If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
9 February 2016
Moonee Valley Legal Service
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Our reference: LEX 17105
Dear Moonee Valley Legal Service
Your Freedom of Information Request - Decision
1. I refer to your request dated 12 January 2016 and received by the Department of Human
Services (the
department) on the same date, for access under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the
FOI Act) to the following documents:
‘Could I get the following data for Ascot Vale, Carlton, Flemington, Kensington, North
Melbourne for 2015:
Family composition
Percentage of households receiving a disability pension
Numbers of properties
Numbers of vacant tenantable properties and average time those properties had
been vacant as at 31 December 2015
Number of residents and number of those residents who are in new tenancies
The percentages of different countries of birth
The percentages of the age groups
Languages spoken Gross weekly income by households Income types.’
Background
2. On 19 January 2016, I contacted you by email to advise that the information you have
requested is not available through the department and asked whether you would be
agreeable to withdrawing your request on this basis.
3. On 5 February 2016, I contacted you again by email asking whether you would like to
continue with your request, noting that the information you requested is not available
through the department. I am yet to receive a response to these emails.
Decision
4. I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
5. I have decided to refuse your request for access under section 24A of the FOI Act on the
basis that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the documents you have
requested and I am satisfied that they cannot be located or do not exist.
PAGE 1 OF 5
Information Considered
6. In reaching my decision, I have considered:
the terms of your request, dated 12 January 2016;
the FOI Act;
consultations with department officers about the department’s operating
environment and functions; and
guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A
of the FOI Act (the
Guidelines).
Reasons for Decision
Section 24A of the FOI Act
7. Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that:
(1) An agency or Minister may refuse a request for access to a document if:
(a) all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and
(b) the agency or Minister is satisfied that the document:
(i) is in the agency's or Minister's possession but cannot be found; or
(ii) does not exist.
8. The department’s Statistics Team has made enquiries as to whether the data you have
requested is available in documents held by the department. As advised in an email to
you dated 19 January 2016, the information you have requested below is not available
through the department.
9. You may consider contacting the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) who may be able
to provide data relating to the Australian population and composition relevant to your
request.
10. Data specific to the department’s social welfare payments is publicly available at
www.data.gov.au. This information may be able to be utilised in conjunction with the
population information obtained through the ABS to convey percentages as you have
indicated you are seeking.
11. On the basis of these investigations, I am satisfied that in accordance with section 24A
of the FOI Act:
1. all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and
2. the documents cannot be located or does not exist.
PAGE 2 OF 5
Department of Human Services
Rights of review
12. I have enclosed information about your rights of review under the FOI Act at
Attachment A.
Yours sincerely
Sally Cook
FOI Practitioner
Freedom of Information Team
FOI and Litigation Branch | Legal Services Division
Department of Human Services
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
PAGE 3 OF 5
Department of Human Services
Attachment A
INFORMATION ON RIGHTS OF REVIEW
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
Application for review of decision
The
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) gives you the right to apply for a review of
this decision. Under sections 54 and 54L of the FOI Act, you can apply for a review of this
decision by:
(i)
an internal review officer in the Department of Human Services; or
(ii)
the Information Commissioner.
Internal Review
If you apply for internal review, it will be carried out by a different decision-maker who will
make a fresh decision on your application. An application for review must be:
• made in writing;
• made within 30 days of receiving this letter; and
• sent to the address at the head of this letter.
No particular form is required, but it is desirable to set out in the application the grounds upon
which you consider the decision should be reviewed.
If the internal review officer decides not to grant you access to all of the documents to which
you have requested access, you have the right to seek a review of that decision by the
Information Commissioner. You will be further notified of your rights of review at the time you
are notified of the internal review decision.
Please note that if you apply for an internal review and a decision is not made by an internal
review officer within 30 days of receiving the application, you have the right to seek review by
the Information Commissioner for a review of the original FOI decision on the basis of a
‘deemed refusal’ decision, An application for Information Commissioner review in this
situation must be made within 60 days of the date when the internal review decision should
have been made (provided an extension of time has not been granted or agreed).
PAGE 4 OF 5
Department of Human Services
Information Commissioner review
You must apply in writing within 60 days of the receipt of the decision letter and you can
lodge your application in one of the following ways:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney 2001
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
If a person has sought an internal review and no result of that review is provided within 30
days, then the applicant may apply to the Information Commissioner to review the matter.
An application form is available on the website at www.oaic.gov.au. Your application should
include a copy of the notice of the decision that you are objecting to (if one was provided),
and your contact details. You should also set out why you are objecting to the decision.
Complaints to the Commonwealth Ombudsman and Information Commissioner
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
The Commonwealth Ombudsman generally prefers applicants to seek review before
complaining about a decision.
Information Commissioner
You may also 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
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is disbanding
Please note: The Australian Government announced as part of the 2014–15 Budget that the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) will be disbanded. The OAIC
remains operational until further notice.
For further information on how the OAIC will deal with IC reviews and FOI complaints please
visit their website at
www.oaic.gov.au.
PAGE 5 OF 5
Department of Human Services
