Dear Mr Castro

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

"The DHHS provides Covid-19 data downloads on its website
www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/victorian-cor... including
all Victorian cases by acquired source. This shows the date of diagnosis
and the source for each case. I request details for each case in this
dataset that has the source “Contact with a confirmed case”, including the
following: • Date of diagnosis • Details of the setting in which contact
with a confirmed case occurred (e.g. own home, other residence, workplace,
exposure site, other indoor setting, other outdoor setting). •Relationship
between the new case and the confirmed case •Any other relevant
information about how the case acquired Covid-19. This request is for the
period from 11 March 2020 until the date this FOI request is processed,"

Your application was received on Thursday 2 September 2021.

Invalid request – Application fee required

The Act provides that an application fee of $30.10 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 (F21/1720) 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 Monday 4 October, 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 

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
[4]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://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/protective-m...

Dear Mr Castro

Please see attached.

Kind regards

Authorised Officer | Freedom of Information

Legal, Privacy and Integrity

Department of Health

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

We acknowledge the traditional Aboriginal owners of country throughout
Victoria and pay our respect to them, their culture and their Elders past,
present and future.

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
[2]here

References

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