Public interest disclosures
Dear Services Australia,
Despite an express object of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) requiring that “disclosures by public officials are properly investigated and dealt with” (Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth), s 6(d)), under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), I request access to any and all documents in the possession of Services Australia providing that it is permissible for an inadequate public interest disclosure investigation to remain unremedied by officials in the agency to which an internal disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) was allocated for investigation.
Please provide any documents to me by reply email.
Yours faithfully,
Brutus
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
Charges
The Agency will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request
and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No charge is
payable for providing a person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires you to provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. We will send correspondence and notices to your email address.
Please advise us as soon as possible if you wish correspondence to be sent
to another address or if your email address changes.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements in place for the release
of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI request. These
arrangements do not extend to information or material of third parties.
Exclusion of staff details
The Agency is working towards ensuring all staff have a choice about
whether they provide their full name, personal logon identifiers and
direct contact details in response to FOI requests. Where such details are
included in documents they will be redacted. If you request staff details
as part of your FOI application, this may add to processing time and
applicable charges as it will be necessary to consider whether these
details are exempt under the FOI Act.
Our reference: LEX 75777
Dear Sir / Madam,
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). You requested access to:
Despite an express object of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth)
requiring that “disclosures by public officials are properly investigated
and dealt with” (Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth), s 6(d)), under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), I request access to any and all
documents in the possession of Services Australia providing that it is
permissible for an inadequate public interest disclosure investigation to
remain unremedied by officials in the agency to which an internal
disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) was
allocated for investigation.
Your request was received by Services Australia (the Agency) on 4
September 2023 and the 30 day statutory period for processing your request
commenced from the day after that date. You should therefore expect a
decision from us by 4 October 2023. The period of 30 days may be extended
if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will advise
you if this happens.
Charges
The Agency will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request
and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No charge is
payable for providing a person with their own personal information.
Your Address
The FOI Act requires you provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. You have advised your electronic is
[1][FOI #10656 email]. We will send all notices
and correspondence to this address. Please advise us as soon as possible
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.
Administrative Release of Documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements (arrangements) for the
release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI request.
Unless you advise us otherwise, in processing your request we may provide
you with documents under these arrangements where appropriate. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Disclosure Log
Please note information released under the FOI Act may be published in a
disclosure log on the Agency'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 junior staff details
The Agency is working towards ensuring all staff have a choice about
whether they provide their full name, personal logon identifiers and
direct contact details in response to public enquiries. Where such details
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 these details are out of scope of your request
and they will be redacted under section 22 of the FOI Act.
Further assistance
If you have any questions please email
[2][Services Australia request email].
Kind regards,
Alexander, FOI Practitioner
Freedom of Information and Ombudsman Branch
LEGAL SERVICES
Email: [3][Services Australia request email]
[4]cid:image003.jpg@01D6B8DA.4DF87C40
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands we live on. I pay my
respects to all Elders, past and present, of all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander nations.
Please note: This email and any attachments may contain information
subject to legal professional privilege or information that is otherwise
sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this
email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication.
If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender
immediately and permanently delete this email.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #10656 email]
2. mailto:[Services Australia request email]
3. mailto:[Services Australia request email]
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please find attached the decision letter relating to your request for
access to documents held by Services Australia, under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.
If you are unable to open the attachment please contact me by replying to
this email.
Kind regards,
Alexander, FOI Practitioner
FOI Team, Freedom of Information and Ombudsman Branch, Legal Services
Division
[1]Visual brand element showing Services Australia progress symbol to left
with Services Australia wording to the right of the symbol. Underneath is
servicesaustralia.gov.au and icons representing our social media accounts.
To follow us on social media go to servicesaustralia.gov.au/socialmedia
Aligning the bottom of the signature block is the Services Australia
indigenous artwork strip consisting of cultural elements depicting our
agency’s progress story for First Nations people.
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands we
live on. We pay our respects to all Elders, past and present, of all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.
References
Visible links