LEX 75591 Decision Decision Letter.pdf

If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610

12 October 2023

Our reference: LEX 75591
Ben Faithful

By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear Ben,
Decision on your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request, dated and received by Services Australia (the Agency) on
22 August 2023 for access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the
following documents:
'I request the following information relating to the former initiative to match Centrelink
data with data from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to detect potential overpayment
and the recovery of those overpayments from citizens. This initiative has been
extensively covered by the media using various names, including #robodebt and
#notmydebt.
- Documents listing identified risks, categorisations (Likelihood, Impact, etc.), and
treatments in the period 1 Jan 2017 to 31 Dec 2017, which may be called:
a) Risk Plans
b) Weekly Reports
c) Issues and Escalated Issues Registers'.
My decision
The Agency holds 13 documents (totalling 214 pages) that relate to your request.
I have decided to:
•  grant you full access to two documents (documents 1 and 5)
•  grant you part access to 11 documents (documents 2 to 4 and 6 to 13 inclusive) with
some of the content removed, and
•  refuse access to ‘weekly reports’ under section 24A of the FOI Act on the basis that
all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the documents you have requested
and I am satisfied that they cannot be located or do not exist.
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I have decided that parts of documents, that you have requested are exempt under the FOI
Act, including:
•  operational material, the disclosure of which would, or could reasonably be expected
to have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the
operations of the Agency (section 47E(d) conditional exemption), and
•  personal information of a third party, the disclosure of which would be unreasonable
and contrary to the public interest (section 47F(1) conditional exemption).
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
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

Hannah
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
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 following information relating to the former initiative to match Centrelink
data with data from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to detect potential overpayment
and the recovery of those overpayments from citizens. This initiative has been
extensively covered by the media using various names, including #robodebt and
#notmydebt.
- Documents listing identified risks, categorisations (Likelihood, Impact, etc.), and
treatments in the period 1 Jan 2017 to 31 Dec 2017, which may be called:
a) Risk Plans
b) Weekly Reports
c) Issues and Escalated Issues Registers'.
On 15 September 2023, we sought your agreement to an extension of time for the
processing of your request. On the same day you replied agreeing to a 21 day extension of
time under section 15AA of the FOI Act.
What I took into account
In reaching my decision I took into account:
•  your original request dated 22 August 2023
•  the documents that fall 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 decisions
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
I have decided that parts of 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.
Documents unable to be located or do not exist

Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that:
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(1)  An agency or Minister may refuse a request for access to a document if:
(a)  all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and
(b)  the agency or Minister is satisfied that the document:
(i) is in the agency's or Minister's possession but cannot be found; or
(i ) does not exist.

The Payment Accuracy Programme and Appeals Division (the Division) conducted searches
of the Agency’s electronic and paper files relevant to your request. This Division did not
identify any weekly reports meeting the description of your request. The Division advised
that searches of relevant repositories were completed using relevant search terms, and that
no ‘weekly report’ documents could be located.

On the basis of these searches, I am satisfied that in accordance with section 24A of the
FOI Act:  1.  all reasonable steps have been taken to find the documents, and
2.  the documents cannot be located or do not exist.
Operational Material
I have applied the exemption in section 47E(d) of the FOI Act to parts of the documents as
outlined in the schedule.
This section of the FOI Act allows the Agency to redact material from a document if its
disclosure would have a serious and significant ef ect on the Agency’s ability to conduct its
operations efficiently and properly.
The requested documents contain internal file pathway locations and internal positional
mailbox addresses. I am satisfied this information is relevant to the implementation, delivery
and management of processes administered by the agency, and is therefore relevant to the
conduct of the agency’s operations.
Documents 9 to 13 (inclusive) contain Agency positional mailboxes and I consider that
releasing the exempt material to you would negatively affect the conduct of the operations of
the Agency. This is because the Agency’s purpose is to provide high-quality government
services and payments to Australians. It is a large, public facing, government organisation with
many points of contact designed to facilitate its purpose. The Agency has established channels
of communication for customers and members of the public, which have been put in place to
ensure the effective management of the significant volume of communication received.

If internal positional mailbox details were to be made publicly available, correspondence
directed  to these mailboxes  could be mishandled, lost, duplicated or double-handled on
account of it not being directed to the most appropriate teams through the publicly available
communication channels. Noting the Agency’s interactions with the public number in the
hundreds of  mil ions, diverting people from correct channels cannot be appropriately
categorised as insubstantial or nominal.
Documents 6 and 7 contain internal file pathway location information. I consider that releasing
this information would negatively affect the operations of the Agency as a malicious user could
utilise this information to navigate Agency systems for personal gain. I consider release of such
information may increase the risk or likelihood of unauthorised access to Agency systems by
malicious users. The Agency’s computer systems are critical to the proper and efficient delivery
of its functions. Unauthorised access would have a substantial adverse effect on the Agency’s
operations by compromising computer system availability and integrity, as well as the
confidentiality of information held by the Agency. Release of internal pathway locations to the
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world at large under the FOI process could reasonably be expected to increase the risk of
unauthorised access to the Agency’s computer systems.
I consider the disclosure of the material would generally promote the objects of the FOI Act,
which is in the public interest. However, I also considered the relevant factors indicating access
would be contrary to the public interest. In particular, I have considered the extent to which
disclosure could reasonably be expected to:

•  prejudice the Agency’s ability to effectively and efficiently manage its communications
with the public
•  prejudice critical and essential operations of the Agency, and
•  prejudice the ability to safely store confidential information, which wil  in turn prejudice
the Agency’s ability to effectively and efficiently provide services to the Australian
public.
As such, I find the public interest factor in favour of disclosing the material is outweighed by
the public interest factors against disclosure.
Personal Information

I have applied the exemption in section 47F(1) of the FOI Act to parts of documents as
outlined in the schedule.

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an
individual who is reasonably identifiable. It can include a person’s name, address, telephone
number, date of birth, medical records, bank account details, taxation information and
signature.

I am satisfied documents 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 contain personal information,
being the names, email addresses and phone numbers of Agency staff.

I am satisfied the disclosure of this personal information would be unreasonable as you do
not have consent from these individuals for the release of their personal information. Further,
I am satisfied the information is private and not available publicly, and is not well known to
you. I also consider that revealing this information could reasonably be expected to expose
the identified staff members to threats from members of the public.

I am of the opinion there is little public interest in the disclosure of the personal information
contained in these documents, and do not consider release would necessarily promote the
objects of the FOI Act. Further, I consider disclosure would prejudice the identified staff
members’ right to privacy, adversely affect their interests, and prejudice the agency’s ability
to attract and retain staff.

Based on these factors, I have decided the personal information contained in the relevant
documents is conditionally exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act and release of this
information would be unreasonable.

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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 ful  explanation of a Freedom of Information 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 an Freedom of Information 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 Of icer in Services Australia (the Agency); and/or
2.  the Australian Information Commissioner.
Applying for an internal review by an Internal Review Officer
If you apply for internal review, a dif erent decision maker to the Agency delegate who made
the original decision wil  carry out the review. The Internal Review Of icer wil  consider all
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, or by email to
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Note: 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 Of icer 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:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
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Post:
Australian Information Commissioner

GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx

Note: The Of ice of the Australian Information Commissioner generally 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 'FOI Review Form' is available at
www.oaic.gov.au.
•  If you have one, you should include with your application a copy of the Agency's
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 generally prefers applicants to seek review before
complaining about a decision.

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