GPO Box 2392
Melbourne, VIC 3001 Australia
www.transport.vic.gov.au
Our Ref: CS014715
Mark Nottingham
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx>
Dear Mr Nottingham
Your request for documents
I refer to your email received by the Department of Transport and Planning (Department) on 24
March 2024
, in which you requested:
“Please provide the following documents related to the Digital Drivers License currently being rolled
out in Victoria:
- Overviews of the system's operation
- Descriptions of the major components
- Specifications for how the components will communicate
- Information related to the international standards it conforms to, including optional extensions to
them and restrictions of their use
- Privacy assessments of the system and its components
- Correspondence related to selective disclosure of identity”
You are making a request under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (
FOI Act). Payment of
the application fee for your request was waived on 5 April 2024. However, your request is not valid
under section 17 of the FOI Act because it is not clear and specific enough for us to identify the
documents you have requested.
This means we cannot start processing your request until you give us more information about your
request.
Your request requires clarification
For your request to be valid under section 17 of the FOI Act, it must provide enough information
about the documents you asked for so we can properly identify them.
We have made preliminary enquiries to determine what documents the Department may hold
relevant to your request. However, those enquiries have been hampered by the broad terms in
which the request is expressed. For example, “Specifications for how the components will
communicate” could refer to various requirements associated with implementation of the system.
Similarly, a request for “correspondence related to selective disclosure of identity” can be
interpreted in a number of ways. It can be taken to refer to general measures that relate to permitted
disclosures of personal information, or to more specific correspondence concerning individual
matters. In addition, that part of the request does not state whether the requested correspondence
is internal or external or give a date range for the correspondence. As a result, the extent of the
searches required to meet the request is not clear.
There is a possible resolution to these issues in the part of your request which seeks “privacy
assessments of the system…”. I am advised that two Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) were
undertaken in relation to the proposal, to analyse its impact on personal privacy. Those PIAs
provide an overview of the proposal, detail on the information flows involved, and privacy analysis of
the proposal’s elements and the risks involved. It may be that the PIAs contain the information you
seek and could be the focus of a revised request.
Please note that rescoping the request to seek those PIAs is not a guarantee that they will be
released to you. They would still need to assessed for release under the FOI Act, including the
application of any appropriate exemptions from release.
What you need to do
Please clarify your request within 21 days of receiving this correspondence by contacting us at
xxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx.
You may wish to offer an alternative phrasing of your request, however, please note that any
alternative that does not sufficiently specify the documents sought may result in the request not
proceeding.
Until your request is amended as required by section 17 of the Act it cannot be processed and the
30-day period within which a decision must be made on your request has not commenced.
If this consultation fails to achieve a valid request by 21 May 2024, we may close your request
without processing it. If we close your request without processing it, you will need to make a new
request if you wish to access the documents.
Contact
Please feel free to contact us at xxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx if you have any queries about this matter.
Yours sincerely
Andrew Weston
Manager, Privacy and Information Access
30/04/2024
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