If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
23 May 2017
Our reference: LEX 29265
Mr Keith Owen
Right to Know
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Dear Mr Owen
Freedom of Information Request - Charges
I refer to your revised request originally dated 23 April 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:
1. The number of payees prosecuted for fraud or making false statements by the Child Support
Arm of the Department of Human Services over the last 12 months.
2. The number of payers prosecuted for fraud or making false statements by the Child Support
Arm of the Department of Human Services over the last 12 months.
3. The number of actual referrals made by the Child Support Arm of the Department of Human
Services to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions over the last 12 months.
4. The number of Employees of the Child Support Arm of the Department of Human Services
referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions over the last 12 months.
5. The number of Employees of the Child Support Arm of the Department of Human Services
who have been:
a. investigated for potential breaches of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct
with respect to: administrative fraud, payment fraud or for unauthorised access/use of
customer information, and have been disciplined as a result, in the last 12 months.
b. how many of those employees identified have been referred to the Commonwealth
Department of Public Prosecutions, for the purpose of a prosecution, in the last 12
months.
Preliminary Assessment of the Charge
In accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act, I have decided that you are liable to pay a charge for
the processing of your request.
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My preliminary assessment of that charge is $626.55 calculated as follows:
Search and retrieval time at the standard rate: 1 hour, at $15.00
$15.00
per hour:
Collation of data and quality checking by a senior departmental
$456.00
officer: 8 hours at $57.00 per hour
Clearance time for data prepared: 0.75 hours at $90.25 and 0.75
$155.55
hours at $117.15 per hour
Decision-making time (*after deduction of 5 hours): 0.00 hours,
$0.00
at $20.00 per hour
TOTAL
$626.55
*The FOI Act provides that the first five hours of decision-making time are free of charge and this is reflected in the
calculation.
I am advised that the department has in its possession two documents with two pages relevant to
your request. The charge above reflects the time required of department officers to extract, collate
and quality assure the data you are seeking access to.
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. has been wrongly assessed; or
ii. should be reduced or not imposed; or
iii. both
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.
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 $156.63 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 29265 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
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Department of Human Services
You may contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed, or 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 your organisation 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 has been wrongly assessed or 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 or your organisation 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
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.
Further assistance
If you have any questions please email
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
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Department of Human Services
Charlotte
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI and Litigation Branch Legal Services Division
Department of Human Services
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Department of Human Services
