If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
13 July 2023
Our reference: LEX 73830
Lei Ying
Right to Know
Only by email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Sir / Madam,
Decision on your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request, dated and received by Services Australia (the Agency) on 30 May
2023 for access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the fol owing
documents:
I request the release of operational blueprint documents:
109-03030000 - Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)
109-21032647 - Requesting non-disclosure of information during an Administrative
Appeals Tribunal (AAT) first review.
My decision
The Agency holds 2 documents (total ing 28 pages) that relate to your request.
I have decided to grant you part access to 2 documents (Documents 1 and 2) with some of
the content removed.
I have decided that certain parts of the documents that you have requested are exempt
under the FOI Act, specifical y parts of the documents that, if released, would have a
substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of the
Agency.
Please see the schedule at Attachment A to this letter for a detailed list of the documents
and the reasons for my decision, including the relevant sections of the FOI Act.
How we will send your documents to you
The documents are attached.
You can ask for a review of our decision
If you disagree with any part of the decision you can ask for a review. There are two ways
you can do this. You can ask for an internal review from within the Agency, or an external
review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. You do not have to pay for
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a review of the decision. See Attachment B for more information about how to request a
review.
Further assistance
If you have any questions please email xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Elizabeth
FOI Practitioner
Freedom of Information Team
FOI and Ombudsman Branch | Legal Services Division
Services Australia
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If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
REASONS FOR DECISION
What you requested
I request the release of operational blueprint documents:
109-03030000 - Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)
109-21032647 - Requesting non-disclosure of information during an Administrative
Appeals Tribunal (AAT) first review.
What I took into account
In reaching my decision I took into account:
your request dated 30 May 2023
the documents that fal within the scope of your request
whether the release of material is in the public interest
consultations with Agency officers about:
o the nature of the documents
o the Agency's operating environment and functions
guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of
the FOI Act (the Guidelines), and
the FOI Act.
Reasons for my decision
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
I have decided that certain parts of the documents that you requested are exempt under the
FOI Act. My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that the exemption applies to those
documents are discussed below.
Operations of the Agency
I have applied exemption section 47E(d) to the documents as outlined in the Schedule at
Attachment A.
This section of the FOI Act al ows the Agency to determine that a document is exempt from
release if its disclosure would have a serious or significant effect on the Agency’s ability to
conduct its operations efficiently and properly.
The documents contain processes and internal guidance for Agency employees. I am
satisfied this information is relevant to the operations and management of programs
administered by the Agency, and is therefore relevant to the conduct of the Agency’s
operations.
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I consider that providing this material to you, which is not publicly available, would negatively
affect the conduct of the Agency’s operations because it may al ow customers to manipulate
or bypass the Agency’s cyber security systems.
While I have no reason to believe you would misuse the exempt material in this way, the FOI
Act does not control or restrict use or dissemination of the information once released, so I
must consider actions any member of the public might take if the information is in the public
domain.
Public interest considerations
Access to conditional y exempt material must be given unless I am satisfied it would not be in
the public interest to do so.
I consider disclosure of the material would promote the objects of the FOI Act, including an
increasing public participation in Government processes.
However, I also consider disclosure of the exempt material would prejudice the Agency’s
ability to properly and efficiently deliver services to the public by providing information which
would al ow customers to access the Agency’s established processes and systems to
receive a favourable decision they would otherwise not be entitled to. I also consider some of
the exempt material containing detailed system coding instructions for staff could be used as
a ‘how to’ guide by a malicious user to navigate the Agency’s system and manipulate an
assessment.
On balance, and having weighed the factors in favour of disclosure against the factors
against disclosure, I find the public interest in disclosing the material is outweighed by the
public interest factors against disclosure. Accordingly, I have decided not to release the
documents in ful to you.
I have not taken into account any of the irrelevant factors set out in section 11B(4) of the FOI
Act in making this decision.
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If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
Attachment B
INFORMATION ON RIGHTS OF REVIEW
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
Asking for a full explanation of a Freedom of Information (FOI) decision
Before you ask for a formal review of a FOI decision, you can contact us to discuss your
request. We wil explain the decision to you. This gives you a chance to correct
misunderstandings.
Asking for a formal review of a FOI decision
If you stil believe a decision is incorrect, the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act)
gives you the right to apply for a review of the decision. Under sections 54 and 54L of the
FOI Act, you can apply for a review of an FOI decision by:
1. an Internal Review Officer in Services Australia (the agency); and/or
2. the Australian Information Commissioner.
Note 1: There are no fees for these reviews.
Applying for an internal review by an Internal Review Officer
If you apply for internal review, a different decision maker to the agency delegate who made
the original decision wil carry out the review. The Internal Review Officer wil consider al
aspects of the original decision and decide whether it should change. An application for
internal review must be:
made in writing
made within 30 days of receiving this letter
sent to the address at the top of the first page of this letter.
Note 2: You do not need to fil in a form. However, it is a good idea to set out any relevant
submissions you would like the Internal Review Officer to further consider, and your reasons
for disagreeing with the decision.
Applying for external review by the Australian Information Commissioner
If you do not agree with the original decision or the internal review decision, you can ask the
Australian Information Commissioner to review the decision.
If you do not receive a decision from an Internal Review Officer in the agency within 30 days
of applying, you can ask the Australian Information Commissioner for a review of the original
FOI decision.
You wil have 60 days to apply in writing for a review by the Australian Information
Commissioner.
You can lodge your application:
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Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Note 3: The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner general y prefers FOI
applicants to seek internal review before applying for external review by the Australian
Information Commissioner.
Important:
If you are applying online, the application form the 'Merits Review Form' is available
at www.oaic.gov.au.
If you have one, you should include with your application a copy of the Services
Australia decision on your FOI request
Include your contact details
Set out your reasons for objecting to the agency's decision.
Complaints to the Australian Information Commissioner and Commonwealth
Ombudsman
Australian Information Commissioner
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner concerning action taken by
an agency in the exercise of powers or the performance of functions under the FOI Act,
There is no fee for making a complaint. A complaint to the Australian Information
Commissioner must be made in writing. The Australian Information Commissioner's contact
details are:
Telephone: 1300 363 992
Website: www.oaic.gov.au
Commonwealth Ombudsman
You may also complain to the Commonwealth Ombudsman concerning action taken by an
agency in the exercise of powers or the performance of functions under the FOI Act. There is
no fee for making a complaint. A complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman may be
made in person, by telephone or in writing. The Commonwealth Ombudsman's contact
details are:
Phone: 1300 362 072
Website: www.ombudsman.gov.au
The Commonwealth Ombudsman general y prefers applicants to seek review before
complaining about a decision.
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