If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
16 December 2016
Our reference: LEX 23376
James Smith
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Dear Mr Smith
Freedom of Information Request - Charges
I refer to your request dated 2 November 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:
'With respect to the pay rise recently announced for SES staff, I seek all relevant documents
which address compliance with the Workplace Bargaining Policy 2015.
I also seek any documentation which details any productivity or productivity-related
measures linked to the SES pay offer, in addition to any documentation where approvals
were sought from the person authorised to grant the payrise.’
On the 22 November 2016 you were notified that you are liable to pay a change for the processing
of your request and advised that the preliminary assessment of that charge was $144.40. This
charge was calculated as follows:
Search and retrieval time: 1.93 hours, at $15.00 per hour:
$29.00
Decision-making time (*after deduction of 5 hours): 5.77 hours,
at $20.00 per hour
$115.40
TOTAL
$144.40
*The FOI Act provides that the first five hours of decision-making time are free of charge and this is reflected in the
calculation.
On 22 November 2016 you responded to the preliminary charge, contending that the charge of
$144.40 was wrongly assessed. You stated that in your view the decision making time of 10.77
hours is excessive, given that there were seven pages identified as within the scope of your
request.
I have reconsidered the calculation of this charge and find that you are still liable to pay the charge
of $144.40 for the processing of your request.
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Preliminary Assessment
I am advised that the department has two documents with seven pages in its possession relevant to
your request.
Search and Retrieval time
• I have reduced the search and retrieval time from the initial estimate to 10 minutes (0.17
hours).
Decision Making Time
• I have reduced the estimate time to examine pages and apply any applicable exemptions to
four minutes per relevant page.
• I have considered that there will be personal information within these documents requiring
consultation with approximately 120 third parties on whether they would object to their
personal information being disclosed.
o I have estimated five minutes per consultation. I am of the view that each
consultation is in relation to the same type of information and I considered that the
responses from third parties may be similar in nature.
• I have estimated two hours for the preparation and notification of the decision, noting that
this processing time had not been included in the initial charge estimate.
My preliminary assessment of that charge is revised to $148.50, calculated as follows:
Search and retrieval time: 0.17 hours, at $15.00 per hour:
$2.50
Decision-making time (*after deduction of 5 hours): 7.30 hours,
at $20.00 per hour
$146.00
TOTAL
$148.50
*The FOI Act provides that the first five hours of decision-making time are free of charge and this is reflected in the
calculation.
Given that the initial estimate of the processing charge was notified to you as $144.40, I have
decided that it is reasonable to leave the charge at this amount. In accordance with section 29 of
the FOI Act, I have decided that you are liable to pay a charge of $144.40 for the processing of your
request.
Required Action
If you would like the department to continue processing your request, you must notify the
department in writing within 30 days of receiving this notice that you:
a) agree to pay the charge;
b) wish to contend that the charge:
i. should be reduced or not imposed; or
ii. both; or
c) withdraw the request for access.
If you do not provide a written response in accordance with one of Options A, B or C above within
30 days of receiving this notice, your request will be taken to have been withdrawn under section
29(2) of the FOI Act.
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Department of Human Services
Alternatively you may wish to refine the scope of your FOI request. If you would like to discuss this
please contact me for assistance.
Further information on options A, B and C is set out below.
Option A - pay the charge
As the charge exceeds $25, you are required to pay a deposit of $36.00 within 30 days of receiving
this notice. You may, of course, elect to pay the charge in full at this point.
The amount due should be paid by cheque or money order made out to the Collector of Public
Monies. Please quote the reference number FOI LEX 23376 with your payment.
Should you elect to pay the charge please email
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx once you
have posted your cheque or money order to advise us of your payment.
Option B - seek reduction or non-imposition of the charge
You may contend that the charge should be reduced or not imposed. Section 29(5) of the FOI Act
provides that, in deciding whether to reduce or not to impose a charge, the decision-maker must
take into account any relevant reasons, including whether payment of the charge, or part of it, would
cause you financial hardship, and whether the giving of access to the documents is in the general
public interest or in the interest of a substantial section of the public.
If you wish to contend that the charge should be reduced or not imposed, please set out your
reasons and the evidence in support of your reasons as clearly as possible. If you believe that
payment of the charge would cause you financial hardship, please provide sufficient details of your
financial circumstances to enable the decision-maker to make a well-informed decision in this
regard.
Option C - withdraw your request
If you wish to withdraw your request you may do so in writing.
Time limits for processing your request
Section 31 of the FOI Act provides that where a notice is sent to an applicant regarding the payment
of a charge in respect of a request, the time limit for processing the request is suspended from the
date the notice is received until either:
(a) the day following payment of the charge (in full or the required deposit); or
(b) if applicable, the day following the notification to the applicant of a decision not to impose the
charge.
Address for correspondence
Please send all correspondence regarding your FOI request to me at the following address:
Freedom of Information team
Department of Human Services
PO Box 7820
CANBERRA ACT 2610
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Department of Human Services
Or by email to
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Publication of information in the FOI disclosure log
Information released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log on the department's
website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this publication, subject to certain exceptions,
including where publication of personal, business, professional or commercial information would be
unreasonable.
You can ask for a review of this decision
I have reconsidered the assessment of charge and reject your contention that this charge has been
wrongly assessed. If you disagree with the decision to impose a charge, or the amount of the
charge, you can ask for a review. There are two ways you can do this. You can ask for an internal
review from within the department, or an external review by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner. You do not have to pay for reviews of decisions. See
Attachment B for more
information about how arrange a review.
Further assistance
If you have any questions please email
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Kerrie
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI Legal Team
FOI and Litigation Branch Legal Services Division
Department of Human Services
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Department of Human Services
Attachment B
INFORMATION ON RIGHTS OF REVIEW
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
Asking for a full explanation of a Freedom of Information decision
Before you ask for a formal review of an 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 an Freedom of Information 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 the Department of Human Services (the department); and/or
2. the Australian Information Commissioner.
Note 1: There are no fees for these reviews.
Applying for an internal review by an Internal Review Officer
If you apply for internal review, a different decision maker to the departmental 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.
Note 2: 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 department 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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Department of Human Services
Document Outline
