dear Ms Imnes,

My name is Jess and I have been transferred your matter in order to carry
out the Third Party Consultations referred to by Famida in her email to
you of 30 November 2020.

On 17 November 2020 you responded providing agreement to the revised
scope. For ease of reference, the revised scope is as follows:

‘…1. A copy of the contracts in relation to the Contract Number's
CN3689970 and CN3685665 between the Department of Veterans' Affairs and
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd.

2. A copy of the contract in relation to Contract Number CN3685667 between
the Department of Veterans' Affairs and Hudson Global Resources (Aust) Pty
Ltd

3. E-mails between the acting assistant director, [staff member], and
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present.

4. E-mails between the APS 6 Team Leader, [staff member], and Adecco
Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present

Excluding:

The Personal Information of third-parties and Departmental staff members…’

Before I proceed, out of an abundance of caution I would like you to
confirm please that I am correct in assuming that points 3 and 4 of the
new scope are specifically seeking the following:

-          Emails between the acting assistant director, [staff member],
and Adecco Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present, specifically
concerning the contract numbers mentioned in points 1 and 2 of the request

-          Emails between the APS 6 Team Leader, [staff member], and
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present, specifically
concerning the contract numbers mentioned in points 1 and 2 of the request

I also confirm that any emails between the above-mentioned parties that
solely contain the personal information of third-parties/Department staff
will be considered out of scope of your request.

Please could you confirm by reply email that this is correct? As soon as
you are able to let me know, I will proceed with the Third Party
Consultations.

Thank you very much for your patience and understanding in liaising with
us regarding this request.

Yours sincerely,

Jess

Jess (position number 62227602)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [4][email address] | [5]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[6]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.dva.gov.au/

hide quoted sections

** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Thank you for your email. The Department will take all reasonable efforts
to respond to your email and process your request.

Please note that due the threat of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Department
is experiencing a diversion of resources that are critical to managing
Australia’s response. This means we may not be able to process your
request within the expected timeframe and where needed, will be seeking
extensions of time to manage requests and may need to consult with you if
your request is not clear or is for a large and unmanageable number of
documents. The Department remains committed to ensuring it can process as
many information access requests as it can during the pandemic. We ask for
your assistance by only making requests where they are of a priority and
to ensure those requests are as specific as possible.

We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,
cooperation and patience during this difficult time for all Australians.

More detailed messaging can be found on the Department’s website at
[1]https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n....

Kind regards,

Information Law Section
Department of Veterans' Affairs

References

Visible links
1. https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n...

Dear Ms Imnes,

Thank you for your email, we hope you have been well.

A decision on your matter is due on 11 January 2021 and our response to
your request is in the final stages of preparation.

As the Department will shortly enter a Shutdown period (25 December 2020
to 1 January 2021 inclusive), we are required to prioritise matters that
have a deadline falling within this calendar year.

For this reason, we are not in a position to provide the documents to you
just yet.

We apologise for any frustration this causes, however we can assure you
that you will receive a response on or before the decision date of 11
January 2021.

Thank you for your understanding and patience, we hope you are able to
enjoy and safe and relaxing Christmas.

Yours sincerely,

Jess

Jess (position number 62227602)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

-----Original Message-----
From: Penny <[FOI #6791 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 22 December 2020 6:50 PM
To: INFORMATION.LAW <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Seeking clarification of items 3 and 4 of revised scope in
relation to FOI 38581 [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Dear INFORMATION.LAW,

Sorry, for my late response.

I am happy to proceed with your scope.

Can I get a time frame in regards to my requests?

Are you able to provide any of the information now?

Yours sincerely,

Penny

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

Dear Ms Imnes,

I hope you are well and I want to thank you very much for your patience 
and understanding during this process, it is appreciated.

As I have not heard from you following my last email (below), I am 
touching base with you to make sure you received it, and see whether you 
had any questions or wish for me to clarify any points?

I seek confirmation from you regarding points 3 and 4 of your request, to 
make sure I have correctly understood that:

·         you would like the emails between [staff members] and Adecco 
that are in relation to the contract numbers CN3689970, CN3685665 and

CN3685667 only.

If you are able to reply to let me know that this is correct, I would be 
grateful. This will allow me to continue to process your request and 
contact the third parties for consultations.

If I do not hear back from you by COB 10 December 2020, I will proceed on 
this understanding of scope.

Kind regards,

Jess

Jess (position number 62227602)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [1][email address] | [2][4]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3][5]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to
legal  professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal
professional  privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the
client need  not disclose confidential communications between a legal
practitioner and  client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content
of this advice  must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know
and on the basis  that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a 
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that 
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal 
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

From: INFORMATION.LAW <[email address]>

Sent: Friday, 4 December 2020 12:18 PM

To: '[FOI #6791 email]'

<[FOI #6791 email]>

Cc: INFORMATION.LAW <[email address]>

Subject: Seeking clarification of items 3 and 4 of revised scope in 
relation to FOI 38581 [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Dear Ms Imnes,

My name is Jess and I have been transferred your matter in order to carry 
out the Third Party Consultations referred to by Famida in her email to 
you of 30 November 2020.

On 17 November 2020 you responded providing agreement to the revised 
scope. For ease of reference, the revised scope is as follows:

‘…1. A copy of the contracts in relation to the Contract Number's

CN3689970 and CN3685665 between the Department of Veterans' Affairs and 
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd.

2. A copy of the contract in relation to Contract Number CN3685667
between  the Department of Veterans' Affairs and Hudson Global Resources
(Aust) Pty  Ltd

3. E-mails between the acting assistant director, [staff member], and 
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present.

4. E-mails between the APS 6 Team Leader, [staff member], and Adecco 
Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present

Excluding:

The Personal Information of third-parties and Departmental staff members…’

Before I proceed, out of an abundance of caution I would like you to 
confirm please that I am correct in assuming that points 3 and 4 of the 
new scope are specifically seeking the following:

-          Emails between the acting assistant director, [staff member], 
and Adecco Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present,
specifically  concerning the contract numbers mentioned in points 1 and 2
of the request

-          Emails between the APS 6 Team Leader, [staff member], and 
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present, specifically 
concerning the contract numbers mentioned in points 1 and 2 of the request

I also confirm that any emails between the above-mentioned parties that 
solely contain the personal information of third-parties/Department staff 
will be considered out of scope of your request.

Please could you confirm by reply email that this is correct? As soon as 
you are able to let me know, I will proceed with the Third Party 
Consultations.

Thank you very much for your patience and understanding in liaising with 
us regarding this request.

Yours sincerely,

Jess

Jess (position number 62227602)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [4][email address] | [5][6]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[6][7]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to
legal  professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal
professional  privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the
client need  not disclose confidential communications between a legal
practitioner and  client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content
of this advice  must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know
and on the basis  that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a 
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that 
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal 
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

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

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

[8][FOI #6791 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:

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

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.

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

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/
4. http://www.dva.gov.au/
5. file:///tmp/cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
6. http://www.dva.gov.au/
7. file:///tmp/cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
8. mailto:[FOI #6791 email]
9. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Dear Penny,

Thank you for your email.

The decision has been drafted and the documents are prepared.

We were required to seek further clarification from one of the third
parties, and are actively pursuing a response from them today.

We hope to release the documents to you in their entirety today, however
if we do not hear back from the third party, we will issue you with part
of the documents today and the remainder separately, once we have
confirmed with the third party.

If you have any concerns or questions in regard to this, please don’t
hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Jess

Jess (position number 62227602)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

-----Original Message-----
From: Penny <[4][FOI #6791 email]>
Sent: Monday, 11 January 2021 3:20 PM
To: INFORMATION.LAW <[5][email address]>
Subject: RE: Seeking clarification of items 3 and 4 of revised scope in
relation to FOI 38581 [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Dear INFORMATION.LAW,

May I please have an update in regards to this request?

Yours sincerely,

Penny

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

Dear Ms Imnes,

Thank you for your email, we hope you have been well.

A decision on your matter is due on 11 January 2021 and our response to 
your request is in the final stages of preparation.

As the Department will shortly enter a Shutdown period (25 December 2020 
to 1 January 2021 inclusive), we are required to prioritise matters that 
have a deadline falling within this calendar year.

For this reason, we are not in a position to provide the documents to you 
just yet.

We apologise for any frustration this causes, however we can assure you 
that you will receive a response on or before the decision date of 11 
January 2021.

Thank you for your understanding and patience, we hope you are able to 
enjoy and safe and relaxing Christmas.

Yours sincerely,

Jess

Jess (position number 62227602)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [1][email address] | [2][6]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3][7]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to
legal  professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal
professional  privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the
client need  not disclose confidential communications between a legal
practitioner and  client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content
of this advice  must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know
and on the basis  that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a 
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that 
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal 
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

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

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

[8][FOI #6791 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:

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

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.

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

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/
4. mailto:[FOI #6791 email]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://www.dva.gov.au/
7. file:///tmp/cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
8. mailto:[FOI #6791 email]
9. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Dear Penny,

Thank you for your patience and understanding throughout this process.

Please find attached the entire bundle of documents identified in relation
to your FOI request 38581, along with a Statement of Reasons which
explains how the Department made its decision on what documents and parts
of documents to release.

Kind regards,

Jess

Jess (position number 62227602)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/

hide quoted sections

Dear Penny,

Thank you for your email.

I can confirm that the single email included is the only one that fell
within the final scope of your request, which was:

“…1. A copy of the contracts in relation to the Contract Number's
CN3689970 and CN3685665 between the Department of Veterans' Affairs and
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd.

2. A copy of the contract in relation to Contract Number CN3685667 between
the Department of Veterans' Affairs and Hudson Global Resources (Aust) Pty
Ltd

3. E-mails between the acting assistant director, [staff member], and
Adecco Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present.

4. E-mails between the APS 6 Team Leader, [staff member], and Adecco
Australia Pty Ltd from the 18 May 2020 to present

Excluding:

The Personal Information of third-parties and Departmental staff members…”

Additional emails were identified by the Business Areas in relation to one
of the contracts, however these were considered to be out of scope for the
following reasons:

·         the emails contain the personal information of an individual
other than yourself;

·         to release the emails containing personal information would be a
breach of the individual’s privacy;

·         the scope of your request agreed to exclude the personal
information of third parties and Departmental staff members; and

·         the Right to Know website cannot be used to request personal
information.

The Right to Know website is clear that the site cannot be used to request
personal information. Even if the information was about yourself, the
Department still could not release it, as all material is published
publically on the Right to Know website.

Details on what information can be requested via Right to Know can be
found here: [1]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/requ...

If one of the contracts relates to yourself and you are using a pseudonym
through Right to Know, I would encourage you to submit a personal FOI
request to the Department directly, using your personal email address. 

To reiterate, the single email released is the only email which meets the
scope and does not contain the personal information of another individual.

We apologise for any frustration or inconvenience caused.

Kind regards,

Jess

Jess (position number 62227602)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [2][email address] | [3]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[4]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

-----Original Message-----
From: Penny <[5][FOI #6791 email]>
Sent: Monday, 11 January 2021 10:52 PM
To: INFORMATION.LAW <[6][email address]>
Subject: Re: Outcome of your FOI 38581 attaching decision and documents
[SEC=OFFICIAL]

Dear INFORMATION.LAW,

Sorry Jess, just so I am clear.

Can you please confirm the only communication between Adecco, the APS 6
Team Leader and the acting Assistant Director is the one e-mail you have
disclosed  (from the 18 May 2020 until present)?

There is no other communication between the parties mentioned that may be
related to those three contracts and the people named in those contracts?
Communication that may have a material impact on the 3 contracts, the 3
people named by addeco and dva in there dealings with each other for which
the are both legally responsible for.

If that is the case I would ask you to confirm the one email identified
which has no relevance to any of the contracts is the only email.

Yours sincerely,

Penny

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

Dear Penny,

Thank you for your patience and understanding throughout this process.

Please find attached the entire bundle of documents identified in
relation  to your FOI request 38581, along with a Statement of Reasons
which  explains how the Department made its decision on what documents and
parts  of documents to release.

Kind regards,

Jess

Jess (position number 62227602)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [1][email address] | [2][7]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3][8]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to
legal  professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal
professional  privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the
client need  not disclose confidential communications between a legal
practitioner and  client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content
of this advice  must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know
and on the basis  that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a 
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that 
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal 
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

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

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

[9][FOI #6791 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:

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

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.

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IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/requ...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.dva.gov.au/
5. mailto:[FOI #6791 email]
6. mailto:[email address]
7. http://www.dva.gov.au/
8. file:///tmp/cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
9. mailto:[FOI #6791 email]
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hide quoted sections

Dear Penny

I refer to your Internal Review FOI request (FOI IR 40120).

Can you please confirm that you are contesting the redactions made under
section 47 of the FOI Act, in respect of the contract hourly amount.

Furthermore, can you please let me know if you are also contesting the
deletion of out of scope material under section 22 of the FOI Act.

We ask that you please confirm your response by 22 January 2021.

Kind Regards,

Tayla (Position Number 62213294)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

From: INFORMATION.LAW
Sent: Tuesday, 12 January 2021 11:42 AM
To: INFORMATION.ACCESS
Cc: INFORMATION.LAW
Subject: Acknowledgement of Internal review FOI request - FOI IR 40120
[SEC=OFFICIAL]

Dear Penny

Thank you for your email.

I acknowledge your request for Internal Review of FOI 38581.

The Department has 30 days to issue an internal review decision. The new
reference for this matter is FOI IR 40120.

Kind regards

Molly (Position Number 62213164)

Legal Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [4][email address] | [5]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[6]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

[7]cid:image001.png@01D32593.9CC39540The Department acknowledges the
Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing
connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their
elders past and present.

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

-----Original Message-----
From: Penny <[8][FOI #6791 email]>
Sent: Monday, 11 January 2021 5:59 PM
To: INFORMATION.ACCESS <[9][email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Labour Hire -
DVA Perth Office [TO BE CLASSIFIED]

Dear Department of Veterans' Affairs,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Veterans'
Affairs's handling of my FOI request 'Labour Hire - DVA Perth Office'.

I object to the decision to withhold

Documents disclosing trade secrets or commercially valuable information
(section 47).

The information requested relates to transactions and correspondence in
relation to human resource arrangements, key word being Human.

Information has been withheld due to being commercially valuable, the
Department of Veteran's Affairs is not a commercial entity and is
responsible for providing services for the Commonwealth and its citizens
in a transparent manner.

The e-mails and redacted information with held in relation to the
Department's dealings with a chosen service provider are not confidential
per the related contracts specifically identifying there are no
confidentially clauses in relation to the dealings and related
correspondence to any agreements, contracts etc.

If any third parties object to disclosure based on the commercial value
this should have been agreed to and disclosed prior to dealing with the
commonwealth and should be consequently disregarded.

Please release all communication as per my request including monetary
values, e-mails and related Deeds.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[10]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/l...

Yours faithfully,

Penny

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

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

[11][FOI #6791 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:

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

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.

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

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.dva.gov.au/
8. mailto:[FOI #6791 email]
9. mailto:[email address]
10. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/l...
11. mailto:[FOI #6791 email]
12. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

** Important message **

Thank you for contacting the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Your email has been received and will be actioned as soon as possible. We
will seek to address your request within any statutory timeframes that may
apply and seek extensions of time where needed. If statutory timeframes do
not apply, we will aim to address your email within 30 days or sooner
where possible. 

Kind regards,

Information Law Section
Department of Veterans' Affairs

Dear Penny

FOI IR 40120 – Statement of Reasons

Please find attached the statement of reasons in relation to your internal
review request.

Kind Regards,

Tayla (Position Number 62213294)

Information Access Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 555 254 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

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

IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/

hide quoted sections