If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
26 June 2015
Ms Olivia Grace-Curran
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Our reference: LEX 14033
Dear Ms Grace-Curran
Your Freedom of Information request – Notification of charges
1.
I refer to your request, dated 9 June 2015 and received by the Department of Human
Services (the
department) on the same date, in which you sought access to the
following documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (
FOI Act):
‘I respectfully request access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 the total
amount of Child Support arrears owed by paying parents in Australia. Please also
itemize a breakdown of arrears in each state currently outstanding as of June 10th
2015.’
Liability to pay charges
2.
In the departmental letter to you, dated 12 June 2015, we advised you that there is no
charge payable for providing a person with their own personal information. You have
requested non-personal information.
Preliminary Assessment of the Charge
3.
At this stage, I am advised that the department has one documents (totalling two
pages) relevant to your request, in its possession.
4.
In accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act, I have decided that you are liable to pay
a charge for the processing of your request. My preliminary assessment of that charge
is $14.50, calculated as follows:
Search and retrieval time: 0.92 hours at $15.00 per hour
$14.50
Decision making time: 3.20 hours at 20.00 per hour*
$0.00
TOTAL
$14.50
*The FOI Act provides that the first five hours of decision making time are free of charge and
this is reflected in the calculation.
Required Action
5.
If you would like the department to continue processing your request, you must notify
the department in writing within 30 days of receiving this notice that you:
A.
agree to pay the charge;
B.
wish to contend that the charge:
i.
has been wrongly assessed; or
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ii.
should be reduced or not imposed; or
iii.
both
C.
withdraw your request.
6.
If you do not provide a written response in accordance with one of options A, B or C
within 30 days of receiving this notice, your request will be taken to have been
withdrawn under subsection 29(2) of the FOI Act.
7.
Alternatively you may wish to refine the scope of your request. Please contact the
department if you would like to discuss this.
8.
Further information on options A, B and C is set out below.
Option A – pay the charge
9.
The amount due should be paid by cheque or money order made out to the Collector of
Public Monies. Please quote reference number ‘LEX 14033’ with your payment.
10. Should you elect to pay the charge, please email send an email to
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx once you have posted your cheque or money
order to advise us of your payment.
11.
Please note that paying that charge does not guarantee the receipt of unredacted
material.
Option B – seek reduction or non-imposition of the charge
12. You may contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed, or should be reduced or
not imposed. Subsection 29(5) of the FOI Act provides that, in deciding whether to
reduce or not to impose a charge, the decision maker must take into account any
relevant reasons, including whether payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause
you financial hardship, and whether the giving of access to the documents is in the
general public interest or in the interest of a substantial section of the public.
13. If you wish to contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed or should be
reduced or not imposed, please set out your reasons and the evidence in support of
your reasons as clearly as possible. If you believe that payment of the charge would
cause you financial hardship, please provide sufficient details of your financial
circumstances to enable the decision maker to make a well-informed decision in this
regard.
Option C – withdraw your request
14. If you wish to withdraw your request you may do so in writing by post or email. The
department’s address for correspondence is listed below.
Time limits for processing your request
15. Section 31 of the FOI Act provides that where a notice is sent to an applicant regarding
the payment of a charge in respect of a request, the time limit for processing the
request is suspended from the date the notice is received until either:
(a)
the day following payment of the charge (in full or the required deposit); or
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Department of Human Services
(b)
if applicable, the day following the notification to the applicant of a decision not
to impose the charge.
Address for correspondence
16. Please send all correspondence regarding your FOI request to following address:
FOI Team
Freedom of Information & Litigation Branch
Department of Human Services
PO Box 7788
CANBERRA ACT 2610
Or by email to
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Publication of information in the FOI disclosure log
17. Information released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log on the
department’s website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this publication, subject to
certain exceptions, including where publication of personal, business, professional or
commercial information would be unreasonable.
18. Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please contact the department.
Yours sincerely
FOI Delegate
Freedom of Information & Litigation Branch
Legal Services Division
Department of Human Services
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Department of Human Services
