Recruitment of "Contractor EL1 equivalent in the role of Assistant Director”
Dear Commonwealth Ombudsman,
I’ve come across another interesting contract notice on the AusTender website.
The contract notice number is CN3754388. The description for the contract is “Contractor EL1 equivalent in the role of Assistant Director”. The supplier of the services is Capital Recruit Operating Account. The value of the contract is $156,000. The contract period is 11 February 2021 to 30 October 2021.
I find the notice interesting because a contractor has been brought on to work at the OCO as the “equivalent” of an Executive Level 1 employee for about 8.5 months, at a cost of $156,000. It’s not clear to me if the person brought on is, strictly speaking, a contractor, or whether a contract has been entered into with the supplier to get the supplier to find a person to be temporarily recruited as a public servant or whether a contract has been entered into with the supplier to get the supplier to find a person in another agency with a view to the Ombudsman ‘poaching’ that APS employee with a contract made under s 26 of the Public Service Act.
I’m sure a lot of that can be cleared up if the following documents are made available to me:
a) the written document (or documents) setting out the contract associated with CN3754388, so that I can determine what services were provided by the supplier;
b) any purchase orders associated with CN3754388;
c) any invoices issued by the supplier with respect to CN3754388;
d) any and all documents setting out the scope of the role of this contractor (including what duties they had to perform, performance indicators etc.);
e) the APS role evaluation summary record (the template of this summary record can be found on pages 3 – 5 of the “Australian Public Service Role evaluation tool”, which is available for download at www.apsc.gov.au/working-aps/aps-employee... for the “equivalent” Executive Level 1 Assistant Director role that was the comparative basis of the contractor’s role; and
f) to the extent that it is not covered by (d) and (e), any and all documents setting out the ‘research’ (e.g. interviews with other staff, analysis of similar roles in other agencies, analysis of going market rates in relation to the work to be performed by the contractor etc.) undertaken by OCO staff to determine the proper scope of the role of the contractor.
Accordingly, I make a request for the documents identified at a – f under the FOI Act.
Cynthia
Ombudsman reference: FOI-2022-10022
Dear Cynthia
I acknowledge receipt of your email below dated 29 January 2022 in which you have requested access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
Information you may not be seeking to access
The documents you have requested contain the personal information of third parties (including full names and direct contact details). We seek your agreement to exclude this information from the scope of your FOI request. This may help us to process your request more quickly.
Duplicates
There may be multiple copies of identical documents within our records which fall within the scope of your request. I intend to only consider and make a decision on one copy of each identical document.
Timeframes
You should expect a decision from us within 30 days from the date we received your FOI request. This 30 day period may be extended if we need to consult third parties, impose a charge (a fee for processing your request) or for other reasons. We will let you know if this happens.
Contacts
If you have any questions about this matter, you may contact me by email to [email address] or by phone to 1300 362 072.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Christie
[she/her]
Paralegal | Legal Team
Commonwealth Ombudsman
Ph: 1300 362 072 | Fax: 02 6276 0123
Email: [CO request email]
Influencing systemic improvement in public administration
The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, culture and community. We pay our respects to elders past and present.
Ombudsman reference: FOI-2022-10022
Dear Cynthia
I refer to your Freedom of Information request below.
Your request includes documents which contain information concerning an organisation’s business or professional affairs. I have decided to consult this organisation under s 27 of the FOI Act before making a decision on the release of the documents.
For this reason, the period for processing your request has been extended by 30 days to allow time to consult (see s 15(6) of the FOI Act). The processing period for your request will now end on 30 March 2022.
The consultation mechanisms under ss 27 applies when we believe the organisation concerned may wish to contend that the requested documents are exempt for as disclosure may adversely affect their business or financial affairs. We will take into account any comments we receive but the final decision about whether to grant you access to the documents you requested rests with the Office.
If you have any questions, you may contact me via email at [email address] or via telephone on 1300 362 072.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Christie
[she/her]
Paralegal | Legal Team
Commonwealth Ombudsman
Ph: 1300 362 072 | Fax: 02 6276 0123
Email: [CO request email]
Influencing systemic improvement in public administration
The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, culture and community. We pay our respects to elders past and present.
OFFICIAL
Ombudsman reference: FOI-2022-10022
Dear Cynthia
Please find attached to this email my decision notice and the documents released under my decision in response to your Freedom of Information request below.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Christie
[she/her]
Paralegal | Legal Team
Commonwealth Ombudsman
Ph: 1300 362 072 | Fax: 02 6276 0123
Email: [CO request email]
Influencing systemic improvement in public administration
The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, culture and community. We pay our respects to elders past and present.
OFFICIAL
Dear Cynthia,
I refer to my email below providing my decision on your Freedom of Information request dated 29 January 2022.
Unfortunately, my letter did not include information about your rights under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to make a complaint or seek review of my decision. I apologise for this error.
Please find this information attached.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Christie