If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
5 September 2024
Our reference: LEX 81000
Frank N Fearless
Right to Know
Only by email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Frank N Fearless
Decision on your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request, received by Services Australia (the Agency) on 9 August 2024 for
access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the following documents:
The Agency's recent response to Senate Question on Notice SA SQ24-000473
provided Operational Blueprint "Income apportionment 107-24021218". Step 2 of the
Blueprint instructs staff to:
"Check if income averaging was used and escalate the case via email to Income
apportionment Policy/Helpdesk if:
• from 1 July 2015, the current debt was raised as part of the Income compliance
program using whol y or partially averaged ATO match data income, or • before 1 July
2015, income averaging was used to determine the current debt for a period"
I seek the most recent document, out of those created in the past six months, which
reports on the number of historical income averaging matters escalated under this
procedure or the income apportionment sampling exercises.
I'm hoping there will be a standard report that was sent to the National Managers for
Income Apportionment Operations/Response. Happy to consult on scope to save
you time. All I want is the most recent document which reports and reflects upon this
statistic which is of great importance to any unknown victims of income averaging.
My decision
The Agency holds one document (totalling 2 pages) that relates to your request.
I have decided to grant you
part access to the document, with some of the content removed.
I have decided that part of the document you requested is exempt under the FOI Act as the
document includes:
PAGE 1 OF 8
• operational information, the disclosure of which would have a serious or significant
effect on the Agency’s ability to conduct its operations efficiently and properly (section
47E(d) exemption), and
• personal information about other people (section 47F(1) exemption).
Out of scope or irrelevant material has also been removed, in accordance with section 22 of
the FOI Act.
Please see the schedule at
Attachment A to this letter for a description of the document and
the reasons for my decision, including the relevant sections of the FOI Act.
How we will send the document to you
The document is attached.
You can ask for a review of our decision
If you disagree with any part of the decision you can ask for a review. There are two ways
you can do this. You can ask for an internal review from within the Agency, or an external
review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. See
Attachment B for
more information about how to request a review.
Further assistance
If you have any questions, please email xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Cherie
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Team
FOI and Reviews Branch | Legal Services Division
Services Australia
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If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
REASONS FOR DECISION
What you requested
The Agency's recent response to Senate Question on Notice SA SQ24-000473
provided Operational Blueprint "Income apportionment 107-24021218". Step 2 of the
Blueprint instructs staff to:
"Check if income averaging was used and escalate the case via email to Income
apportionment Policy/Helpdesk if:
• from 1 July 2015, the current debt was raised as part of the Income compliance
program using whol y or partially averaged ATO match data income, or • before 1 July
2015, income averaging was used to determine the current debt for a period"
I seek the most recent document, out of those created in the past six months, which
reports on the number of historical income averaging matters escalated under this
procedure or the income apportionment sampling exercises.
I'm hoping there will be a standard report that was sent to the National Managers for
Income Apportionment Operations/Response. Happy to consult on scope to save
you time. All I want is the most recent document which reports and reflects upon this
statistic which is of great importance to any unknown victims of income averaging.
On 9 August 2024, the Agency acknowledged your request.
On 21 August 2024, I emailed you and sought your agreement to exclude the personal
details of our staff. You did not respond.
What I took into account
In reaching my decision I took into account:
• your request dated 9 August 2024
• the document which falls within the scope of your request
• whether the release of material is in the public interest
• consultations with Agency officers about:
o the nature of the document
o the Agency's operating environment and functions
• guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of
the FOI Act (the Guidelines), and
• the FOI Act.
Reasons for my decision
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
I have decided parts of the document you requested are exempt under the FOI Act. My
findings of fact and reasons for deciding that the exemption applies are discussed below.
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Operations of the Agency
I have applied the exemption in section 47E(d) of the Act to a certain part of the document.
The information I have found to be exempt is the Agency’s positional mailbox.
The Agency’s purpose is to provide high-quality government services and payments to
Australians. It is a large, public facing, government organisation with many points of contact
designed to facilitate its purpose. The Agency has established channels of communication
for customers and members of the public, which have been put in place to ensure the
effective management of the significant volume of communication received. Such channels
include dedicated and externally published positional mailboxes of different business areas
within the Agency. These have been established to ensure correspondence is directed to the
correct area and actioned accordingly.
If internal positional mailbox details were to be made publicly available, correspondence
received and directed could be mishandled, lost, duplicated or double-handled on account of
it not being directed to the most appropriate teams through the publicly available
communication channels.
Further, the FOI Act does not control or restrict any subsequent use or dissemination of
information released under the FOI Act. Noting the Agency’s interactions with the public
number in the hundreds of millions, diverting people from correct channels cannot be
appropriately categorised as insubstantial or nominal.
For the reasons outlined above, I am satisfied the positional mailbox is conditionally exempt
under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act.
Public interest considerations
Access to conditionally exempt material must be given unless I am satisfied it would not be in
the public interest to do so.
I consider the disclosure of the material would generally promote the objects of the FOI Act,
which is in the public interest. However, I also considered the disclosure of the Agency’s
positional mailboxes would prejudice the Agency’s ability to effectively and efficiently manage
contact with the public.
As such, I have decided in this instance, the public interest in disclosing the information in
the above-mentioned document is outweighed by the public interest against disclosure.
I have not taken into account any of the irrelevant factors set out in section 11B(4) of the FOI
Act in making this decision.
Unreasonable disclosure of personal information
I have applied the exemption in section 47F(1) of the FOI Act to parts of the document.
This section of the FOI Act allows the Agency to redact material from a document if its
disclosure would result in the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about another
person.
Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual
who is reasonably identifiable. It can include a person's name, address and telephone number.
I am satisfied the document contains personal information of other people, including the names
of non-SES staff members and the contact information of Agency staff.
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I am satisfied that the disclosure of the third party personal information would be unreasonable
as you do not have the consent of these individuals for the release of their personal information,
the information is private and not available publicly, and the identity of the individuals
concerned are readily apparent.
For the reasons detailed above, I am satisfied parts of the document are conditionally exempt
under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.
Public interest considerations
Access to conditionally exempt material must be given unless I am satisfied it would not be in
the public interest to do so.
I consider the disclosure of the material would generally promote the objects of the FOI Act,
which is in the public interest. However, I also consider disclosure would prejudice the
individual’s right to privacy and adversely affect or harm the individual’s interests.
As such, I have decided in this instance, the public interest in disclosing the information in
the above-mentioned document is outweighed by the public interest against disclosure.
I have not taken into account any of the irrelevant factors set out in section 11B(4) of the FOI
Act in making this decision.
As identified in the Schedule, I have redacted the exempt information in the document and
released the remaining material in accordance with section 22(1) of the FOI Act.
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If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
Attachment B
INFORMATION ON RIGHTS OF REVIEW
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
Asking for a full explanation of a Freedom of Information (FOI) decision
Before you ask for a formal review of a FOI decision, you can contact us to discuss your
request. We will explain the decision to you. This gives you a chance to correct
misunderstandings.
Asking for a formal review of a FOI decision
If you still believe a decision is incorrect, the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act)
gives 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:
1. an Internal Review Officer in Services Australia (the Agency), and/or
2. the Australian Information Commissioner.
Applying for an internal review by an Internal Review Officer
If you apply for internal review, a different decision maker to the Agency delegate 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
• made within 30 days of receiving this letter
• sent to the address at the top of the first page of this letter or by email to
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Note: 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 decision or the internal review decision, you can ask the
Australian Information Commissioner to review the decision.
If you do not receive a decision from an Internal Review Officer in the Agency within 30 days
of applying, you can ask the Australian Information Commissioner for a review of the original
FOI decision.
You will have 60 days to apply in writing for a review by the Australian Information
Commissioner.
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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
Note: The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner generally prefers FOI
applicants to seek internal review before applying for external review by the Australian
Information Commissioner.
Important:
• If you are applying online, the application form the 'FOI Review Form' is available at
Information Commissioner Review Application form
• If you have one, you should include with your application a copy of the Agency's
decision on your FOI request
• Include your contact details
• Set out your reasons for objecting to the Agency's decision.
Complaints to the Australian Information Commissioner and Commonwealth
Ombudsman
Australian Information Commissioner
You may complain to the Australian 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 Australian Information
Commissioner must be made in writing. The Australian Information Commissioner's contact
details are:
Telephone: 1300 363 992
Website: www.oaic.gov.au
Smart Form: FOI Complaint Form
Commonwealth Ombudsman
You may also complain to the Commonwealth 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 Commonwealth Ombudsman may be
made in person, by telephone or in writing. The Commonwealth Ombudsman's contact
details are:
Phone: 1300 362 072
Website: www.ombudsman.gov.au
The Commonwealth Ombudsman generally prefers applicants to seek review before
complaining about a decision.
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