Records of DHA employees who are direct family members of DHA Executive/SES staff

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Ms Jones

Thank you for your email to Defence Housing Australia of 22 January 2019,
requesting the following information:

- Any human resources or conflict of interest policy relating
to hiring of direct family members;

- Extracts of employment data/records identifying the number
of DHA employees employed/appointed over the past 7 years who are direct
family members of current members of DHA's executive/SES staff (eg this
data could be extracted from existing employment records by matching name,
address or name of next of kin);

- Employment history records showing the process by which
those employees (the direct family members of the executive/SES staff)
were first appointed – ie. confirming if it was via a competitive process
or by direct appointment;

- Employment or organisational records showing whether the
DHA executive/SES staff member was in the approval chain for the family
members' appointment as an employee of DHA or records showing whether the
executive/SES member was the General Manager/senior executive of the
relevant division at the time the family member was appointed/promoted;

- Where the DHA executive/SES staff member was in the
approval chain, the records showing the name of the relevant executive/SES
staff member(s);

- Any conflicts of interest declarations made by
executives/SES staff members regarding the hiring of direct family members
over the same 7-year period.

This email is to acknowledge receipt of your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the Act). Under the provisions of the Act, DHA has
30 days after the day the request was received to notify you of a
decision.

Should you have any questions regarding your request, my email contact
details are below.

Kind Regards

Kathryn Teague | Privacy Officer

Governance Division

Defence Housing Australia

26 Brisbane Avenue Barton ACT 2600

[DHA request email] | www.dha.gov.au

-----Original Message-----
From: Karen Jones <[FOI #5224 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 22 January 2019 5:29 PM
To: Freedom of Information <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Records of DHA employees who are
direct family members of DHA Executive/SES staff

Dear Defence Housing Australia,

This request is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act. The
following documentation is requested:

- Any human resources or conflict of interest policy relating
to hiring of direct family members;

- Extracts of employment data/records identifying the number
of DHA employees employed/appointed over the past 7 years who are direct
family members of current members of DHA's executive/SES staff (eg this
data could be extracted from existing employment records by matching name,
address or name of next of kin);

- Employment history records showing the process by which
those employees (the direct family members of the executive/SES staff)
were first appointed – ie. confirming if it was via a competitive process
or by direct appointment;

- Employment or organisational records showing whether the
DHA executive/SES staff member was in the approval chain for the family
members' appointment as an employee of DHA or records showing whether the
executive/SES member was the General Manager/senior executive of the
relevant division at the time the family member was appointed/promoted;

- Where the DHA executive/SES staff member was in the
approval chain, the records showing the name of the relevant executive/SES
staff member(s);

- Any conflicts of interest declarations made by
executives/SES staff members regarding the hiring of direct family members
over the same 7-year period.

Yours faithfully,

Karen Jones

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References

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hide quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Ms Jones

I am an authorised officer for the purposes of the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth) and I have had an opportunity to consider your request
below.

To assist me in processing your request, I would like to clarify two
matters with you please.

Would you kindly confirm:

1. who you would identify as being a ‘direct family member’?

2. when you refer to executive/SES staff, are you referring to the
Senior Executive Group which includes the Managing Director?

Would you please provide your response by close of business on Monday 4
February 2019.

If you have not responded by then, I will make a determination on these
matters in order to be able to progress your request further.

If you would like to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to
contact me either on the phone number or email below.

Regards,

Amy Cuddihy | FOI Officer
Governance Division | Defence Housing Australia
26 Brisbane Ave Barton ACT 2600
T. 02 6217 8545
[1][DHA request email] | [2]dha.gov.au

From: Freedom of Information
Sent: Wednesday, 23 January 2019 2:42 PM
To: [FOI #5224 email]
Cc: Freedom of Information <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Records of DHA employees who
are direct family members of DHA Executive/SES staff [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]