Reason for amendments to s 67CC(2)
Dear Services Australia,
There are amendments to s 67CC(2) of the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, contained in the Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Cheaper Childcare) Act 2022. In particular, the amendment that adds ‘claimant’ to s 67CC(2).
For that amendment, please produce:
1. The earliest in time document in Services Australia’s possession that relates, directly or indirectly, to the above amendment
2. The latest in time document, but on or before 26 September 2022, in Services Australia’s possession that relates, directly or indirectly, to the above amendment
3. The one document in Service Australia’s possession that best describes what prompted Service Australia to pursue this amendment (to clarify: not the purpose of the amendment itself. Rather, why Services Australia had the idea to do it).
Yours faithfully,
Me
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
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and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No charge is
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Your address
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Please advise us as soon as possible if you wish correspondence to be sent
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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.
Dear Me
I refer to your email to Services Australia (the Agency) dated 25 January
2023.
You have requested the following:
There are amendments to s 67CC(2) of the A New Tax System (Family
Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, contained in the Family Assistance
Legislation Amendment (Cheaper Childcare) Act 2022. In particular, the
amendment that adds ‘claimant’ to s 67CC(2).
For that amendment, please produce:
1. The earliest in time document in Services Australia’s possession that
relates, directly or indirectly, to the above amendment
2. The latest in time document, but on or before 26 September 2022, in
Services Australia’s possession that relates, directly or indirectly, to
the above amendment
3. The one document in Service Australia’s possession that best describes
what prompted Service Australia to pursue this amendment (to clarify: not
the purpose of the amendment itself. Rather, why Services Australia had
the idea to do it).
Your request is invalid
Currently, your request has not been registered as a valid request under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) because your request
does not contain enough information to enable the Agency to identify the
documents you are seeking access to.
In relation to points 1 and 2, "relates, directly or indirectly" is too
broad. For example, “indirectly” could capture documents relating to the
original Act. I note the date of assent of the amendment was 29 November
2022, so documents prior to 26 September 2022 may not exist.
In relation to point 3, “best describes” is ambiguous and unclear and
cannot be accurately applied or measured.
To assist you in making your request valid, please consider revising the
scope of your request to the following:
There are amendments to s 67CC(2) of the A New Tax System (Family
Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, contained in the Family Assistance
Legislation Amendment (Cheaper Childcare) Act 2022. In particular, the
amendment that adds ‘claimant’ to s 67CC(2).
For that amendment, please produce:
1. The earliest in time document in Services Australia’s possession
that relates directly to the above amendment
2. The latest in time document, but on or before 26 September 2022,
in Services Australia’s possession that relates directly to the above
amendment
3. A document in Services Australia’s possession that contains the
reason for the amendment.
For your Action
Should you wish to make a valid FOI request, please confirm your agreement
to the proposed scope after consideration of the date requested for point
2. Alternatively please provide any other relevant information that may
assist the Agency to identify the specific documents you require by no
later than Friday, 3 February 2023. If we do not hear from you within that
time we will assume you no longer wish to proceed with a FOI request.
Regards
Kylie, Senior FOI Officer
Information Access Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
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Dear FREEDOMOFINFORMATION,
Hi Kylie,
Thanks for your advice.
I am happy to amend points (1) and (2) as you suggest.
Regarding (3), ‘the reason for’ is the wrong emphasis. The reason for is covered in the EM (I would assume?). Rather, I’m aiming at why Services Australia had the idea that led to pursuing the amendment. Does that make sense?
Say ‘A document in Services Australia’s possession that describes the origin of the idea to pursue the amendment’.
That’s not very good either, open to better wording
Yours sincerely,
Me
Dear Me
Thank you for your email and agreement to revising the scope of your
request.
Please see attached acknowledgement of your request.
Regards
Kylie, Senior FOI Officer
Information Access Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]cid:image003.jpg@01D6B8DA.4DF87C40
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
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Dear Me,
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.
The search and retrieval of the documents relevant to the scope of your
request is underway, however it has been identified that Services
Australia will not be in a position to provide you with a decision by the
current due date of 2 March 2023.
Therefore, I respectfully ask for an additional extension of 8 days under
section 15AA of the FOI Act. The effect of this extension of time means a
decision would be due by 10 March 2023.
I would be grateful if you could respond via email by 27 February 2023 to
advise whether you agree to the extension of time.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we process your request.
Regards
Kylie, Senior FOI Officer
Information Access Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]cid:image003.jpg@01D6B8DA.4DF87C40
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
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.
Dear Me
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.
The FOI team is actively engaging with the relevant business areas and
reviewing documents within the scope of your FOI request. It has been
identified that Services Australia will not be in a position to provide
you with a decision by the current due date of 10 March 2023.
Therefore, I respectfully ask for an extension of 7 days under section
15AA of the FOI Act. The effect of this extension of time means a decision
would be due by 17 March 2023.
I would be grateful if you could respond via email by 6 March 2023 to
advise whether you agree to the extension of time.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we process your request.
Regards
Kylie, Senior FOI Officer
Freedom of Information and Ombudsman Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]cid:image003.jpg@01D6B8DA.4DF87C40
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
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Dear Kylie,
I’m intrigued by the multiple short extensions. Usually departments ask for the 30 days because they can, and still fail.
Yes I am happy with an extension until 17 March 2023 :)
I might be inferring too much but it looks like someone wants to redact something, and they’re not accepting the advice that they have no grounds to redact. If it helps, you can tell them I gave you permission to roll up s 3 and hit them with it while saying ‘Bad dog! Presumption of release! No redactions!’
Yours sincerely,
Me
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.
Dear Me
Please find attached the decision letter and documents relating to your
request for access to documents held by Services Australia.
Regards
Kylie, Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information and Ombudsman Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
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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
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Dear FREEDOMOFINFORMATION,
Thanks for this. Quite helpful.
I would like some more documents. Some are new and I can make new requests. Others could arguably be in the scope of the existing request.
For the potentially in scope documents, would you prefer a fresh request or an internal review?
Yours sincerely,
Me
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.
Dear Me
We would require further information to determine which approach would be
the most appropriate.
For the additional documents, please submit a new request.
If you believe the decision is incorrect and you would like to request a
review of LEX 71589, please refer to Attachment B of the decision letter
for the options. If you believe the documents captured by points 1-3 of
LEX 71589 do not satisfy your request, an internal review would be
appropriate. If you would like supplementary documents, a new request for
those documents would be most appropriate.
Regards
Kylie, Senior FOI Officer
Freedom of Information and Ombudsman Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]cid:image003.jpg@01D6B8DA.4DF87C40
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
Dear Kylie,
Thanks for the advice. I will consider some new requests
You were very helpful, thank you :)
Yours sincerely,
Me
Dear Kylie,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Services Australia's handling of my FOI request 'Reason for amendments to s 67CC(2)'.
I understand that my request for internal review is within time. In the alternative, I request my internal review be considered out of time, on the basis that it is more efficient for all parties than if I were to file a new request on the grounds below.
Information about who is emailing whom is relevant and necessary context to the information in the body of the emails.
I seek review of the decision to redact any/all information in the 'from', 'to', 'cc', and 'bcc' fields of all released emails, excluding information redacted on the basis of s 22.
To the extent information is redacted under s 47E(d), I submit there is no requirement to redact the email domain (e.g., '@servicesaustralia.gov.au' or similar). Releasing the domain will not reveal the positional mailbox, therefore, there is no lawful basis to redact the information. I submit the domains must be released.
To the extent information is redacted under s 47F(1), I infer these are names of EL and/or SES staff (cf 'agency junior staff details redacted under section 22 (out of scope)').
It is well established that SES names are not exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act, least of all solely on the basis that an SES' name is their personal information. In part, this is because SES are meant to be subject to a higher level of accountability. Accountability is literally part of their job description; if they do not want their names released, they are free to become junior staff or resign. I submit that names of SES must be released.
The names of EL staff are a grey area. My submission is they must be released, along with the SES names. However, I would accept a decision where only their first name was released (e.g., 'joe.[redacted]@servicesaustralia.gov.au'). This sufficiently protects their privacy and furthers the public interest by providing the necessary context to the bodies of the emails.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
Me
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.
Dear Me,
I refer to your internal review request to Services Australia (the Agency)
dated 17 April 2023 for documents made under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).
Acknowledgement Letter
Please find attached an acknowledgement letter.
Kind regards
Leah – Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Email: [1][email address]
Freedom of Information Team
Legal Services Division
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
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
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1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Leah,
Thanks for the confirmation
One tiny clarification: my internal review request includes the ‘cc’ field (as well as ‘to’, ‘from’, and ‘bcc’)
Yours sincerely,
Me
Good afternoon,
Please find attached the decision letter relating to your request for
internal review of the decision made for access to documents held by
Services Australia, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
If you have any questions regarding this matter or are unable to open the
attachment please contact me by replying to this email.
Kind regards,
Amanda, Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI and Ombudsman Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
Dear Amanda,
Before I lodge a further review could I take you up on your offer to advise/confirm/discuss:
1. there are no SES names in the documents
2. how releasing the '@servicesaustralia.gov.au' or '@dewr.gov.au' or similar part of an email (whether a positional mailbox or individual staff email) in any way releases personal information or would impact the operations of an agency
(In my view the level of generality in your reasons regarding point 2 was too high to constitute meaningful reasons for decision. The reasons also look like form reasons. These and other reasons tend to suggest the decision is infected with jurisdictional error)
Yours sincerely,
Me
Dear Me,
I refer to your email below seeking further information regarding the recent internal review decision (LEX 73077).
The basis for the decision is contained in the reasons in the internal review letter notified to you on 17 May 2023.
The decision applied section 22 redactions to non-SES Services Australia (Agency) staff details and section 47F(1) redactions to all Department of Education staff details in the document. In both instances, these staff details included contact details, such as full email addresses.
If you disagree with any part of the decision, you are able to seek external review of the internal review decision via the Australian Information Commissioner by emailing [email address].
Kind regards,
Amanda, Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI and Ombudsman Branch
Legal Services Division
Services Australia
Dear Amanda,
Thanks for your reply
I could seek further review, although that’s resource intensive for everyone involved and best avoided.
Could you confirm I understand correctly, the released documents have no SA SES names in them (redacted or otherwise)?
Also, neither the decision or your reply below explains why the agency part of any email address is covered by ss 22 or 47F(1). Assuming the name or positional mailbox is redacted, the agency part is not out of scope or personal information. Can you please explain? If I seek review and SA loses, you’ll have to forevermore not redact them
Yours sincerely,
Me