Dear Department of Human Services,

Can you please provide me with a copy of the below documents from the Department's Operational Information site:

Blueprint:
106-03010000 First Contact Service Offer (FCSO)
106-03010010 Opening the First Contact Service Offer application
106-03010020 Running the First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) application
106-03010030 First Contact Service Offer screens and functions

I would appreciate the documents being provided in either HTML or Microsoft Word format, and for each policy to be attached separately (for easy of use and access).

I look forward to you processing this request under your IPS scheme. If it cannot be processed under IPS/Administrative Access, please process it as a formal Freedom of Information Act request.

Yours faithfully,

Ben Fairless

Dear Department of Human Services,

Can you confirm receipt of this request? A copy of my request can be found at https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/o...

Yours faithfully,

Ben Fairless

Dear FOI.LEGAL.TEAM,

Please process this request under the FOI Act.

Will the Department be updating it's spreadsheet with documents that are not available anymore under the department’s administrative processes.

Yours sincerely,

Ben Fairless

Dear FOI Delegate,

I refer to your charges notice issued today, and wish to contend that the charge has been incorrectly assessed and that the charge should not be imposed.

Operational Information should be released under IPS
===========================================

Firstly, I note that, according to the Department's Operational Information site (http://operational.humanservices.gov.au) and a copy of the Excel Spreadsheet available via that site (http://operational.humanservices.gov.au/...) as of today's date the 4 documents I have requested are listed as being available under the Department's Information Publication Scheme.

On the same website, the department clearly says (in part):

"You can request a copy individual guides from the department's Information Publication Scheme documents"

This contradicts the (un-named, and therefore un-accountable) delegate's statement that the documents are no longer available.

According to "FOI fact sheet 4: The information publication scheme for Australian Government agencies" provided by the OAIC, it says that the Department must publish, under it's IPS scheme, "operational information". Operational Information is defined in the FOI Fact Sheet as:

"information that assists the agency to exercise its functions or powers in making decisions or recommendations that affect members of the public. This includes the agency's rules, guidelines, practices and precedents relating to those decisions and recommendations."

In order to charge for Operational Information, the Department must publish details of the charge in the same way as the information is published. There is no mention on the Operational Website that a charge is payable.

As the Department's website maintains that the requested information is Operational, and there is no reference to a charge, the Department cannot impose a charge for information requested under the IPS.

Please release this information under the IPS as you are required to do. You have not indicated that a charge is payable for IPS information.

In any event, the charges assumes 8 minutes per page of decision making time. Each page should take no more then 5 minutes, therefore reducing the total processing time to under 4 hours (and therefore free).

I look forward to working with the Department on reducing the charge payable for this information, which the department has publicly stated on it's operational website it is willing to release.

Yours sincerely,

Ben Fairless

Dear Department of Human Services,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Human Services's handling of my FOI request 'Operational Information - FCSO'.

The requirement for Money Order or Cheque is an unreasonable burden
===================================================
As of the date of this email, it is $10 to obtain a cheque from the
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and $8.95 for a Money Order.

These additional expenses increase the cost and effort involved in paying for the request. The time and effort required to obtain a Bank Cheque or Money Order in comparison to EFT or credit card appears to be an attempt by the Department to make it as difficult as possible for applicants to pay charges.

The Department and it's officers are be fully aware that the use of
Money Orders and Cheques is on the decline in Australia. Australia
has had access to EFT since the early 90's, and BPAY has been
available in Australia since 1997.

In fact, the Department has electronic payment methods in place for clients who are repaying monies owed to the Commonwealth.

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) relevantly states at
s.3(4):

"The Parliament also intends that functions and powers given by
this Act are to be performed and exercised, as far as possible, to
facilitate and promote public access to information, promptly and
at the lowest reasonable cost."

4.3 of the FOI Guidelines relevantly state:
"A charge must not be used to discourage an applicant from
exercising the right of access conferred by the FOI Act."

The Department's failure to accept EFT would appear to be an
attempt to discourage applicants from excising their rights under
the Freedom of Information Act. As I have demonstrated above, the
Department already has EFT processes in place for the payment of
Suppliers and Clients of the Department.

Accordingly, as the Department will not accept EFT payments (as previously indicated in other requests) I contend that any charge, even the lowest reasonable charge, is inconsistent with the objectives of the FOI Act while the Department insists on refusing to accept payments for FOI differently from payments from other clients of the Department.

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

Yours faithfully,

Ben Fairless