Ghyas Alam
By ema
il: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Our reference: LEX 947
Dear Mr Alam
Freedom of Information request
1. I am writing about your Freedom of Information (FOI) request under the
Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) made on
5 April 2024 for access to documents held
by the Australian Public Service Commission (Commission).
2. The FOI Act and all other Commonwealth legislation referred to in this letter are publicly
available from
www.legislation.gov.au.
Documents relevant to your request
3. You requested access to documents in the following terms:
“I am writing to request information regarding the number of people with disabilities who
have applied for positions through the Recruitability Scheme, as well as their success rates
in securing employment. Specifically, I would appreciate if this data could be provided
department-wise, allowing for a more detailed analysis of inclusivity and accessibility
within the APS workforce.”
4. You also provided the following context to your request:
“The information requested would greatly assist in understanding the effectiveness of
current diversity initiatives and help identify areas for improvement. By examining
department-specific data, we can gain valuable insights into the hiring practices and
outcomes for individuals with disabilities across various sectors of the Federal
Government.”
5. On 10 April 2024, the Commission informed you that the Commission has collated data
that falls under the scope of your request from the period 1 July 2022, and requested
whether you agree with the time range.
6. On the same day, you responded agreeing to the time range of 1 July 2022, and requested
clarification regarding why data from 25 July 2019 to 1 July 2022 could not be made
available.
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7. The Commission clarified the date range from 1 July 2022 because it was reasonable to
conduct the searches within that time period. The Commission can extract data from
previous years, however this will take a significant amount of time and the narrowed time
enabled the Commission to process your request within the applicable statutory time
period.
8. On 16 April 2024, the Commission sought clarification that you are seeking information
pertaining to the Commission only, and provided that the Commission does not have
oversight of recruitment applications within the RecruitAbility Scheme pertaining to other
department and agencies.
9. On the same day, you revised your request to the following terms:
“I am writing to reiterate my clear and specific request for information regarding the
Recruitability scheme across all 16 federal agencies/departments. As previously outlined,
I am seeking data on the number of applicants opted into the Recruitability Scheme, the
number of applicants receiving offers of employment, and this information for each of the
following departments:
•
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
•
Department of Defence
•
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
•
Department of Finance
•
Department of Education
•
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
•
Department of Social Services
•
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
•
Department of Health and Aged Care
•
Department of Industry, Science and Resources
•
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development,
Communications and the Arts
•
Department of Home Affairs
•
Department of the Treasury
•
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
•
Department of Veterans' Affairs.”
Decision on your FOI request
5. I am authorised under subsection 23(1) of the FOI Act to make FOI decisions.
6. I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate documents relevant
to your request.
7. As relayed to you in correspondence dated 16 April 2024, the Commission does not hold
RecruitAbility data at the recruitment level of other department agencies you have
referenced, that is, the number of applicants opted into the RecruitAbility Scheme and the
number of successful applicants receiving offers of employment in respect of numerous
agencies. For information pertaining to other agencies’ RecruitAbility information, you
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may submit a FOI request directly to those agencies.
8. I have created one (1) document that contains information relevant to your request.
Please note, this document relates to RecruitAbility Scheme data for the Commission
only.
9. The document within scope is as follows:
• Document 1: RecruitAbility Scheme data pertaining to the Commission.
10. Document 1 was created under section 17 of the FOI Act, as the data you have sought
were not readily available in discrete form within the Commission.
11. I have decided to grant you
full access to Document 1.
12.
Attachment A provides a description of the document in scope to be released.
Contacts
13. If you require clarification on matters in this letter please contact the Commission’s
FOI Officer by emailing
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Review rights
14. You are entitled to seek review of this decision. Your review rights are set out at
Attachment B.
Yours sincerely
Nicole Steele
Authorised FOI decision maker
3 May 2024
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ATTACHMENT A
SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS
Document
Description
Exemption grounds
1
RecruitAbility Scheme data pertaining to the Commission
Full release
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ATTACHMENT B
Rights of Review
Asking for a full explanation of a Freedom of Information decision
If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you may seek review. Before you seek review of a
Freedom of Information (FOI) decision, you may contact us to discuss your request and we
will explain the decision to you.
Seeking review of a Freedom of Information decision
If you still believe a decision is incorrect, the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act)
may give 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 seeking:
1. an internal review by an different officer of the Australian Public Service
Commission; and/or
2. external review by the Australian Information Commissioner.
There are no fees applied to either review option.
Applying for a review by an Internal Review Officer
If you apply for internal review, a different decision maker to the authorised agency officer
who made the original decision will carry out the review. The Internal Review Officer will
consider all aspects of the original decision and decide whether it should change. An
application for internal review must be made in writing within 30 days of receiving this letter
to:
Email:
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Post:
The FOI Officer
Australian Public Service Commission
B Block, Treasury Building
GPO Box 3176
Parkes Place West
PARKES ACT 2600
You do not need to fill 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 FOI decision or the internal review decision, you can ask
the Australian Information Commissioner to review the decision. You have 60 days to apply
in writing for a review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (the OAIC)
from the date you received this letter or any subsequent internal review decision.
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You can
lodge your application: Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
Australian Information
Commissioner GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
The OAIC encourage applicants to apply online. Where possible, to assist the OAIC you
should include your contact information, a copy of the related FOI decision and provide
details of your reasons for objecting to the decision.
Complaints to the Information Commissioner and Commonwealth Ombudsman
Information Commissioner
You may complain to the 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 Information Commissioner must be made in
writing. The Information Commissioner's contact details are:
Telephone:
1300 363 992
Website:
www.oaic.gov.au
Commonwealth Ombudsman
You may complain to the 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 Ombudsman may be made in person, by telephone or in
writing. The Ombudsman's contact details are:
Phone:
1300 362 072
Website:
www.ombudsman.gov.au
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Document Outline
