Time taken to process claims - 2019/20
Dear Department of Veterans' Affairs,
The information I am seeking is, for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, the average or mean time taken to process claims for:
: VEA
: MRCA, and
: DRCA
Yours faithfully,
Alan ASHMORE
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Phone: 1800 555 254
[1]www.dva.gov.au/about-us/our-business-reporting/freedom-information
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Dear Mr Ashmore
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information (FOI) Request – FOI 38829
I refer to your request for access to documents held by the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs (Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(Cth) (FOI Act).
Your request was received by the Department on 27 October 2020 and was
made in the following terms:
“…The information I am seeking is, for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June
2020, the average or mean time taken to process claims for:
: VEA
: MRCA, and
: DRCA…”
The Department has 30 days to finalise your request. The 30 day statutory
timeframe commenced the day after your request was received by the
Department.
Ordinarily you should expect a decision from the Department by 26 November
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
As noted above, there are times when the timeframe for processing your
request might be extended by an additional 30 days. This can occur where
an extension of time has been agreed to by yourself under section 15AA of
the FOI Act or where the OAIC has granted an extension of time under
sections 15AB or 15AC of the FOI Act. In addition, if documents you seek
contain information of third parties and the Department is of the view
that is practical to consult with the third parties, then the Department
will be afforded an additional 30 days to undertake that consolation
process (see sections 15(6), 26A, 27 and 27A of the FOI Act). The
Department will advise you if a third party consultation process is
required and of the revised due date for your request to be finalised by.
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 #6841 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 – Publication of documents released under the FOI Act
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may 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 FOI request
We will email again when the Department has more information. Should you
have any enquiries concerning this matter, please send an email to
[3][email address]
Further information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the
OAIC at [4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....
Yours sincerely
Tayla (Position Number 62217695)
Information Access Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
T: 1800 555 254 | E: [5][email address]
A: GPO Box 9998, Canberra, ACT, 2601 | W: [6]www.dva.gov.au
[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.
-----Original Message-----
From: Alan ASHMORE
Sent: Tuesday, 27 October 2020 1:30 AM
To: INFORMATION.ACCESS
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Time taken to process claims -
2019/20 [TO BE CLASSIFIED]
Dear Department of Veterans' Affairs,
The information I am seeking is, for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June
2020, the average or mean time taken to process claims for:
: VEA
: MRCA, and
: DRCA
Yours faithfully,
Alan ASHMORE
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #6841 email]
Is [DVA request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to Department of Veterans' Affairs? If so, please
contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
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IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential
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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
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5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
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, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #6841 email]
2. https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://www.dva.gov.au/
Dear Mr Ashmore,
I refer to your FOI matter 38829. I confirm that the Department is
processing your FOI request and is working towards issuing you with a
decision as soon as it can.
In relation to the scope of your request, could please clarify whether you
are after the mean/average or median time taken to process the listed
claims?
Kind regards,
Famida (Position Number 62212449)
Information Access 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
From: INFORMATION.LAW
Sent: Tuesday, 27 October 2020 3:25 PM
To: '[FOI #6841 email]'
Cc: INFORMATION.LAW
Subject: Acknowledgment of your FOI request – FOI 38829 [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear Mr Ashmore
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information (FOI) Request – FOI 38829
I refer to your request for access to documents held by the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs (Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(Cth) (FOI Act).
Your request was received by the Department on 27 October 2020 and was
made in the following terms:
“…The information I am seeking is, for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June
2020, the average or mean time taken to process claims for:
: VEA
: MRCA, and
: DRCA…”
The Department has 30 days to finalise your request. The 30 day statutory
timeframe commenced the day after your request was received by the
Department.
Ordinarily you should expect a decision from the Department by 26 November
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
As noted above, there are times when the timeframe for processing your
request might be extended by an additional 30 days. This can occur where
an extension of time has been agreed to by yourself under section 15AA of
the FOI Act or where the OAIC has granted an extension of time under
sections 15AB or 15AC of the FOI Act. In addition, if documents you seek
contain information of third parties and the Department is of the view
that is practical to consult with the third parties, then the Department
will be afforded an additional 30 days to undertake that consolation
process (see sections 15(6), 26A, 27 and 27A of the FOI Act). The
Department will advise you if a third party consultation process is
required and of the revised due date for your request to be finalised by.
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
[4][FOI #6841 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 – Publication of documents released under the FOI Act
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may be published
in a disclosure log on the Department’s website at
[5]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 FOI request
We will email again when the Department has more information. Should you
have any enquiries concerning this matter, please send an email to
[6][email address]
Further information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the
OAIC at [7]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....
Yours sincerely
Tayla (Position Number 62217695)
Information Access Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
T: 1800 555 254 | E: [8][email address]
A: GPO Box 9998, Canberra, ACT, 2601 | W: [9]www.dva.gov.au
[10]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
[11]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.
-----Original Message-----
From: Alan ASHMORE
Sent: Tuesday, 27 October 2020 1:30 AM
To: INFORMATION.ACCESS
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Time taken to process claims -
2019/20 [TO BE CLASSIFIED]
Dear Department of Veterans' Affairs,
The information I am seeking is, for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June
2020, the average or mean time taken to process claims for:
: VEA
: MRCA, and
: DRCA
Yours faithfully,
Alan ASHMORE
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[12][FOI #6841 email]
Is [13][DVA request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to Department of Veterans' Affairs? If so, please
contact us using this form:
[14]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[15]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/
4. mailto:[FOI #6841 email]
5. https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview...
6. mailto:[email address]
7. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
8. mailto:[email address]
9. http://www.dva.gov.au/
12. mailto:[FOI #6841 email]
13. mailto:[DVA request email]
14. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
15. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Dear INFORMATION.LAW,
Further to your message today, 'In relation to the scope of your request, could please clarify whether you are after the mean/average or median time taken to process the listed
claims?'
I wish to clarify my request, I am asking for the median time taken to process the listed claims.
Thanks in advance.
Yours sincerely,
Alan ASHMORE
** 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...
Good afternoon Mr Ashmore,
FOI 38829
Please find attached a statement of reasons and one (1) document falling
within the scope of your FOI request.
Kind regards
Jo
Jo (Position Number[Phone Number Automatically Hidden])
Assistant Director
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
t[Phone Number Automatically Hidden]4 | 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.
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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
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/f...
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/