Liability/Responsibility Advice for scams perpetrated through banking systems
Dear Department of the Treasury,
I request briefing information either sought by, or provided to the Government in relation to the responsibility or liability of the ABA/the banks and/or the government in money scams facilitated through the banks (that is, scams that use the banks to process payments/move money). A particular focus on Authorised Push Payments is sought.
The timeframe I seek is from 2021 until now.
I would like the information requested to include the following:
• Any reports, or briefings requested, to or from the Public Service or Government,
including any provided by or to the Banks or the ABA to the Government;
• Any briefs provided regarding discussions between the Government and the Banks
(whether through the ABA or individual Banks) relating to this subject matter;
• Any briefs to the Government relating to this (including any Ministerial signed
documents).
Exclusions:
1. Please do not provide documents that are duplicates wholly or in substance (eg emails to multiple stakeholders with the same content, reply emails).
2. Also, please redact any content that would require consultation with third parties.
Yours faithfully,
Ms Watson
OFFICIAL
OFFICIAL
Dear Ms Watson
We write to acknowledge receipt of your request, under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), seeking the following documents:
I request briefing information either sought by, or provided
to the Government in relation to the responsibility or liability of the
ABA/the banks and/or the government in money scams facilitated through the
banks (that is, scams that use the banks to process
payments/move money). A particular focus on Authorised Push
Payments is sought.
The timeframe I seek is from 2021 until now.
I would like the information requested to include the
following:
• Any reports, or briefings requested, to or from the Public
Service or Government, including any provided by or to the Banks or the
ABA to the Government;
• Any briefs provided regarding discussions between the
Government and the Banks (whether through the ABA or individual Banks)
relating to this subject matter;
• Any briefs to the Government relating to this (including
any Ministerial signed documents).
Exclusions:
1. Please do not provide documents that are duplicates
wholly or in substance (eg emails to multiple stakeholders with the same
content, reply emails).
2. Also, please redact any content that would require
consultation with third parties.
The Treasury received your request on 21 July 2024. The FOI Act provides
that we have 14 days to acknowledge, and 30 days to process, the request.
This period may be extended if we need to consult third parties or for
other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
We will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request and the
amount of any such charge as soon as possible.
We make the following assumptions that affect the scope of the request.
These are set out below.
It is our usual practice:
• not to disclose the personal information of government
employees or the personal contact details of senior government employees
(including those of the Treasury). The names of senior officers will
generally be released.
• not to release duplicates of any document captured within the
scope of the request.
• only the final version of a document will be considered
within scope.
Please inform us if you do not agree to the request being processed on the
above assumptions. If we do not hear from you, your request will be
processed on the basis that these documents are outside the scope of your
request.
We will contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if
you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.
If you have any questions in relation to your application, please contact
the FOI Team on 02 6263 2800.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Officer
The Treasury
Ph: +61 2 6263 2800
e: [1][email address]
The Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) may collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email
address and telephone number in order to contact you about your request or
privacy complaint. We hold personal information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint
about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6263 1384 or
via e-mail [2][email address]. You can find further information
about how the Treasury handles personal information in the Treasury’s
privacy policy.
OFFICIAL
OFFICIAL
Dear Ms Watson
It has become apparent that we will not be able to make the statutory
timeframe. A number of documents, in whole or part, require consultation
with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) regarding
possible Cabinet-related exemptions.
We are informed that, due to the high workload of PM&C, the current
expected timeframe for PM&C to respond to a Cabinet consultation is around
4 weeks.
Accordingly, we seek your agreement to a 24-day extension of time under
section 15AA of the FOI Act for this consultation. Under section 15AA, you
can agree to an extension period of up to 30 days. If accepted, a decision
will then be due to you on or before Friday 13 September 2024.
Alternatively, if you do not want to extend the timeframe, you may wish to
consider revising the scope of your request to remove the material that
requires PM&C Cabinet consultation. If so, we will proceed to a decision
within the statutory timeframe.
We ask that you respond to this email, advising how the request will
progress by midday Friday 9 August 2024. If we do not hear from you by
then we will seek an Information Commissioner extension of time.
Kind regards,
Freedom of Information Officer
The Treasury
Ph: +61 2 6263 2800
e: [1][email address]
The Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) may collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email
address and telephone number in order to contact you about your request or
privacy complaint. We hold personal information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint
about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6263 1384 or
via e-mail [2][email address]. You can find further information
about how the Treasury handles personal information in the Treasury’s
privacy policy.
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by
return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have
been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any
confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information
contained within the email or attachments.
Dear FOI,
Just checking you are still on track for a reply by 13 September? I have waited a long time for this FOI as the original request was submitted mid June 2024. Three months seems excessive
Yours sincerely,
Harriet Spring
OFFICIAL
Dear Ms Spring
Thank you for your query. We have your request recorded as received on 21
July 2024, rather than mid-June.
As previously foreshadowed, we are currently awaiting a consultation
response from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet regarding
some Cabinet-related material captured by your request.
We expect to be able to make a decision on your request by Friday 13
September 2024.
Kind regards,
Freedom of Information Officer
The Treasury
Ph: +61 2 6263 2800
e: [1][email address]
The Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) may collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email
address and telephone number in order to contact you about your request or
privacy complaint. We hold personal information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint
about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6263 1384 or
via e-mail [2][email address]. You can find further information
about how the Treasury handles personal information in the Treasury’s
privacy policy.
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by
return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have
been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any
confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information
contained within the email or attachments.
OFFICIAL
Dear FOI,
Thank you for your reply.
My original FOI request was sent on 17 June 2024. Treasury decided to combine 3 separate requests, and then advised the combined request was too large and denied it on 3 July 2024. I subsequently sent just one request on 21 July 2024, in order to ensure Treasury cannot combine the request and hence make it too unwieldy.
I look forward to your prompt reply.
Yours sincerely,
Harriet Spring
OFFICIAL
Dear Ms Watson
We are close to finalising this request, however it has become apparent that we will not make the deadline of Friday and seek your agreement to a 7-day extension of time. If approved, the revised deadline will be 20 September 2024.
A response by 4pm tomorrow, Thursday 12 September 2024, would be appreciated.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
Freedom of Information Officer
The Treasury
Ph: +61 2 6263 2800
e: [email address]
The Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) may collect your personal information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number in order to contact you about your request or privacy complaint. We hold personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6263 1384 or via e-mail [email address]. You can find further information about how the Treasury handles personal information in the Treasury's privacy policy.
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information contained within the email or attachments.
Please Note: The information contained in this e-mail message and any attached files may be confidential information and may also be the subject of legal professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this e-mail is unauthorised. If you have received this e-mail by error please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
OFFICIAL
Dear FOI,
Another extension to this now 3rd deadline is approved. I will expect your comprehensive response, (given the time its preparation has taken) on 20 September.
Yours sincerely,
Harriet Spring
OFFICIAL
Dear Ms Watson,
Please see the FOI 3675 decision attached.
Kind regards,
Freedom of Information Officer
The Treasury
Ph: +61 2 6263 2800
e: [1][email address]
The Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) may collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email
address and telephone number in order to contact you about your request or
privacy complaint. We hold personal information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint
about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6263 1384 or
via e-mail [2][email address]. You can find further information
about how the Treasury handles personal information in the Treasury’s
[3]privacy policy.
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by
return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have
been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any
confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information
contained within the email or attachments.
Please Note: The information contained in this e-mail message and any
attached files may be confidential information and may also be the subject
of legal professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient,
any use, disclosure or copying of this e-mail is unauthorised. If you have
received this e-mail by error please notify the sender immediately by
reply e-mail and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
OFFICIAL
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://treasury.gov.au/privacy-policy