If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
23 February 2017
Our reference: LEX 26566
Mr Justin Warren
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Dear Mr Warren
Your Freedom of Information request
I refer to your revised request dated 6 February 2017 and received by the Department of
Human Services (the
department) on the same day for access under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the
FOI Act) to the following documents:
‘- Meeting agendas, minutes, and other notes for any and all meetings held with the
Minister for Human Services, or their Office, between 1 Jan 2016 and 31 Dec 2016,
inclusive.
- Meeting agendas, minutes, and other notes for any and all meetings held with the
Minister for Social Services, or their Office, between 1 Jan 2016 and 31 Dec 2016,
inclusive’.
Your request involves too much work for the department
Your request covers a wide range of documents. We are asking you to revise your request to
give us more specific details about the information you are after because of the amount of
work involved for the department.
If you decide not to make any revisions I will have to refuse your FOI request as a 'practical
refusal reason' exists.
For a more detailed explanation of what this means see
Attachment A.
How to send us a 'revised request'
Before I make a final decision on your request, you can narrow the size of your original
request and submit a revised request.
Within the next 14-days you must do one of the following, in writing:
withdraw the request
make a revised request, or
tell us that you do not want to revise your request.
PAGE 1 OF 4
If you do not do contact us during the 14 day consultation period, we will assume you do not
want to continue with your request. See
Attachment A for relevant sections of the FOI Act.
We have 30 days to give you a decision about your request, however the time taken to
consult with you now is not included in this 30 day time period.
Contact
During the consultation period you are welcome to ask for my help in revising your request
and filling out the form. You can contact the department:
in writing to the address at the top of this letter
via email t
o xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Note: When you contact us please quote the reference number
FOI LEX 26566.
Your response will be expected within 14 days of this letter
. If no response is received, your
matter will be taken as withdrawn.
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
PAGE 2 OF 4
Department of Human Services
Attachment A
What I took into account
Because of the amount of work involved for the department, under sections 24AA and 24 of
the FOI Act I intend to refuse your FOI request as a 'practical refusal reason' exists. Under
the Act, the practical refusal reason is that processing your request 'would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources' of this agency.
To process your request the department would have to do extensive searches to find and
process the documents you asked for. This is because processing your request would
involve approaching more than 130 Branches within the department to determine whether
they hold any documents within scope of your request. Allowing for one hour for each Branch
to conduct searches of their records for documents within scope, your request would take
more than 130 hours to process. This does not include the time taken to examine any
documents which may be in scope, consulting with third parties, making a decision on the
documents and writing a statement of reasons for the decision.
In addition, the wording of your request is very broad and would capture a large number of
documents. For example, meetings with Ministers, or their Offices, typically involve several
officers. The part of your request covering “other notes” would capture any records made by
each officer who attended the meeting. I note that the documents would likely contain
Cabinet material and other deliberative material.
It is also likely that the documents you are requesting would include third party information of
customers, external service providers and other government agencies. The department
would be likely be required to consult with each of the third parties about the potential
release of their personal or business information.
Relevant sections of the Freedom of Information Act 1982
Section 24AA(1)(a)(i) of the FOI Act provides that a practical refusal reason exists in relation
to a FOI request if the work involved in processing the request would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of the department from its other operations.
Section 24AA(2) of the FOI Act sets out certain factors which the department must consider
when determining whether providing access in relation to a request would substantially and
unreasonably divert the department's resources. The department must specifically have
regard to the resources that would have to be used for:
identifying, locating or collating the documents within the department's filing system;
deciding whether to grant, refuse or defer access to a document to which the request
relates, or to grant access to an edited copy of such a document, including resources
that would have to be used for examining the document or consulting in relation to the
request;
making a copy, or an edited copy, of the document, and
notifying any interim or final decision on the request.
Section 24AB(7) of the FOI Act provides that the request is taken to have been withdrawn
under at the end of the consultation period if:
the applicant does not consult the contact person during the consultation period in
accordance with the notice, or
PAGE 3 OF 4
Department of Human Services
the applicant does not do one of the things mentioned in subsection (6) before the
end of the consultation period.
Section 24AB(6) says that the applicant must, before the end of the consultation period, do
one of the following, by written notice to the agency or Minister:
withdraw the request,
make a revised request, or
indicate that the applicant does not wish to revise the request.
PAGE 4 OF 4
Department of Human Services
