Terms of agreement & purchase order
Dear Department of Veterans' Affairs,
I request a copy of the following documents:
- Any terms of agreement, purchase orders, or contracts between the DVA and the developers of the app 'Swiss8'.
- The five most recent emails as at the date of this email, between DVA and the developers of Swiss8.
If no such documents exist please advise.
Yours faithfully,
John Smith
** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **
Thank you for contacting the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Your email has been received and will be actioned shortly.
National Information Access Processing
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Phone: 1800 555 254
[1]www.dva.gov.au/about-us/our-business-reporting/freedom-information
References
Visible links
1. http://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/our-busin...
Dear Mr Smith,
Freedom of Information Request: FOI 38198 - Acknowledgement
I refer to your request for access to documents held by the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs (Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act). Your request was received by the Department on 15 September
2020, and was made in the following terms:
…I request a copy of the following documents:
- Any terms of agreement, purchase orders, or contracts between the DVA
and the developers of the app 'Swiss8'.
- The five most recent emails as at the date of this email, between DVA
and the developers of Swiss8.
If no such documents exist please advise…
In accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act, the due date for a
decision on your request is 15 October 2020.
Interrupted work practices impacted by COVID-19
The Department is continuing to work through its FOI case load as quickly
as possible. However, the Department is and will continue to experience an
interruption in the way it will be able to manage FOI requests. As you are
likely to be aware, COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has been declared a pandemic by
the World Health Organisation. As the Department focuses its efforts on
managing the impact of COVID-19 on its critical services and employees,
other non-critical services may not be delivered within expected
timeframes. It is possible that during this time, business areas that
would ordinarily have capacity to undertake searches and assist in the
processing of FOI requests may not be readily available to provide that
assistance. This may have an impact on the manner and timeframe in which
the Department can process FOI requests.
We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience and
cooperation during this period.
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). Also, the due date may 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.
Communication with you
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. You have advised your electronic address is
[1][FOI #6722 email]. We will send all notices
and correspondence to this address. Please advise us if you wish
correspondence to be sent to another address or if your address changes.
If you do not advise us of changes to your address, correspondence and
notices will continue to be sent to the address specified above.
FOI Disclosure Log
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published in a disclosure log on the Department’s website at
[2]https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview....
Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this publication, however it is
subject to certain exceptions, including where publication of personal,
business, professional or commercial information would be unreasonable.
When a decision is provided to you, the Department will advise if the
documents released to you will be published on the Department’s FOI
Disclosure log.
Contacting us about your request
We will email again when the Department has more information. Should you
have any enquiries concerning this matter, please contact me at
[3][email address].
Further information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/.
Yours sincerely,
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [5][email address] | [6]www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
[7]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
[8]cid:image001.png@01D32593.9CC39540The Department acknowledges the
Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing
connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their
elders past and present.
Dear Mr Smith,
Please see attached correspondence in relation to your FOI requests:
38197, 38198, 38200 and 38202.
Kind regards,
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
[4]cid:image001.png@01D32593.9CC39540The Department acknowledges the
Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing
connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their
elders past and present.
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.
Dear Mr Smith,
Please see attached correspondence in relation to your FOI requests:
38197, 38198, 38200 and 38202.
Kind regards,
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
[4]cid:image001.png@01D32593.9CC39540The Department acknowledges the
Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing
connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their
elders past and present.
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.
Dear Mr Smith,
Please see attached correspondence in relation to your FOI requests:
38197, 38198, 38200 and 38202.
Kind regards,
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
[4]cid:image001.png@01D32593.9CC39540The Department acknowledges the
Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing
connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their
elders past and present.
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.
Dear Mr Smith,
Please see attached correspondence in relation to your FOI requests:
38197, 38198, 38200 and 38202.
Kind regards,
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
[4]cid:image001.png@01D32593.9CC39540The Department acknowledges the
Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing
connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their
elders past and present.
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.
Dear Mr Smith,
Please see attached correspondence in relation to your FOI requests:
38197, 38198, 38200 and 38202.
Kind regards,
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
[4]cid:image001.png@01D32593.9CC39540The Department acknowledges the
Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing
connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their
elders past and present.
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.
Dear Molly,
I seek internal review of this decision, as I do not understand why these FOI requests have been combined.
The requests do not relate to the same documents, and the subject matter of the documents are not the same. It seems to me obvious that the requirements of s24 have not been met.
How is it that tender documents and correspondence between Swiss8 and DVA, can be combined under s24 with the documents and correspondence under FOI 38197?
The only thing these sets of documents have in common is they both relate to entirely separate tenders. This does not seem to me a fair justification for combination of requests under s24.
Likewise for FOI38200 and 38202.
I am more than happy to clarify and revise the scope of my FOI requests. Please await further correspondence from me, upon which I will clarify and specify exactly which kind of documents I am looking for.
Yours sincerely,
John Smith
** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Thank you for your email. The Department will take all reasonable efforts
to respond to your email and process your request.
Please note that due the threat of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Department
is experiencing a diversion of resources that are critical to managing
Australia’s response. This means we may not be able to process your
request within the expected timeframe and where needed, will be seeking
extensions of time to manage requests and may need to consult with you if
your request is not clear or is for a large and unmanageable number of
documents. The Department remains committed to ensuring it can process as
many information access requests as it can during the pandemic. We ask for
your assistance by only making requests where they are of a priority and
to ensure those requests are as specific as possible.
We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,
cooperation and patience during this difficult time for all Australians.
More detailed messaging can be found on the Department’s website at
[1]https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n....
Kind regards,
Information Law Section
Department of Veterans' Affairs
References
Visible links
1. https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n...
Dear Mr Smith
Thank you for your email.
The Department has made a decision to combine your requests under 24(2) of the FOI Act and consult with you under section 24AB of the FOI Act. The reasons for the Department's decision to combine and consult with you on the requests is provided in our section 24AB notice.
The Department considers that your 4 remaining requests relate to a substantially similar subject matter, in that they all request documents relating to Department tender processes, terms of agreement or other commercial arrangements with third parties. This view was formed after an initial consultation and search process was undertaken by various business areas of the Department who are involved in such activities and the Department identified an amount of overlap in the relevantly identified business areas.
I again note that paragraph 3.123 of the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner, notes that the most common circumstances that requests will be combined includes where multiple requests are made by a single applicant.
The purpose of the consultation is assist you in revising the scope of your requests so as the practical refusal reasons no longer exist. Noting that the requests have been combined, the consultation process now encapsulates all requests that the Department considered to be voluminous and/or unclear. Rather than issuing four separate practical refusal notices, this process will enable the Department to more effectively consult with you and assist you in revising the scope of your request so as to remove any practical refusal reasons.
As provided in our consultation letter, we note that you may wish to consider:
- the removal of correspondence altogether, to reduce the volume of documents falling within scope;
- the removal of any correspondence or documents between the Department and any unsuccessful Tender applicants; or alternatively,
- you may wish to withdraw specific parts of your request and focus on one topic of document at a time, staggering your requests out.
Because the Department has not yet proceeded to a practical refusal decision or decision on access, the Department is not able to commence an internal review process. This will only become available to you once a final decision on access is made.
We note that we have asked you to provide a response to our consultation notice within 14 days. Please let me know if you require further time to consider a revision of scope.
Please don't hesitate to contact me should you require any further assistance as to how you may wish to revise the scope of your request.
Kind regards,
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [email address] | www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
Please consider the environment before printing this email
The Department acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their elders past and present.
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.
Dear INFORMATION.LAW,
I agree to remove correspondence from the request
Yours sincerely,
John Smith
** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Thank you for your email. The Department will take all reasonable efforts
to respond to your email and process your request.
Please note that due the threat of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Department
is experiencing a diversion of resources that are critical to managing
Australia’s response. This means we may not be able to process your
request within the expected timeframe and where needed, will be seeking
extensions of time to manage requests and may need to consult with you if
your request is not clear or is for a large and unmanageable number of
documents. The Department remains committed to ensuring it can process as
many information access requests as it can during the pandemic. We ask for
your assistance by only making requests where they are of a priority and
to ensure those requests are as specific as possible.
We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,
cooperation and patience during this difficult time for all Australians.
More detailed messaging can be found on the Department’s website at
[1]https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n....
Kind regards,
Information Law Section
Department of Veterans' Affairs
References
Visible links
1. https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n...
Dear Mr Smith
Thank you for your email below and for agreeing to revise the scope of
your FOI request.
We ask that you confirm your agreement to the below revised wording. For
ease of reference, I have placed a strike through over the parts of your
request that have been removed in accordance with your revision.
‘…copies of any contracts, MOUs, tenders, or agreements that have existed
between your department and the following entities:
-'TJ Affiliates'
-'Remembrance Foundation'
-The 'modern soldier' social media page
-The natural person 'Talissa Papamau'
Please also include the most recent email between your department and the
above four entities in this FOI request, if such emails exist.
copies of any contracts, correspondence, and/or terms of agreement that
relate to the awarding of Commonwealth tender ID CN3574734.
Any terms of agreement, purchase orders, or contracts between the DVA and
the developers of the app 'Swiss8'.
The five most recent emails as at the date of this email, between DVA and
the developers of Swiss8.
a copy of any contract, correspondence, and terms of agreement held by
your department in relation to the Commonwealth tender ID CN3528664…’
Request Timeframe
Following your confirmation of the above revised scope, the Department
will now commence a search and retrieval process for relevant documents.
Your request currently falls due on 26 October 2020. The Department will
notify you if this time period changes. Noting your request for contracts
and terms of agreement, it is likely that the decision maker will be
required to undertake a third party consultation with any involved third
parties (in relation to their personal or business information). We will
notify you if this is required and advise you of any change to the
processing time.
If possible, we would be grateful to receive your confirmation of the
above revised scope by COB 19 October 2020.
Kind regards
Molly
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
[4]cid:image001.png@01D32593.9CC39540The Department acknowledges the
Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing
connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their
elders past and present.
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to
legal professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal
professional privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the
client need not disclose confidential communications between a legal
practitioner and client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content
of this advice must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know
and on the basis that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.
Dear Mr Smith
We note that we have not received any further response to our confirmation
of scope below.
As such, we will proceed on the understanding that the below revised scope
is accurate.
No documents – s 24A of the FOI Act
Following your revision of scope, we confirm that the Department does not
hold documents in response to the part of your request for:
‘Any terms of agreement, purchase orders, or contracts between the DVA and
the developers of the app 'Swiss8'.
Could you please confirm whether you agree to withdraw this part of your
request, or whether you would prefer the Department to proceed to a formal
24A decision in respect of this part of your request.
We would appreciate your response to the above by COB 28 October 2020.
Extension of time – third party consultation
In processing your request, the Department has identified the need to
consult with third parties under sections 27 and 27A of the FOI Act.
Pursuant to section 15(6) of the FOI Act, the processing period of your
FOI request has now been extended by a further 30 days to accommodate this
consultation process.
The new due date for your request is 25 November 2020. We will notify you
if this processing period changes any further.
Kind regards,
Molly
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
[4]cid:image001.png@01D32593.9CC39540The Department acknowledges the
Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing
connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their
elders past and present.
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.
From: INFORMATION.LAW
Sent: Monday, 19 October 2020 9:14 AM
To: '[FOI #6722 email]'
Cc: INFORMATION.LAW
Subject: Freedom of Information request - FOI 38197 [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear Mr Smith
Thank you for your email below and for agreeing to revise the scope of
your FOI request.
We ask that you confirm your agreement to the below revised wording. For
ease of reference, I have placed a strike through over the parts of your
request that have been removed in accordance with your revision.
‘…copies of any contracts, MOUs, tenders, or agreements that have existed
between your department and the following entities:
-'TJ Affiliates'
-'Remembrance Foundation'
-The 'modern soldier' social media page
-The natural person 'Talissa Papamau'
Please also include the most recent email between your department and the
above four entities in this FOI request, if such emails exist.
copies of any contracts, correspondence, and/or terms of agreement that
relate to the awarding of Commonwealth tender ID CN3574734.
Any terms of agreement, purchase orders, or contracts between the DVA and
the developers of the app 'Swiss8'.
The five most recent emails as at the date of this email, between DVA and
the developers of Swiss8.
a copy of any contract, correspondence, and terms of agreement held by
your department in relation to the Commonwealth tender ID CN3528664…’
Request Timeframe
Following your confirmation of the above revised scope, the Department
will now commence a search and retrieval process for relevant documents.
Your request currently falls due on 26 October 2020. The Department will
notify you if this time period changes. Noting your request for contracts
and terms of agreement, it is likely that the decision maker will be
required to undertake a third party consultation with any involved third
parties (in relation to their personal or business information). We will
notify you if this is required and advise you of any change to the
processing time.
If possible, we would be grateful to receive your confirmation of the
above revised scope by COB 19 October 2020.
Kind regards
Molly
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [5][email address] | [6]www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
[7]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
[8]cid:image001.png@01D32593.9CC39540The Department acknowledges the
Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing
connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their
elders past and present.
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.
** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Thank you for your email. The Department will take all reasonable efforts
to respond to your email and process your request.
Please note that due the threat of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Department
is experiencing a diversion of resources that are critical to managing
Australia’s response. This means we may not be able to process your
request within the expected timeframe and where needed, will be seeking
extensions of time to manage requests and may need to consult with you if
your request is not clear or is for a large and unmanageable number of
documents. The Department remains committed to ensuring it can process as
many information access requests as it can during the pandemic. We ask for
your assistance by only making requests where they are of a priority and
to ensure those requests are as specific as possible.
We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,
cooperation and patience during this difficult time for all Australians.
More detailed messaging can be found on the Department’s website at
[1]https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n....
Kind regards,
Information Law Section
Department of Veterans' Affairs
References
Visible links
1. https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n...
Dear Mr Smith
I refer to our below correspondence regarding FOI 38197.
As previously advised, the Department is currently consulting with relevant third parties on their views as to the release of certain material falling within the scope of your request, that relates to their business or personal information.
The Department has received a request for an extension of time from one of those third parties. This extension of time will allow them to further consider the documents at issue and provide the Department with its response.
Accordingly, we kindly ask that you consider granting the Department a further extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, by a further 30 days.
If you are not agreeable to an extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, the Department may have to approach the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for an extension of time under section 15AB of the FOI Act.
Please note that whilst the Department has requested a further 30 day extension, we will endeavour to provide you with a decision as soon as practicable.
We would be grateful of your response by COB 17 November 2020.
Kind regards
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [email address] | www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
Please consider the environment before printing this email
The Department acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their elders past and present.
** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Thank you for your email. The Department will take all reasonable efforts
to respond to your email and process your request.
Please note that due the threat of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Department
is experiencing a diversion of resources that are critical to managing
Australia’s response. This means we may not be able to process your
request within the expected timeframe and where needed, will be seeking
extensions of time to manage requests and may need to consult with you if
your request is not clear or is for a large and unmanageable number of
documents. The Department remains committed to ensuring it can process as
many information access requests as it can during the pandemic. We ask for
your assistance by only making requests where they are of a priority and
to ensure those requests are as specific as possible.
We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,
cooperation and patience during this difficult time for all Australians.
More detailed messaging can be found on the Department’s website at
[1]https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n....
Kind regards,
Information Law Section
Department of Veterans' Affairs
References
Visible links
1. https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-n...
Dear Mr Smith
I refer to FOI 38197. I confirm the revised scope of this request is as follows:
‘…copies of any contracts, MOUs, tenders, or agreements that have existed between your department and the following entities:
-'TJ Affiliates'
-'Remembrance Foundation'
-The 'modern soldier' social media page
-The natural person 'Talissa Papamau'
copies of any contracts and/or terms of agreement that relate to the awarding of Commonwealth tender ID CN[Phone Number Automatically Hidden].
a copy of any contract, correspondence, and terms of agreement held by your department in relation to the Commonwealth tender ID CN[Phone Number Automatically Hidden]…’
I am in the final stages of engaging with the relevant third parties in respect to the documents identified as falling in scope of your request.
I have identified two (2) documents that are classed as grant applications or project proposals in relation to one of the third parties mentioned in your request.
Could you please confirm whether these documents would fall within your understanding of scope?
Kind regards
Molly (Position Number[Phone Number Automatically Hidden])
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t[Phone Number Automatically Hidden]4 | e [email address] | www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
Please consider the environment before printing this email
The Department acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their elders past and present.
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.
Dear Mr Smith
I refer to my below email.
Noting a response has not been received, I will proceed on the basis that the two (2) documents I have identified that are classed as grant applications or project proposals in relation to one of the third parties mentioned in your request are not covered by the scope of your request.
Kind regards
Molly (Position Number 62213164)
Legal Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [email address] | www.dva.gov.au p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
Please consider the environment before printing this email The Department acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land throughout Australia and their continuing connection to country, sea and community. We pay our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and to their elders past and present.
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.
Dear Mr Smith,
FOI 38197 – Decision and documents
Please find attached a statement of reasons and document bundle
(comprising 14 documents) in relation to your FOI request.
Kind regards
Jo
Jo (Position Number 62210326)
Assistant Director
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t 1800 555 254 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au
p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to
legal professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal
professional privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the
client need not disclose confidential communications between a legal
practitioner and client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content
of this advice must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know
and on the basis that those persons also keep it confidential.
You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.