If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
19 January 2017
Our reference: LEX 24850
Mr Brendan Molloy
Right to Know
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Dear Mr Molloy
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request, dated 28 December 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:
'Recently there has been a public furore about the seemingly automated delivery of
debt notices to persons receiving benefits from Centrelink programmes since early
December, and perhaps earlier[1].
I hereby request, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, copies of the following
documents:
1) Technical reports or similar documents regarding known errors or probable risks
from introducing the new "compliance system";
2) Documents outlining the data sources used in the new "compliance system";
3) Documents listing the number of debt recovery requests sent on a monthly basis
(or similar) from January 2016 to the date of receipt of this request; and
4) An aggregate number of reported complaints from when the system was
introduced relating to false or miscalculated debt recovery requests.'
On 11 January 2017, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner advised you that
they had decided to grant the department an extension of time to process your request. The
due date for your request was, with that extension, 11 February 2017.
The processing time was suspended during a period of consultation under section 24AB. As
this consultation occurred, you can now expect a decision from us by
17 February 2017.
You revised your request to the following documents:
'"Compliance system" refers to the DHS system that incorporates handling
overpayment debt recovery communications for Centrelink clients.
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1) Parts of final reports or similar documents relating to known errors and risks
relating to the most recent iteration of "compliance system" that is currently in
production;
2) Documents summarising or outlining the data sources used in the new
"compliance system";
3) Documents listing the number of debt recovery requests sent on a monthly basis
(or similar) from January 2016 to the date of receipt of this request; and
4) An aggregate number of reported complaints from when the system was
introduced relating to false or miscalculated debt recovery requests.
The above parts should not contain:
a) Publicly available documents;
b) Documents intended for consumption by the media (such as press releases);
c) Draft documents; nor
d) Documents relating to issues no longer relevant to the "compliance system" in
production
Further context:
Part 1 of the request should ideally only be part of a single technical report as would
be consistent with the approach taken by private industry on software projects.
These documents should detail any known defects and risks and should not
duplicate any content of other documents where possible to limit scope and
processing.
Part 2 should simply provide as few documents as possible that outline which data
sources are used in the compliance system identified in Part 1. This could be as
simple as a spreadsheet identifying what data is used and which department,
database, or other organisation the data is supplied from. Any documents sufficient
to provide a complete overview of the data sources available is sufficient for this
part, and no further effort should be undertaken if possible'.
The processing time may be extended if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons.
We will advise you if this happens.
Charges
The department will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request and the
amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No charge is payable for providing a
person with their own personal information.
Your Address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address which we can send notices to. You
have advised your electronic address is
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.We
will send all notices and correspondence to this address. Please advise us as soon as
possible if you wish correspondence to be sent to another address or if your address
changes. If you do not advise us of changes to your address, correspondence and notices
will continue to be sent to the address specified above.
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Department of Human Services
Disclosure Log
Please note that information released under FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log on
the department's website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this publication, however it is
subject to certain exceptions, including where publication of personal, business, professional
or commercial information would be unreasonable.
Exclusion of junior departmental employee details
The department is working towards ensuring that all employees have a choice about whether
they provide their full name, personal logon identifiers and direct contact details in response
to public enquiries. Where such details are included in the scope of a request, this may add
to processing time and applicable charges as it may be necessary to consider whether the
details are exempt under the FOI Act. On this basis, unless you tell us otherwise, we will
assume that these details are out of scope of your request and they will be redacted under
section 22 of the FOI Act.
Further assistance
If you have any questions please email
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Team
FOI and Litigation Branch | Legal Services Division
Department of Human Services
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
PAGE 3 OF 3
Department of Human Services
