Referrals to Coordinated Care and Client Liaison Units for FY15/16-FY17/18 by age group
Verity Pane made this Freedom of Information request to Department of Veterans' Affairs
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Department of Veterans' Affairs,
Under s 17 of the FOI Act, I apply for a one page summary document to be compiled from information held in your agency’s information systems, that sets out the number of DVA clients, by age group, that were referred to SPOC management by the Coordinated Care unit and Client Liaison Unit (to be listed separately).
As per the relevant ANAO report, the Client Liaison Unit (CLU) was established by DVA in Setptember 2007, and the Coordinated Care (CC) unit in January 2010, following criticisms made by various preceding reviews.
DVA implemented the Case Coordination program to case manage clients identified (Level 3 or Level 2) as being at increased risk of self‐harm or harm to others, who have multiple complex needs (although recent veterans who were at risk, such as Jesse Bird, were not managed by this unit). The Client Liaison Unit was established to case manage clients identified (Level 1) as vulnerable or having complex behaviours.
DVA breaks veterans into age groups referred to as ‘young veterans’ (64 and under) and ‘veterans’ (65 and over), based on historical retirement age. For the purpose of this FOI, we will stick to this age split.
Format of compiled document:
Unit....................FY15/16...................FY16/17..................FY17/18
CLU - >65
CLU - 65+
CC - >65
CC- 65+
The purpose of this FOI is to determine what DVA itself has determined are the numbers of vulnerable veterans, by age group, it has, by reference to the number of referrals it makes (which, as the Jesse Bird case reflects, will be a lower number than the actual number of vulnerable veterans DVA is communicating with, but gives some indicative evidence).
Yours faithfully,
Verity Pane
Dear Verity Pane,
Acknowledgement of FOI Request – FOI 23863
I refer to your request to access information held by our Department under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). The Department received
your request on 08 August 2018. In accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the
FOI Act, the Department has 30 days to process your request. As such, a
decision on your request is due by 7 September 2018.
If you have any questions about your FOI matter, please contact us using
the following details:
Post: Legal Services & Assurance, Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
Facsimile: (02) 6289 6337
Email: [1][email address]
In all communications please quote reference FOI 23863
Kind Regards,
Information Law | Legal Services & Assurance Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998 Canberra ACT 2601
E: [2][email address]
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Good afternoon Verity Pane,
FOI 23863 – section 24AB Notice of intention to refuse – Request
consultation due to practical refusal reason
I refer to your request for access to information under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) received on 8 August 2018.
Please find attached a notification under section 24AB of the FOI Act,
advising you of the Department’s intention to refuse your request on the
grounds that a practical refusal reason exists. A decision on this request
will be made pending the outcome of this requested consultation process.
Please review and consider the attached notice and advise how you wish to
proceed by 20 September 2018.
If you require any further assistance or time to respond to this notice
please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind Regards,
Information Law Team
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: [1][email address] | W: [2]www.dva.gov.au
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Dear Position Number 62210022,
I am not sure if I should be honoured or insulted that for my FOIs only, that DVA has decided to continue this latest trend of issuing practical refusal notification just before the statutory processing period expires, in a blatant and most obvious attempt to cause intentional but otherwise avoidable delay.
As you will recalll, the Act requires practical refusal notications to be identified at the earliest practical opportunity, which has been consistently found to be before the 15th day of the statutory processing period (that is, before half of the time has expired).
And yet again DVA dreams up the most impractical and intentionally inefficient overstated calculations (without proof of the legitimacy of said calculations) despite evidence that that far more effective methods exist.
But since you intend to yet again engage in these sham fraudulent tactics, I’ll make this simple.
I revise the scope to cover the time period covering only June 2018 (that being one month only).
Now, the prediction is you’ll now do what you did with your other sham practical refusal, which is to take another 10 day’s or so to respond, and seek another 30 day’s, which to avoid doubt I refuse, which will have you making a secret s 15AB application that I’ll only hear about after it is made, so you can cause even more intentional delay, because that is the level of ethics over at DVA, which is to say none, and intentionally subverting and corrupting your legislative obligations is just what your day to day methodology is.
You may only have, with consent, until 5pm on 21 September 2018 to issue a complete decision and release of documents.
Yours sincerely,
Verity Pane
Good afternoon Verity Pane,
Thank you for your reply below. Your revision removes the practical refusal reason and we will ask the business area to process your request, noting the request now relates to June 2018. Thank you also for providing additional time to finalise your request, it is appreciated. A decision will now be due by 21 September 2018.
Kind Regards,
Information Law Team
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: [email address] | W: www.dva.gov.au
Dear Unnamed Officer,
Thank you for providing evidence DVA is more than capable of responding to a revision of scope following a practical refusal notice within 24 hours, therefore highlighting that the prior decision to delay response for almost two weeks was intentional and avoidable.
It is always useful to have concrete examples to contrast and compare with.
Yours sincerely,
Verity Pane
Good afternoon Verity Pane,
FOI 23863 – Decision and Statement of Reasons
I refer to your freedom of information request received by the Department
on 8 August 2018. Please find attached the decision and document in
response to your request.
Thank you for providing the department additional time to process your
request.
Kind Regards,
Information Law Team
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: [1][email address] | W: [2]www.dva.gov.au
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Dear Unnamed Officer,
Can you advise what service coordination is? The ANAO report didn’t refer to this category.
Yours sincerely,
Verity Pane
Good afternoon Verity Pane,
In response to your email below, we advise that in some instances,
terminally ill clients may be referred to Service Coordination to ensure
they have all potential benefits and services in place both pre and post
the client’s death. Some pointed information about Service Coordination
follows:
· Service Coordination (including the Family Support Package for
widowed partners and spouses), commenced in May 2018 in response to Senate
Inquiry Report, The Constant Battle: Suicide by Veterans, the Family
Support Package for Widow(er)s.
· This package provides access to counselling, home help services
and child care for families following the death a veteran with MRCA
warlike service, when liability is accepted by the Department.
· The Family Support Package can be accessed pre-liability when a
veteran’s death is believed to be the result of suicide, if they rendered
MRCA warlike service.
· The Service Coordination team within the Department assist
widowed partners and spouses to navigate the process of being assessed for
the Family Support Package. If a widow(er) is not being managed by Service
Coordination, they are able to contact the Department to discuss a
referral.
· Service Coordinators provide a single point of contact in the
Department for dependants of deceased ADF members whose death results from
current or recent service, including those members who may have discharged
prior to their death. Dependants may include widow/ers, partners,
children and parents.
· Service Coordinators deal with a range of issues from
compensation following death of the member, arranging counselling,
education payments, health issues and other support.
More information about the Family Support Package for Widow(er)s can be
found on the Department’s website at
[1]https://www.dva.gov.au/factsheet-mrc53-f...
and a copy of the Senate Inquiry Report can be found here
[2]https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Bus...
We hope the above assists and provides the clarification you sought.
Kind Regards,
Information Law Team
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: [3][email address] | W: [4]www.dva.gov.au
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Dear Unnamed Officer,
Thank you for that explanation. This FOI is now closed.
Yours sincerely,
Verity Pane
Dear Verity Pane,
You are welcome.
Kind Regards,
Information Law Team
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: [email address] | W: www.dva.gov.au
Good afternoon Verity Pane,
FOI 24561 Charges notice
We refer to your FOI request received by the Department on 18 September
2018. Please find attached a charges notice in relation to your request.
Information about what is requested of you is contained within.
Kind Regards,
Information Law Team
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: [1][email address] | W: [2]www.dva.gov.au
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