Frank N Fearless
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Frank N Fearless
Re: FOI Request LEX 49760
I refer to your FOI request regarding the monthly complaints meetings between the Department
of Social Services (
DSS) and Services Australia (
Agency), as mentioned in our response to
Recommendation 8 of the second Ombudsman Report on unlawful income apportionment.
DSS appreciates your interest in this matter, and we wanted to provide clarification regarding
points raised in your request and the content of one of the documents released.
Regarding your statement indicating that DSS established monthly meetings relating to policy
matters, we want to clarify that these meetings are specifically focused on complaint matters
related to policy held by DSS where programs are delivered by Services Australia. These
meetings serve as a platform for officials to discuss various aspects of complaint handling and
resolution, including the sharing of complaints reporting between DSS and Services Australia.
I also wanted to draw your attention to the inaccuracy of two dot points that can be found at the
bottom of page 2 of Document 4 under the head dot point “Interim Care decisions paused as
policy advice did not match legislation”. The two dot points are inaccurate as they refer to an act
of grace payment that was not made and to “advice from DSS” that does not exist.
We hope this clarification assists in relation to your FOI request.
Yours sincerely
Bronwyn Worswick
Authorised Decision Maker
19 April 2024
GPO Box 9820 Canberra ACT 2601
Email Facsimile Telephone 1300 653 227
National Relay Service: TTY: 133 677, Speak and listen: 1300 555 727, Internet relay: www.relayservice.com.au
www.dss.gov.au