LEX 63775
Decision and Statement of reasons issued under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982
Decision and reason for decision of Jesse (Position Number 62371652),
Information Access Officer, Information Access Unit,
Ministerial, International & Stakeholder Relations Branch, Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Applicant:
Jenny
Decision date:
18 January 2024
FOI reference number:
LEX 63775
Sent by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Jenny,
Freedom of Information Request: LEX 63775
Decision
1.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (
Department) has undertaken a reasonable search of its
records and has identified one (1) document relevant to your request.
2.
I have made a decision to grant full access to the document.
3.
The document that I have chosen to grant access to is set out in
Schedule 1.
Authority to make decision
4.
I, Jesse (Position Number 62371652), Information Access Officer, Information Access Unit,
Ministerial, International & Stakeholder Relations Branch, am an officer authorised by the
Secretary of the Department to make decisions about access to documents in the possession
of the Department in accordance with section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
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Summary
5.
On 19 December 2023, you made a request for access to documents in the possession of the
Department. Your request sought access to:
‘…Alan Ashmore asked DVA to provide the number of received requests for opt out of
Veterans’ MATES since its start in 2004 to 30 November 2023, which DVA provided
(1,183 opt outs received by DVA) in decision LEX 62634.
I would like to request the same “document created in accordance with section 17 of
the FOI Act” as in LEX 62634, but with an added column to that report listing the
number of opt outs that were done (actioned/processed/etc) so people can compare
the number of opt outs received to those opted out for each time period.
Given the number of Right to Know requests about this MATES program by a number
of different individuals, with a number of media outlets having reported on this
program and this issue of opt outs, there is clearly a public interest in this
information so please make sure it is provided in the same manner as was done for
LEX 62634…’
6.
On 20 December 2023, the Department acknowledged your request via email.
7.
As no extensions of time have been applied to process your request, a decision on your
request is due by 18 January 2024.
8.
I have decided not to impose a charge in relation to this request, in accordance with
Regulation 8 of the
Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019.
Material taken into account
9.
In accordance with section 26(1)(a) of the FOI Act, my findings on any material question of
fact, the material on which those findings were based and the reasons for my decision to grant
access to the document follows.
10. I have taken the following material into account in making my decision:
the terms of your request on 19 December 2023;
the types of information and documents that are in the Department’s possession;
the content of the document that fall within the scope of your request;
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the availability of information relevant to your request, including the practicality and
time required in which the Department may create a document under section 17 of the
FOI Act;
Sections 3, 11 and 11A of the FOI Act which give the Australian community a legally
enforceable right to obtain access to information held by the Government of the
Commonwealth. I also considered the following provision of the FOI Act relevant to my
decision:
- Section 15
Request for Access
- Section 17
Requests involving use of computers etc. (e.g. requests for the
Department to create a document)
the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of
the FOI Act (
FOI Guidelines);
11. A full extract of all FOI Act provisions used to make my decision are provided in
Schedule 2.
Reasons for decision
12. I have decided to grant full access to the document within the scope of your request.
Creation of a document in response to your FOI request (section 17)
13. It was determined that information relevant to your request was not entirely held by the
Department in a discrete document form.
14. In order to provide you access to all relevant information regarding your request, the
requested information was extracted from the Department’s staff management system to
create the document in accordance with section 17 of the FOI Act.
Access to documents
15. The document released to you in accordance with the FOI Act is enclosed.
Information Publication Scheme
16. The Information Publication Scheme requires the Department to publish information released
in response to individual requests made under the FOI Act, except in specified circumstances.
17. I am of the view that details of your request should be made available on the Department’s
FOI Disclosure Log. As such, details of your request will be published on the Department’s FOI
Disclosure Log which can be accessed a
t http://www.dva.gov.au/about-dva/freedom-
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information/foi-disclosure-log. Please note that the Department does not publish details of
FOI applicants, it only publishes details of the FOI request and the documents released in
response to the request.
Your rights of review
18. If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for internal review or request the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (
OAIC) review my decision. We encourage
you to seek internal review as a first step to resolve any concerns you may have.
Internal review
19. Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to the Department for an Internal
Review of my decision. The Internal Review application must be made within 30 days of the
date of this letter. Where possible please attach reasons why you believe review of the
decision is necessary. The internal review will be carried out by another officer within 30 days.
20. You can make your application for Internal Review in one of the following ways:
Post:
Information Access Unit,
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
OAIC review
21. Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the OAIC to review my decision. An
application for review by OAIC must be made in writing within 60 days of the date of this
letter, and be lodged in one of the following ways:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
Director of FOI Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Facsimile:
(02) 9284 9666
Phone:
1300 363 992
Email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
22. More information about your review rights under the FOI Act is available in Fact Sheet 12
published by the OAIC:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-
complaints/information-commissioner-review/
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Contact us
23. If you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the Information Access
Unit using the following details:
Online:
https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview/reporting/freedom-
information/access-information
Post:
Information Access Unit
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001
Phone: 1800 838 372
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Jesse (Position Number 62371652)
Information Access Officer
Information Access Unit
Ministerial, International & Stakeholder Relations Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
18 January 2024
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LEX 63775
Schedule 1
Schedule of documents
Applicant:
Jenny
Decision date:
18 January 2024
FOI reference number:
LEX 63775
Document
Date of
Document description
Page
Decision
FOI Act
reference
document
number
provision
1
17/01/24 Opt Out Requests
1-2
Full Access
N/A
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LEX 63775
Schedule 2
Schedule of relevant provisions in the FOI Act
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Objects—general
(1)
The objects of this Act are to give the Australian community access to information held by
the Government of the Commonwealth or the Government of Norfolk Island, by:
(a)
requiring agencies to publish the information; and
(b)
providing for a right of access to documents.
(2)
The Parliament intends, by these objects, to promote Australia’s representative democracy
by contributing towards the following:
(a)
increasing public participation in Government processes, with a view to promoting
better informed decision-making;
(b)
increasing scrutiny, discussion, comment and review of the Government’s
activities.
(3)
The Parliament also intends, by these objects, to increase recognition that information held
by the Government is to be managed for public purposes, and is a national resource.
(4)
The Parliament also intends that functions and powers given by this Act are to be
performed and exercised, as far as possible, to facilitate and promote public access to
information, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost.
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Right of access
(1)
Subject to this Act, every person has a legally enforceable right to obtain access in
accordance with this Act to:
(a)
a document of an agency, other than an exempt document; or
(b)
an official document of a Minister, other than an exempt document.
(2)
Subject to this Act, a person’s right of access is not affected by:
(a)
any reasons the person gives for seeking access; or
(b)
the agency’s or Minister’s belief as to what are his or her reasons for seeking
access.
11A Access to documents on request
Scope
(1)
This section applies if:
(a)
a request is made by a person, in accordance with subsection 15(2), to an agency or
Minister for access to:
(i)
a document of the agency; or
(ii)
an official document of the Minister; and
(b)
any charge that, under the regulations, is required to be paid before access is given
has been paid.
(2)
This section applies subject to this Act.
Note:
Other provisions of this Act are relevant to decisions about access to documents, for example the following:
(a)
section 12 (documents otherwise available);
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(b)
section 13 (documents in national institutions);
(c)
section 15A (personnel records);
(d)
section 22 (access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted).
Mandatory access—general rule
(3)
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document in accordance with
this Act, subject to this section.
Exemptions and conditional exemptions
(4)
The agency or Minister is not required by this Act to give the person access to the
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is an exempt document.
Note:
Access may be given to an exempt document apart from under this Act, whether or not in response to a request
(see section 3A (objects—information or documents otherwise accessible)).
(5)
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document if it is conditionally
exempt at a particular time unless (in the circumstances) access to the document at that
time would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.
Note 1: Division 3 of Part IV provides for when a document is conditionally exempt.
Note 2: A conditionally exempt document is an exempt document if access to the document would, on balance, be
contrary to the public interest (see section 31B (exempt documents for the purposes of Part IV)).
Note 3: Section 11B deals with when it is contrary to the public interest to give a person access to the document.
(6)
Despite subsection (5), the agency or Minister is not required to give access to the
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is both:
(a)
a conditionally exempt document; and
(b)
an exempt document:
(i)
under Division 2 of Part IV (exemptions); or
(ii)
within the meaning of paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of exempt
document in subsection 4(1).
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Requests for access (as related to the requirements for requests)
Persons may request access
(1)
Subject to section 15A, a person who wishes to obtain access to a document of an agency
or an official document of a Minister may request access to the document.
Requirements for request
(2)
The request must:
(a)
be in writing; and
(aa)
state that the request is an application for the purposes of this Act; and
(b)
provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably necessary to
enable a responsible officer of the agency, or the Minister, to identify it; and
(c)
give details of how notices under this Act may be sent to the applicant (for
example, by providing an electronic address to which notices may be sent by
electronic communication).
(2A) The request must be sent to the agency or Minister. The request may be sent in any of the
following ways:
(a)
delivery to an officer of the agency, or a member of the staff of the Minister, at the
address of any central or regional office of the agency or Minister specified in a
current telephone directory;
(b)
postage by pre-paid post to an address mentioned in paragraph (a);
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(c)
sending by electronic communication to an electronic address specified by the
agency or Minister.
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Requests involving use of computers etc
(1)
Where:
(a)
a request (including
a request in relation to which
a practical refusal reason exists)
is made in accordance with the requirements o
f subsection 15(2) to
an agency;
(b)
It appears from the
request that the desire of th
e applicant is for information that
is not available in discrete form in writt
en documents of the
agency; and
(ba)
it does not appear from th
e request that th
e applicant wishes to be provided with
a computer tape or computer disk on which the information is recorded; and
(c)
the agency could produce a writt
en document containing the information in
discrete form by:
(i)
the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the
agency for retrieving or collating stored information; or
(ii)
the making of a transcript from a sound recording held
in the agency;
the agency shall deal with th
e request as if it were
a request for access to a written
document so produced and containing that information and, for that purpose, this Act
applies as if
the agency had such
a document in its possession.
(2)
An agency is not required to comply
with subsection (1) if compliance would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of th
e agency from its other operations.
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Decisions to be made by authorised persons
(1)
Subject to subsection (2), a decision in respect of a request made to an agency may be
made, on behalf of the agency, by the responsible Minister or the principal officer of the
agency or, subject to the regulations, by an officer of the agency acting within the scope of
authority exercisable by him or her in accordance with arrangements approved by the
responsible Minister or the principal officer of the agency.
(2)
A decision in respect of a request made to a court, or made to a tribunal, authority or body
that is specified in Schedule 1, may be made on behalf of that court, tribunal, authority or
body by the principal officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body or, subject to the
regulations, by an officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body acting within the scope
of authority exercisable by him or her in accordance with arrangements approved by the
principal officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body.
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