Dear Mr Smith

I refer to your application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the
Act) requesting access to:

"All correspondence between the Minister's Office and the Victorian
Department of Health and Human Services, between 1 January 2019 and
present, on options for reducing ambulance response time."

Your application was received on 8 August 2022.

Invalid request – Application fee required

The Act provides that an application fee of $30.60 must accompany each
request. In the current circumstances, the department's preferred method
of payment is via the Victorian Government's online FOI portal at the
below link:

[1]https://online.foi.vic.gov.au/foi/reques...

Please quote your reference number (F22/1452) in the "Request Details"
section of the online form. You do not need to provide the wording of your
request again.

The Act also provides that the application fee may be waived or reduced if
payment of the fee would cause financial hardship. If you consider this to
be the case the fee may be waived or reduced on production of evidence of
how the payment of the application fee would cause you hardship. 

As stated on the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner’s
website, an applicant should provide evidence of hardship when they are
requesting an agency to waive or reduce the application fee:

‘If you request the application fee to be waived or reduced, you should
provide evidence of hardship – for example, a concession or health care
card, a bank statement, or statutory declaration outlining why payment
would cause you hardship.’

Please note your request cannot proceed until the application fee or
evidence of hardship has been received as it is not a valid request.

I would appreciate it if you would respond by 10 September 2022, otherwise
I will assume that you do not wish to proceed and no further action will
be taken by the department.

Anticipated delays in processing

Please also note that, due to a high volume of requests, we are currently
experiencing significant delays in processing times. Once you have made
your request valid, you may be contacted in the course of processing your
request to seek an extension of time for providing a decision on your
request.

Thank you very much for your patience and understanding.

If you have any questions in relation to your request, please direct all
correspondence relating to your request to [2][email address].

Kind Regards,

Authorised Officer| Freedom of Information unit 
Legal, Privacy and Integrity 
Department of Health 

[3]www.health.vic.gov.au

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[8]Department of Health        [9]Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
flags  [10]Progressive Pride flag

The Victorian Government acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges
and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.

The Department of Health celebrates, values and includes people of all
backgrounds, genders, sexualities, cultures, bodies and abilities.

OFFICIAL

This email contains confidential information intended only for the person
named above and may be subject to legal privilege. If you are not the
intended recipient, any disclosure, copying or use of this information is
prohibited. The Department provides no guarantee that this communication
is free of virus or that it has not been intercepted or interfered with.
If you have received this email in error or have any other concerns
regarding its transmission, please notify [email address]

This email and/or attached documents may include Victorian protective
markings as set out by the Office of the Victorian Information
Commissioner (OVIC). More information on protective markings can be found
[11]here

References

Visible links
1. https://online.foi.vic.gov.au/foi/reques...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.health.vic.gov.au/
4. https://twitter.com/VicGovDH
5. https://www.facebook.com/VicGovDH
6. https://www.instagram.com/vicgovdh/?hl=en
7. https://au.linkedin.com/company/departme...
8. https://www.health.vic.gov.au/
9. https://www.firstpeoplesrelations.vic.go...
10. https://www.vic.gov.au/lgbtiq-equality
11. https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/protective-m...

Good afternoon Mr Smith

The Act provides that the application fee may be waived or reduced if
payment of the fee would cause financial hardship. If you consider this to
be the case the fee may be waived or reduced on production of evidence of
how the payment of the application fee would cause you hardship.

As stated on the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner’s
website, an applicant should provide evidence of hardship when they are
requesting an agency to waive or reduce the application fee:

‘If you request the application fee to be waived or reduced, you should
provide evidence of hardship – for example, a concession or health care
card, a bank statement, or statutory declaration outlining why payment
would cause you hardship.’

Please note your request cannot proceed until the application fee or
evidence of hardship has been received as it is not a valid request.

Kind regards,

Authorised Officer | Freedom of Information unit 
Legal, Privacy and Integrity 
Department of Health 

[1]www.health.vic.gov.au 

From: John Smith <[2][FOI #9243 email]>

Sent: Friday, 12 August 2022 9:25 AM

To: FOI (DFFH) <[3][email address]>

Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Reducing
ambulance response time

Dear Victorian Department of Health and Human Services,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Victorian Department of
Health and Human Services's handling of my FOI request 'Reducing ambulance
response time'.

Given the significant public interest in this matter I request the fee
requested is waived in this instance.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[4]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

Yours faithfully,

John Smith

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[5][FOI #9243 email]

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:

[6]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICIAL

This email contains confidential information intended only for the person
named above and may be subject to legal privilege. If you are not the
intended recipient, any disclosure, copying or use of this information is
prohibited. The Department provides no guarantee that this communication
is free of virus or that it has not been intercepted or interfered with.
If you have received this email in error or have any other concerns
regarding its transmission, please notify [email address]

This email and/or attached documents may include Victorian protective
markings as set out by the Office of the Victorian Information
Commissioner (OVIC). More information on protective markings can be found
[7]here

References

Visible links
1. http://www.health.vic.gov.au/
2. mailto:[FOI #9243 email]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.r...
5. mailto:[FOI #9243 email]
6. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.r...
7. https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/protective-m...

hide quoted sections

Dear Mr Smith

I refer to your application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the
Act) requesting access to:

"All correspondence between the Minister's Office and the Victorian
Department of Health and Human Services, between 1 January 2019 and
present, on options for reducing ambulance response time."

I also refer to the department’s correspondence dated 10 August and 19
August 2022 in which the department outlined what is required in order to
satisfy the application fee-waiver requirements.

As you have not made application fee payment, nor provided evidence of
hardship so as to satisfy the fee-waiver requirements, I formally advise
you that I am finalising your application under section 17(2) of the Act,
as it is not a valid FOI request.

Complaint Rights

If you are not satisfied with my decision you have the right to apply to
the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (the Commissioner)
and make a complaint. A complaint needs to be made in writing within 60
days.

I have attached a fact sheet providing further information on making a
request for a complaint to the Commissioner.

Kind regards,

Authorised Officer | Freedom of Information unit 
Legal, Privacy and Integrity 
Department of Health 

[1]www.health.vic.gov.au 

This email contains confidential information intended only for the person
named above and may be subject to legal privilege. If you are not the
intended recipient, any disclosure, copying or use of this information is
prohibited. The Department provides no guarantee that this communication
is free of virus or that it has not been intercepted or interfered with.
If you have received this email in error or have any other concerns
regarding its transmission, please notify [email address]

This email and/or attached documents may include Victorian protective
markings as set out by the Office of the Victorian Information
Commissioner (OVIC). More information on protective markings can be found
[2]here

References

Visible links
1. http://www.health.vic.gov.au/
2. https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/protective-m...