Robert Cornell advocacy study documents
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.
To the Department of Veterans' Affairs,
Under FOI I seek the terms of reference for the DVA Robert Cornell advocacy study, or if DVA claim they do not exist, I seek copy of any contract with Robert Cornell DVA currently has, and any document that DVA holds that refers to the commissioning of work from Robert Cornell about DVA’s use of legal services.
There is a public interest in these documents given DVA legal services expenditure skyrocketed by another $3.33 million in FY17/18, on top of the high $10.27 million in the previous financial year, with $9.44 million of that (again another skyrocketing increase) on external legal services.
Taxpayers have a right to know why DVA, which is such a small agency, spends excessively on litigation and overuse of external legal service providers, especially when - again for a small agency - it has an in-house legal staff (including internal barristers) exceeding more than 20 legal practitioners.
The evidence certainly is that DVA does not act as a model litigant, but rather has relationships of benefit to three external legal services providers in particular, that have more to do with unofficial benefits certain individuals within DVA derive from overuse of these very expensive services.
Ms Verity Pane
Good afternoon Verity Pane,
FOI 25408 - FOI acknowledgement
Further to your FOI request received by the Department on 6 November 2018, please accept this as acknowledgement of your request. A decision on your request will be due by 6 December 2018.
Kind Regards,
Information Law Section | Legal Services and General Counsel Branch
Legal Assurance and Governance Division
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: [email address] | W: www.dva.gov.au
-----Original Message-----
From: Verity Pane [mailto:[FOI #4939 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 6 November 2018 11:27 PM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Robert Cornell advocacy study documents [TO BE CLASSIFIED]
To the Department of Veterans' Affairs,
Under FOI I seek the terms of reference for the DVA Robert Cornell advocacy study, or if DVA claim they do not exist, I seek copy of any contract with Robert Cornell DVA currently has, and any document that DVA holds that refers to the commissioning of work from Robert Cornell about DVA’s use of legal services.
There is a public interest in these documents given DVA legal services expenditure skyrocketed by another $3.33 million in FY17/18, on top of the high $10.27 million in the previous financial year, with $9.44 million of that (again another skyrocketing increase) on external legal services.
Taxpayers have a right to know why DVA, which is such a small agency, spends excessively on litigation and overuse of external legal service providers, especially when - again for a small agency - it has an in-house legal staff (including internal barristers) exceeding more than 20 legal practitioners.
The evidence certainly is that DVA does not act as a model litigant, but rather has relationships of benefit to three external legal services providers in particular, that have more to do with unofficial benefits certain individuals within DVA derive from overuse of these very expensive services.
Ms Verity Pane
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Dear Ms Pane
FOI 25408 – Decision and Statement of Reasons
Please find attached the decision relating to your freedom of information
request received by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs on 6 November
2018.
Kind regards
Information Law Section | Legal Services & Assurance Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: [1][email address]
[2]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
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IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous
publications and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial
electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA) please go to
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, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.
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