Thank you for your email.

You have contacted the Freedom of Information (FOI) team of the Department
of Social Services (the department).

If your email relates to a Freedom of Information application made under
the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), the department
will respond to you as soon as practicable.

Further information about FOI is available on our website at:
[1]https://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-departm...

This email address is for applications under the FOI Act only. The
department is unable to respond to non-FOI related enquiries sent to this
email address. Any correspondence received that is not an information
access request will not be responded to or forwarded. Should you have a
query unrelated to FOI, please complete our [2]online feedback, enquiry or
compliment form on our website or direct your email to
[3][email address].  Alternatively you can contact the department by
calling 1800 634 035.

With regards

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Freedom of Information

Government and Executive Services

Department of Social Services
E: [4][Department of Social Services request email]

The Department of Social Services acknowledges the traditional owners of
country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
water and community.

We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past
and present.

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-departm...
2. https://www.dss.gov.au/contact/feedback-...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[Department of Social Services request email]

Good Afternoon,

I refer to your correspondence received by the Department of Social
Services (the Department) on 11 March 2022, in which you requested access
under the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to:

‘Please make available the final report, findings and recommendations of
the 2021 Swinburne University Information, Linkages and Capacity Building
Research Project commissioned by the Department of Social Services...’

I am reaching out to seek  the below;

-          Removal of non-SES staff names and contact details

The Department is seeking your agreement to the removal of the names and
contact details of non-Senior Executive Service (non-SES) staff, which may
be contained within the documents identified in relation to your request.

Based on the scope of your request, this information does not appear
relevant to you, therefore we would like to remove it under section 22 of
the FOI Act.

Please respond to this email by 21 March 2022 to advise whether you agree
that this information is not relevant to you.

Decision due

The statutory period for processing your request is 30 days commencing
from the day after your request was received. If the due date falls on a
Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday, in accordance with the FOI guidelines
issued by the Australian Information Commissioner, the timeframe will
expire on the first day following which is none of those days.

In accordance with paragraph (b) of subsection 15(5) of the FOI Act, a
decision on your request is currently due on 10 April 2022.

When the processing period may be extended or suspended

The current due date may be extended by up to 30 days if agreed by you
(section 15AA of the FOI Act). The due date may also be extended by an
additional 30 days in each instance, if your request is considered
voluminous or complex (section 15AB of the FOI Act) or if the Department
is required to undertake a third party consultation (sections 26A, 27 or
27A of the FOI Act). If any of these extensions apply, the Department will
notify you.  

Additionally, there are occasions where the time to process your request
may be suspended. This will usually take place if a practical refusal
consultation process takes place (section 24AB of the FOI Act) or if a
charges notice is issued to process your request (section 29 of the FOI
Act). If the Department decides that either of these apply to your
request, the Department will notify you.

The Department will correspond with you by email in relation to your FOI
request. 

Should you have any queries about this matter, please do not hesitate to
contact the FOI team via email at [1][Department of Social Services request email].

Yours sincerely,

Ashleigh

FOI Officer

Corporate Law Section

Legal Services Branch

Department of Social Services

E: [2][email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Susan,

In our acknowledgement email dated 16 March 2022, you were advised that a
decision is due to you on 10 April 2022.

We outlined that there are occasions where this deadline may be extended,
and one such occasion is where the Department identifies the need to
undertake consultations with a third party.

Notice of extension of time for Third Party consultations

Documents which contain the business information of a third party have
been identified within the scope of your request. As such, the Department
is obligated to engage that third party under [1]section 27 of the FOI Act
before a decision can be finalised regarding the release of the documents.
There are additional rights that the third party has once the Department
has made a decision on your request, and we will provide further
information in our decision letter if this is likely to impact you.

Subsection 15(6) of the FOI Act applies an additional 30 days to the
statutory time limit for undertaking third party consultations.

Therefore, a decision is now due to you on Tuesday 10 May 2022.

Request for removal of staff names and details

Also in our acknowledgement email of 16 March, we asked whether you would
be comfortable with us removing the names and contact details of
non-Senior Executive Service (non-SES) Departmental staff if they appear
in any documents identified as falling within the scope of your request.
From our understanding of your request, this information does not appear
relevant to you.

Please could you respond to advise whether you are happy for non-SES names
and contact details to be removed from the documents?

I would be grateful for your reply by 5 April 2022 regarding removal of
non-SES staff names and contacts.

Should you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to
contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Jess 

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Freedom of Information section

Legal Services Branch

Department of Social Services
E: [2][Department of Social Services request email]

The Department of Social Services acknowledges the traditional owners of
country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
water and community.

We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past
and present. 

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References

Visible links
1. http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/...
2. mailto:[Department of Social Services request email]

Good morning Susan,

We are pleased to advise that this report has now been published on the
Department’s website: [1]Summary - Informing Investment Design:
Information Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) Research Activity |
Department of Social Services, Australian Government (dss.gov.au).

We believe that this addresses your FOI request, therefore we are seeking
your agreement to withdraw your FOI request.

Please respond by close of business Wednesday, 4 May 2022 to indicate
whether you agree to withdraw your FOI request.

If you do not agree to withdraw, the Department may request an extension
of time from you in order to engage with you further regarding the scope
of your request.

Many thanks,

Jess

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Freedom of Information section

Legal Services Branch

Department of Social Services
E: [2][Department of Social Services request email]

The Department of Social Services acknowledges the traditional owners of
country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
water and community.

We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past
and present. 

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show quoted sections

Dear Susan,

I am following up regarding my email below, as we do not appear to have
received a response from you.

As noted, the report has now been published and is available on the
Department’s [1]website.

Request to withdraw

We would be grateful for your confirmation that you agree to withdraw your
FOI request at this time.

If you wish for the Department to continue processing your request, please
allow us a 15 day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, to
enable us to consult with you regarding the scope of your request.

Response sought

To ensure that your request is processed to completion within statutory
timeframes, we would appreciate your response by tomorrow, Friday 6 May
2022, to confirm whether you agree to withdraw your FOI request, or to the
extension of time.

Many thanks,

Jess

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Freedom of Information section

Legal Services Branch

Department of Social Services
E: [2][Department of Social Services request email]

The Department of Social Services acknowledges the traditional owners of
country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
water and community.

We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past
and present. 

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From: FOI <[Department of Social Services request email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 3 May 2022 9:39 AM
To: '[FOI #8590 email]'
<[FOI #8590 email]>
Cc: FOI <[Department of Social Services request email]>
Subject: FOI 2122-125 - Providing link to report and seeking withdrawal of
FOI request [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Good morning Susan,

We are pleased to advise that this report has now been published on the
Department’s website[3]: Summary - Informing Investment Design:
Information Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) Research Activity |
Department of Social Services, Australian Government (dss.gov.au).

We believe that this addresses your FOI request, therefore we are seeking
your agreement to withdraw your FOI request.

Please respond by close of business Wednesday, 4 May 2022 to indicate
whether you agree to withdraw your FOI request.

If you do not agree to withdraw, the Department may request an extension
of time from you in order to engage with you further regarding the scope
of your request.

Many thanks,

Jess

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

Freedom of Information section

Legal Services Branch

Department of Social Services
E: [4][Department of Social Services request email]

The Department of Social Services acknowledges the traditional owners of
country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
water and community.

We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past
and present. 

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show quoted sections

Good evening

Please find attached the decision in relation to the request you submitted
on 11 March 2022 seeking access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
to ‘the final report, findings and recommendations of the 2021 Swinburne
University Information, Linkages and Capacity Building Research Project
commissioned by the Department of Social Services.’

Also attached are the documents to which access is being provided and a
document outlining your review rights.

If you have any further enquiries please don’t hesitate to contact us at
[1][email address].

Kind regards,

Liz (she/her)

Freedom of Information Section

Legal Services Branch

Department of Social Services
E: [2][Department of Social Services request email]

The Department of Social Services acknowledges the traditional owners of
country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
water and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and
to Elders both past and present.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[Department of Social Services request email]