Number of people issued top-up hearing aids not on the Free to Client list for FY 2017-2018
Arthur Jordan made this Freedom of Information request to Comcare
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Comcare,
I seek any documents,notes or computer lists showing the number of clients who have been issued top-up hearing aids (not on the Free to Client list)and where the cost has been fully subsidized for hearing loss and/or tinnitus claims by Public Servants and/or Defence Contractors (if applicable) for the Financial Year ending 30 Jun 18.
I do not require any personal information which may be redacted, just a list of the number of people issued top-up hearing aids which are not on the Free to Client list but have had the cost fully subsidized by Comcare.
Yours faithfully,
Arthur Jordan
Thank you for your email to Freedom of Information (FOI) at Comcare. If
your request meets the requirements for a valid FOI request, an
acknowledgement letter will be sent to you within 14 days. Otherwise, FOI
staff will contact you to discuss your request.
NOTICE: This e-mail message and attachments may contain confidential,
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Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information team at Comcare. If
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you within 14 days. Otherwise, a member of the FOI team will respond to
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copy of our Privacy Policy.
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Jordan,
Thank you for your email of 16 November 2018, seeking access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the following:
I seek any documents, notes or computer lists showing the number of
clients who have been issued top-up hearing aids (not on the Free to
Client list)and where the cost has been fully subsidized for hearing loss
and/or tinnitus claims by Public Servants and/or Defence Contractors (if
applicable) for the Financial Year ending 30 Jun 18.
I do not require any personal information which may be redacted, just a
list of the number of people issued top-up hearing aids which are not on
the Free to Client list but have had the cost fully subsidized by Comcare.
Your request has been assigned reference number 2018/12870 and you are
asked to cite that number in any communication you have with Comcare
concerning the request. Information on processing of your request is set
out below.
Timeframe for receiving your decision
The statutory timeframe for processing your request is 30 days from the
date on which it was received by Comcare, which makes the due date for the
decision on your request is 16 December 2018.
This timeframe may be extended where:
a) charges are levied as prescribed by the Freedom of Information
(Fees and Charges) Regulations 1982 (the FOI Regulations)(see charges
below);
b) consultation with third parties is necessary (see consultation
with third parties below);
c) by agreement from you, under section 15AA of the FOI Act; or
d. by approval of the Information Commissioner, under section 15AB of the
FOI Act.
Disclosure Log
Please note that information released under FOI Act may be published in a
disclosure log on the Comcare’s website. 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.
Exclusion of employee details
Where the full name and contact details of staff members are included in
the scope of a request, this may add to processing time and
applicable charges as it may be necessary to consider whether the details
are exempt under the FOI Act. On this basis, unless you tell us otherwise,
we will assume that these details are out of scope of your request
and they will be redacted under section 22 of the FOI Act.
Consultation with third parties
The FOI Act requires Comcare to undertake consultation prior to making any
decision to grant access to documents (subject to exemptions) that
contain:
· information that originated with, or was received from, a State
or an authority of a State;
· information that originated with, or was received from, a
foreign government, an authority of a foreign government or an
international organisation;
· information concerning a person's business or commercial
affairs, or the business, commercial or financial affairs of an
organisation or undertaking; or
o personal information about a person (including a deceased person).
You will be advised as soon as possible if external consultation is
required.
Charges
The department will advise you if a charge is payable to process your
request. No charge is payable for providing a person with their own
personal information.
Contact
Should you require clarification of any of the matters discussed in this
email, or have any queries throughout the process, please contact me by
email to [1][Comcare request email] or by telephone 1300 366 979.
Yours sincerely
Elizabeth Zatschler
[2]cid:[email address]
Elizabeth Zatschler
Assistant Director, FOI & Privacy
[3]cid:[email address] +61262750637 |
[4][email address]
GPO Box 9905, Canberra, ACT, 2601 |
[5]www.comcare.gov.au
NOTICE: This e-mail message and attachments may contain confidential,
personal or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended
recipient you should not use or disclose any information in the message or
attachments. If received in error, please notify the sender by return
email immediately, if possible, or [email address].
Comcare does not waive any confidentiality or privilege. For information
about how we handle personal information, please visit
www.comcare.gov.au/privacy or contact us on 1300 366 979 and request a
copy of our Privacy Policy.
References
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1. mailto:[Comcare request email]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.comcare.gov.au/
Dear foi,
The statutory timeframe for processing my request was 30 days from the
date on which it was received by Comcare, which makes the due date for the
decision on my request the 16 December 2018. As this is a Sunday, the due date falls on the next working day which is the 17 December, 2018.
By law, Comcare should normally have responded promptly and no later than 17 December 2018.
Could you please respond to this FOI application as a matter of urgency?
Yours sincerely,
Arthur Jordan
18 December 2018
Thank you for your email to Freedom of Information (FOI) at Comcare. If
your request meets the requirements for a valid FOI request, an
acknowledgement letter will be sent to you within 14 days. Otherwise, FOI
staff will contact you to discuss your request.
NOTICE: This e-mail message and attachments may contain confidential,
personal or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended
recipient you should not use or disclose any information in the message or
attachments. If received in error, please notify the sender by return
email immediately, if possible, or [email address].
Comcare does not waive any confidentiality or privilege. For information
about how we handle personal information, please visit
www.comcare.gov.au/privacy or contact us on 1300 366 979 and request a
copy of our Privacy Policy.
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Jordan,
Thank you for your email.
Comcare have requested an extension of time from the OAIC for an extra 30 days. This will make your new due date 15 January 2019.
Kind regards,
FOI team.
OAIC reference: RQ18/03698
Agency reference: 2018/12870
Mr Arthur Jordan
By email: [1][FOI #5112 email]
Extension of time under s 15AB
Dear Mr Jordan
Please find attached correspondence in relation to the processing of your
FOI request.
Kind regards
[2]O A I C logo Adie Chang | Assistant Review
Officer
Freedom of Information
Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 |
[3]oaic.gov.au
+61 2 9284 9686 |
[4][email address]
[5]Facebook | [6]LinkedIn | [7]Twitter | [8]Subscribe [9]Subscribe to
icon OAICnet newsletter
References
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3. http://www.oaic.gov.au/
4. mailto:[email address]
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6. https://www.linkedin.com/company/office-...
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9. https://www.oaic.gov.au/media-and-speech...
Sensitive: Personal
Kind Regards,
FOI Officer
Sensitive: This document may contain sensitive information as defined
under Section 6 of the Privacy Act. NOTICE: This e-mail message and
attachments may contain confidential, personal or legally privileged
information. If you are not the intended recipient you should not use or
disclose any information in the message or attachments. If received in
error, please notify the sender by return email immediately, if possible,
or [email address]. Comcare does not waive any
confidentiality or privilege. For information about how we handle personal
information, please visit www.comcare.gov.au/privacy or contact us on 1300
366 979 and request a copy of our Privacy Policy.
Dear Comcare,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Comcare's handling of my FOI request 'Number of people issued top-up hearing aids not on the Free to Client list for FY 2017-2018'.
I do not consider that Comcare has made a thorough attempt to supply the information sought. The information sought should be very easy to find. If you were required to supply this information by a Senator before Senate Estimates, you would take the request on notice and supply the information within 28 days. Comcare also has a list of all hearing aids on the Free to Client (FTC) list. This list had been previously supplied to me via Comcare. I can provide a copy if required. A quick search via your IT systems would indicate if all hearing aids supplied are, or are not, on this list. I have been given estimates by staff members at Comcare so this information appears to be well known and/or easily found and retrieved.
It therefore appears that Comcare is easily able to comply with Section 17 and...could produce a written document containing the information by using a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available’ to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information …’
I would suggest that the following steps would easily produce the requested information:-
1. Search for names of hearing aids issued during the relevant period.
2. Compare that list against the FTC list in the possession of Comcare.
3. Any hearing aids that appear on the FTC list can be ignored, leaving a very small number of the top-up hearing aids issued to Claimants.
4. This would produce the list sought by me showing the "Number of people issued top-up hearing aids not on the Free to Client (FTC) for the FY 2017-2018."
If you follow these easy steps, it will not cause any inconvenience to Comcare and will enable me to obtain the information sought. Please advise if you require me to provide you a copy of the FTC list previously provided to me by your Agency.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/n...
Yours faithfully,
Arthur Jordan
Thank you for your email to Freedom of Information (FOI) at Comcare. If
your request meets the requirements for a valid FOI request, an
acknowledgement letter will be sent to you within 14 days. Otherwise, FOI
staff will contact you to discuss your request.
NOTICE: This e-mail message and attachments may contain confidential,
personal or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended
recipient you should not use or disclose any information in the message or
attachments. If received in error, please notify the sender by return
email immediately, if possible, or [email address].
Comcare does not waive any confidentiality or privilege. For information
about how we handle personal information, please visit
www.comcare.gov.au/privacy or contact us on 1300 366 979 and request a
copy of our Privacy Policy.
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Jordan,
The decision on your internal review is attached.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
[1]cid:[email address]
FOI & Privacy
1300 366 979 |
[2]cid:[email address] [3][Comcare request email]
GPO Box 9905,
Canberra, ACT, 2601 |
[4]www.comcare.gov.au
NOTICE: This e-mail message and attachments may contain confidential,
personal or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended
recipient you should not use or disclose any information in the message or
attachments. If received in error, please notify the sender by return
email immediately, if possible, or [email address].
Comcare does not waive any confidentiality or privilege. For information
about how we handle personal information, please visit
www.comcare.gov.au/privacy or contact us on 1300 366 979 and request a
copy of our Privacy Policy.
References
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3. mailto:[Comcare request email]
4. http://www.comcare.gov.au/
Arthur Jordan left an annotation ()
Comcare does not want to make an effort to locate the easily retrieved information. They have not addressed all matters raised in the request for Internal Review but just selected matters that help make them look good. Time for intervention by my Local Federal MP and complaint to Ombudsman and OAIC.