Provision of name and link to accuracy of Census data

James Smith made this Freedom of Information request to Australian Bureau of Statistics

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Australian Bureau of Statistics should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Australian Bureau of Statistics,

The Australian Statistician has said "we know that if people supply their name they're more likely to provide accurate information in the other parts of the census."

I request the research which supports this statement.

Yours faithfully,

James Smith

Lachlan MacRae, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Dear James Smith,

I refer to your application in which you seek access to documents under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (ABS reference FOI 201617/10)
regarding research which supports the following statement made by the
Australian Statistician:

“we know that if people supply their name they're more likely to provide
accurate information in the other parts of the census.”

Your request was received by the ABS on 8 August 2016 and the 30 days
statutory period for processing your request commenced from that date.  If
this request will take longer than 30 days to process, we will contact you
to negotiate an extension of time.

You will be notified of any charges in accordance with the Freedom of
Information (Fees and Charges) Regulations, should they apply, in relation
to your request as soon as practicable.
Regards,

Lachlan MacRae

FOI Contact Officer

Australian Bureau of Statistics

(P) (02) 6252 7203

(E) [1][ABS request email]   (W)  [2]www.abs.gov.au

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.abs.gov.au/

Keelie Williams, Australian Bureau of Statistics

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Smith

Please find attached the notification of charges estimate for your Freedom
of Information (FOI) request.  

(See attached file: FOI 20161710 Estimate of Charges.pdf)

If you have any queries on this matter please contact the ABS FOI Contact
Officer at [1][ABS request email] or on (02) 6252 7203.

Kind Regards

FOI Contact Officer

Policy, Legislation and Assurance  |  Governance and Parliamentary Liaison
Branch  |  Australian Bureau of Statistics

(P) (02) 6252 7203  (E) [2][ABS request email] (W) 
[3]www.abs.gov.au

The [4]ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal
information that you provide to us.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[ABS request email]
2. mailto:[ABS request email]
3. http://www.abs.gov.au/
4. http://www.abs.gov.au/privacy

Dear Ms Williams,

Thank you for your letter (your reference 201617/10) dated 1 September 2016.

I contend that the charges have been wrongly assessed and should be either reduced or not imposed.

The Australian Statistician has made a public statement "we know that if people supply their name they're more likely to provide accurate information in the other parts of the census." In doing so, one would imagine that such a statement would only be made if it were true and supported in fact.

It follows then that the Statistician's source of supporting evidence should be readily accessible within a very short period of time, even if that means asking the Statistician himself where he obtained supporting evidence in making his claim. A search time of 5 hours therefore appears manifestly excessive.

I understand the ABS undertakes a wide variety of research. If research supporting the Statistician's claim exists, I imagine that it would have been stored in appropriate manner and therefore ready accessible by searching the catalogues or other information management tools the ABS uses to manage its information.

I kindly ask the Bureau to not impose any charge for this request. If a charge is to be imposed, I will need to employ the services of a crowd-funding website.

Yours sincerely,

James Smith

Keelie Williams, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Dear Mr Smith

I refer to your email of 2 September 2016 in which you sought an
assessment of a decision made under section 29 of the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) relating to the imposition of charges and
amount charged for the processing of your FOI request (ABS reference
FOI201617/10).

Your request was received by the ABS on 2 September 2016 and the 30 days
statutory period for review commenced from that date.

You will be notified of the outcome of this review in line with statutory
time frames.

Kind Regards

FOI Contact Officer

Policy, Legislation and Assurance  |  Governance and Parliamentary Liaison
Branch  |  Australian Bureau of Statistics

(P) (02) 6252 7203  (E) [1][ABS request email] (W) 
[2]www.abs.gov.au

The [3]ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal
information that you provide to us.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[ABS request email]
2. http://www.abs.gov.au/
3. http://www.abs.gov.au/privacy

Lachlan MacRae, Australian Bureau of Statistics

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Smith,

On 2 September 2016 you requested that the ABS either 'reduce or not
impose' charges in relation to your FOI request.

Please find attached the ABS response to your request.

(See attached file: FOI 201617-10 - Review of Charges.pdf)

Kind Regards

FOI Contact Officer

Policy, Legislation and Assurance  |  Governance and Parliamentary Liaison
Branch  |  Australian Bureau of Statistics

(P) (02) 6252 7203  (E) [1][ABS request email] (W) 
[2]www.abs.gov.au

The [3]ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal
information that you provide to us.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[ABS request email]
2. http://www.abs.gov.au/
3. http://www.abs.gov.au/privacy

Lachlan MacRae, Australian Bureau of Statistics

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Smith

In response to your FOI request dated 8 August 2016, please find attached
part 2 of the formal response from the ABS.

(See attached file: 201617-10 - Decision Letter (documents within) - part
2.pdf)

Regards

FOI Contact Officer

Policy, Legislation and Assurance  |  Governance and Parliamentary Liaison
Branch  |  Australian Bureau of Statistics

(P) (02) 6252 7203  (E) [1][ABS request email] (W) 
[2]www.abs.gov.au

The [3]ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal
information that you provide to us.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[ABS request email]
2. http://www.abs.gov.au/
3. http://www.abs.gov.au/privacy

Lachlan MacRae, Australian Bureau of Statistics

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Smith

In response to your FOI request dated 8 August 2016, please find attached
part 1 of the formal response from the ABS.

Please note, as the pdf document was quite large we have had to split the
response into three parts. I will send two further e-mails containing
parts 2 and 3 of the ABS response.  The full set of documents disclosed
will also be released to the ABS Disclosure Log.

Please find attached part 1 of 3.

(See attached file: 201617-10 - Decision Letter (documents within) - part
1.pdf)

If you have any queries on this matter please contact the ABS FOI Contact
Officer at [1][ABS request email] or on (02) 6252 7203.

Regards

FOI Contact Officer

Policy, Legislation and Assurance  |  Governance and Parliamentary Liaison
Branch  |  Australian Bureau of Statistics

(P) (02) 6252 7203  (E) [2][ABS request email] (W) 
[3]www.abs.gov.au

The [4]ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal
information that you provide to us.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[ABS request email]
2. mailto:[ABS request email]
3. http://www.abs.gov.au/
4. http://www.abs.gov.au/privacy

Lachlan MacRae, Australian Bureau of Statistics

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Smith

In response to your FOI request dated 8 August 2016, please find attached
part 3 of the formal response from the ABS.

(See attached file: 201617-10 - Decision Letter (documents within) - part
3.pdf)

Regards

FOI Contact Officer

Policy, Legislation and Assurance  |  Governance and Parliamentary Liaison
Branch  |  Australian Bureau of Statistics

(P) (02) 6252 7203  (E) [1][ABS request email] (W) 
[2]www.abs.gov.au

The [3]ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal
information that you provide to us.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[ABS request email]
2. http://www.abs.gov.au/
3. http://www.abs.gov.au/privacy

Dear Australian Bureau of Statistics,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Australian Bureau of Statistics's handling of my FOI request 'Provision of name and link to accuracy of Census data'.

The extent of redaction in the supplied document appears excessive. As I have no knowledge of the content of the redacted material, I am not in a position to comment on the validity of your reasons given for the redaction.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/p...

Yours faithfully,

James Smith

Caroline Blink, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Dear Mr Smith

I refer to your email of 22 October 2016 in which you sought an internal
review of the decision made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) relating to your FOI request (ABS reference FOI201617/10).

Your request was received by the ABS on 22 October 2016 and the 30 days
statutory period for review commenced from that date.

You will be notified of the outcome of this review in line with statutory
time frames.

Kind Regards

FOI Contact Officer

Australian Bureau of Statistics 

(P) (02) 6252 7203 

(E) [1][ABS request email]   (W)  [2]www.abs.gov.au

The [3]ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal
information that you provide to us.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.abs.gov.au/
3. http://www.abs.gov.au/privacy

Danielle Gillett, Australian Bureau of Statistics

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Smith,

In response to your request for an internal review on 22 October 2016,
please find attached the formal response from the ABS.

Should you have any questions regarding this please feel free to contact
the ABS FOI Contact Officer on: 02 6252 7203 or email:
[1][ABS request email]

(See attached file: FOI 201617-10 Internal Review Decision.pdf)

Kind Regards

FOI Contact Officer 

Australian Bureau of Statistics 

(P) (02) 6252 7203 

(E) [2][ABS request email]   (W)  [3]www.abs.gov.au

The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal
information that you provide to us.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[ABS request email]
2. mailto:[ABS request email]
3. http://www.abs.gov.au/

Dear Australian Bureau of Statistics,

Thank you for providing the requested information.

The research you have provided is approximately 40 years old. Does the Chief Statistician think that societal attitudes may have changed during such a long period of time? Is there any more recent evidence to support the ABS' view that the retention of names and addresses have any real benefits to the integrity and completeness of ABS Census data?

Yours sincerely,

James Smith

Danielle Gillett, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Dear Mr Smith,

I refer to your application in which you seek access to documents under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (ABS reference FOI 201617/55)
regarding:


o Is there any more recent evidence to support the ABS' view that the
retention of names and addresses have any real benefits to the
integrity and completeness of ABS Census data?

Your request was received by the ABS on the 21 February 2017 and the 30
days statutory period for processing your request commenced from that
date. If this request will take longer than 30 days to process, we will
contact you to negotiate an extension of time.

You will be notified of any charges in accordance with the Freedom of
Information (Fees and Charges) Regulations, should they apply, in relation
to your request as soon as practicable.

Kind Regards

FOI Contact Officer 

Australian Bureau of Statistics 

(P) (02) 6252 7203 

(E) [1][ABS request email]   (W)  [2]www.abs.gov.au

The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal
information that you provide to us.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[ABS request email]
2. http://www.abs.gov.au/

Caroline Blink, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Dear Mr Smith

Please disregard the below email. This acknowledgement is intended for
your new FOI request and will be sent momentarily.

Regards

FOI Contact Officer 

Australian Bureau of Statistics 

(P) (02) 6252 7203 

(E) [1][ABS request email]   (W)  [2]www.abs.gov.au

The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal
information that you provide to us.

__________________

Dear Mr Smith,

I refer to your application in which you seek access to documents under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (ABS reference FOI 201617/55)
regarding:


o Is there any more recent evidence to support the ABS' view that the
retention of names and addresses have any real benefits to the
integrity and completeness of ABS Census data?

Your request was received by the ABS on the 21 February 2017 and the 30
days statutory period for processing your request commenced from that
date. If this request will take longer than 30 days to process, we will
contact you to negotiate an extension of time.

You will be notified of any charges in accordance with the Freedom of
Information (Fees and Charges) Regulations, should they apply, in relation
to your request as soon as practicable.

Kind Regards

FOI Contact Officer 

Australian Bureau of Statistics 

(P) (02) 6252 7203 

(E) [3][ABS request email]   (W)  [4]www.abs.gov.au

The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal
information that you provide to us.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[ABS request email]
2. http://www.abs.gov.au/
3. mailto:[ABS request email]
4. http://www.abs.gov.au/