Un-remediated Income Averaging
Dear Services Australia,
The Agency's recent response to Senate Question on Notice SA SQ24-000473 provided Operational Blueprint "Income apportionment 107-24021218". Step 2 of the Blueprint instructs staff to:
"Check if income averaging was used and escalate the case via email to Income apportionment Policy/Helpdesk if:
• from 1 July 2015, the current debt was raised as part of the Income compliance program using wholly or partially averaged ATO match data income, or
• before 1 July 2015, income averaging was used to determine the current debt for a period"
I seek the most recent document, out of those created in the past six months, which reports on the number of historical income averaging matters escalated under this procedure or the income apportionment sampling exercises.
I'm hoping there will be a standard report that was sent to the National Managers for Income Apportionment Operations/Response. Happy to consult on scope to save you time. All I want is the most recent document which reports and reflects upon this statistic which is of great importance to any unknown victims of income averaging.
Yours faithfully,
Frank N Fearless
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate.
Any parts of your FOI request that are addressed by documents being
released under the arrangements will be considered withdrawn. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Personal information of Agency staff
We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:
* names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
* direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and
email addresses.
If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act.
Charges
No charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.
If you are requesting non-personal information the Agency will advise you
as soon as practicable if a charge is payable to process your request, and
the amount of any such charge.
How we will send documents to you
Unless you have requested to receive correspondence and documents relating
to your FOI request via post we will communicate with you via this email
address. Some documents may be too large to send to you via email. If
applicable, we will seek your consent to provide the requested documents
to you electronically via a secure file sharing platform. Please advise us
as soon as possible if you wish correspondence or documents to be sent to
another address, or if your email address changes.
How long do I have to wait?
We are required to answer your request within 30 days unless the time
frame is extended under the FOI Act.
Our reference: LEX 81000
Dear Frank N Fearless
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). You requested access to:
The Agency's recent response to Senate Question on Notice SA SQ24-000473
provided Operational Blueprint "Income apportionment 107-24021218". Step 2
of the Blueprint instructs staff to:
"Check if income averaging was used and escalate the case via email to
Income apportionment Policy/Helpdesk if:
• from 1 July 2015, the current debt was raised as part of the Income
compliance program using wholly or partially averaged ATO match data
income, or • before 1 July 2015, income averaging was used to determine
the current debt for a period"
I seek the most recent document, out of those created in the past six
months, which reports on the number of historical income averaging matters
escalated under this procedure or the income apportionment sampling
exercises.
I'm hoping there will be a standard report that was sent to the National
Managers for Income Apportionment Operations/Response. Happy to consult on
scope to save you time. All I want is the most recent document which
reports and reflects upon this statistic which is of great importance to
any unknown victims of income averaging.
Your request was received by Services Australia (the Agency) on 9 August
2024 and the 30 day statutory period for processing your request
commenced from the day after that date. You should therefore expect a
decision from us by 9 September 2024. The period of 30 days may be
extended if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will
advise you if this happens.
Administrative Release of Documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate.
Any parts of your FOI request that are addressed by documents being
released under the arrangements will be considered withdrawn. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Disclosure Log
Please note information released under the FOI Act may be published in a
disclosure log on the agency's website. 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.
Personal information of Agency staff
We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:
o names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
o direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and
email addresses.
If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act.
Charges
No charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information. If you are requesting non-personal information the Agency
will advise you as soon as practicable if a charge is payable to process
your request, and the amount of any such charge.
How we will send documents to you
Unless you have requested to receive correspondence and documents relating
to your FOI request via post we will communicate with you via this email
address. Some documents may be too large to send to you via email. If
applicable we will seek your consent to provide the requested documents to
you electronically via a secure file sharing platform. Please advise us as
soon as possible if you wish correspondence or documents to be sent to
another address, or if your email address changes.
Action
Please advise whether you consent to the removal of junior staff details
as described above, under section 22 of the FOI by responding to this
email with “I agree to remove staff details”.
In addition, please advise whether you agree to receive documents where
appropriate under the arrangements by responding to this email with “I
agree to receive documents under the administrative arrangements”.
A response by close of business 13 August 2024 would be appreciated.
Further assistance
If you have any questions please email
[1][Services Australia request email]
Yours sincerely
Cherie
FOI Officer
Freedom of Information Team
FOI and Reviews Branch | Legal Services Division
Services Australia
References
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1. mailto:[Services Australia request email]
Dear Frank N Fearless
I write concerning your Freedom of Information request to Services
Australia (the Agency) as follows:
The Agency's recent response to Senate Question on Notice SA SQ24-000473
provided Operational Blueprint "Income apportionment 107-24021218". Step 2
of the Blueprint instructs staff to:
"Check if income averaging was used and escalate the case via email to
Income apportionment Policy/Helpdesk if:
• from 1 July 2015, the current debt was raised as part of the Income
compliance program using wholly or partially averaged ATO match data
income, or • before 1 July 2015, income averaging was used to determine
the current debt for a period"
I seek the most recent document, out of those created in the past six
months, which reports on the number of historical income averaging matters
escalated under this procedure or the income apportionment sampling
exercises.
I'm hoping there will be a standard report that was sent to the National
Managers for Income Apportionment Operations/Response. Happy to consult on
scope to save you time. All I want is the most recent document which
reports and reflects upon this statistic which is of great importance to
any unknown victims of income averaging.
Junior staff details
We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:
o names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
o direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and
email addresses.
If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act.
Administrative arrangements
The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate. Release under the arrangements may result in provision
of the documents within a shorter time frame than a 30 day FOI request.
Action
Please advise whether you consent to the removal of junior staff details
under section 22 of the FOI by responding to this email with “I agree to
remove staff details”.
In addition, please advise whether you agree to receive documents where
appropriate under the arrangements by responding to this email with “I
agree to receive documents under the administrative arrangements”.
A response by close of business 23 August 2024 would be appreciated.
Kind regards,
Cherie
Senior FOI Officer
Freedom of Information & Reviews Branch, Legal Services Division
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
References
Visible links
Dear Frank N Fearless
Please find attached the decision letter and document relating to your
request for access to documents held by Services Australia.
Kind regards,
Cherie
Senior FOI Officer
Freedom of Information & Reviews Branch, Legal Services Division
[1]Visual brand element showing Services Australia progress symbol to left
with Services Australia wording to the right of the symbol. Underneath is
servicesaustralia.gov.au and icons representing our social media accounts.
To follow us on social media go to servicesaustralia.gov.au/socialmedia
Aligning the bottom of the signature block is the Services Australia
indigenous artwork strip consisting of cultural elements depicting our
agency’s progress story for First Nations people.
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands we
live on. We pay our respects to all Elders, past and present, of all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
References
Visible links