If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
2 August 2017
Our reference: LEX 30071
Mr Anatoly Kern
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Dear Mr Kern
Freedom of Information Request – Reconsideration of Charges
I refer to your request dated 3 June 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:
‘Could you please provide the list of physical offices/locations allocated to Child Support
Smart Centres within Australia, outside of L5 570 Bourke Street, Melbourne, which I believe
is the location of the head office (would be nice to confirm that).’
My Decision
I have decided to affirm the charge of $14.55. Please see below for the reasons for my decision.
Background
On 22 June 2017 you were notified that you are liable to pay a charge for the processing of your
request and advised that the preliminary assessment of that charge was $14.55. This charge was
calculated as follows:
Search and retrieval time: 0.97 hours, at $15.00 per hour:
$14.55
Decision-making time (*after deduction of 5 hours): 0.00 hours, at
$20.00 per hour
$0.00
TOTAL
$14.55
*The FOI Act provides that the first five hours of decision-making time are free of charge and this is reflected in the
calculation.
On 5 July 2017 you responded to the preliminary charge notification. Your correspondence stated,
in relation to your reason for seeking a reconsideration of charges:
‘I wish to proceed with option 2, requesting to dismiss the charge due to its amount and
processing costs.’
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What I took into account
In reaching my decision I took into account:
the department’s correspondence of 6 April 2017;
your correspondence of 24 April 2017, contending that the charge should be reduced or not
imposed;
documents falling within the scope of your request;
the FOI Act;
the
Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 1982 (the
Regulations); and
the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of the
FOI Act (the
Guidelines).
Reconsideration of the Charge – Your submissions and other considerations
The charges associated with FOI requests are not designed to be an application fee, rather, they
are a fee that is designed to assist the department to deal with the administrative burden of
processing FOI requests.
Section 29(4) of the FOI Act provides a discretion to reduce or not impose a charge. In making a
decision in relation to this discretion, section 29(5) requires me to consider:
whether payment of the charge would cause financial hardship to the applicant, and
whether giving access to the document is in the general public interest or in the interest of a
substantial section of the public.
The guidelines state, at paragraph 4.71:
‘In addition to considering those two matters, an agency or minister may consider any other
relevant matter, and in particular should give genuine consideration to any contention or
submission made by an applicant as to why a charge should be reduced or waived’.
My consideration of those matters is set out below.
Financial Hardship
Paragraph 29(5)(a) of the FOI Act provides that, without limiting the matters an agency may take
into account in determining whether or not to reduce or not to impose the charge, the agency must
take into account whether the payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause financial hardship to
the applicant.
I have considered that your request to ‘dismiss the charge due to its amount and processing costs’,
relates to your financial circumstances, and the effect payment of the charge would have on those
circumstances.
The Guidelines state at paragraph 4.75 that the primary considerations in determining whether a
charge should be reduced or waived on the grounds of financial hardship are firstly the applicant’s
financial circumstances and secondly the amount of the estimated charge. In the same paragraph,
the Guidelines refer to a definition of financial hardship issued by the Department of Finance for the
purpose of debt waiver decisions:
‘Financial hardship exists when payment of the debt would leave you unable to provide food,
accommodation, clothing, medical treatment, education or other necessities for yourself or
your family, or other people for whom you are responsible.’
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Department of Human Services
At paragraph 4.77 the Guidelines further state:
‘An applicant relying on this ground could ordinarily be expected to provide some evidence
of financial hardship. For example, the applicant may rely upon (and provide evidence of)
receipt of a pension or income support payment; or provide evidence of income, debts or
assets.’
You have not provided any specific details or evidence regarding the effect of this charge on your
financial circumstances. While you are not required to provide a detailed explanation of your
financial circumstances, without more information about the effect of the charge, I am unable to find
that imposition of it would cause you sufficient hardship to warrant waiving or reducing the charge.
Further, in this instance, the amount of the estimated charge is $14.55. This is a small charge that
assists the department to offset the total cost of processing requests for non-personal information.
Based on the information currently before me, I am not able to conclude that payment of the charge
would cause you financial hardship. Therefore I have decided not to reduce or waive the charge on
this basis.
The Public Interest
In making my decision, I am also required under paragraph 29(5)(b) of the FOI Act to take into
account whether the provision of access to the documents that are the subject of the request, is in
the general public interest, or in the interest of a substantial section of the public. In other words,
there must be a benefit flowing generally to the public or a substantial section of the public from
disclosure of the documents in question. This requires me to consider the nature of the documents
and the context of their release.
I note that you have not made any specific contentions or provided any evidence to indicate that the
charge should be reduced or waived as a matter of public interest.
The Guidelines at 4.81 state that in considering the public interest, matters to be considered include
whether the information in the documents is already publicly available, the nature and currency of
the topic of public interest to which the documents relate, and the way in which a public benefit may
flow from the release of the documents.
You have requested a list of locations of Child Support Smart Centres within Australia. The Child
Support Smart Centres are secure facilities the locations of which are not made publically available
for the protection of staff and families engaged in the Child Support system. As this information is
not in the public domain for reasons of safety and security, I am not satisfied that provision of this
information to you would benefit the public, or a substantial section of it. Therefore I am not satisfied
that the charge imposed in relation to this request should be reduced or not imposed on the basis of
public interest.
I have decided not to reduce or waive the charge on this ground.
Other grounds for reduction of the charge
In deciding whether charges should be reduced or waived, I have taken into consideration section
29(4) of the FOI Act that provides a general discretion to reduce or not to impose a charge, which
goes beyond matters relating to financial hardship and the public interest.
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Department of Human Services
I note that you have not provided any evidence to indicate that the charges should be reduced or
waived on other grounds. On that basis, I have not considered this matter further.
Conclusion
I am not persuaded that the charge should be waived on the grounds of financial hardship, or
because release of the information requested is in the general public interest. Further I am not
persuaded that the charge should be waived for any other reason.
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; or
b) withdraw the request for access.
If you do not provide a written response in accordance with one of options a) or b) 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.
Further information on options a) and b) is set out below.
Option a) - pay the charge The charge is $14.55.
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 30071 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) - withdraw your request
If you wish to withdraw your request you may do so in writing to
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
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Department of Human Services
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.
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 A 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
Chelsea
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 A
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 a 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 a 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.
You can
lodge your application:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
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Department of Human Services
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Note 3: The Australian Information Commissioner generally prefers FOI applicants to seek internal
review before applying for external review by the Australian Information Commissioner.
Important:
If you are applying online, the application form (the 'Merits Review Form') is available at
www.oaic.gov.au.
If you have one, you should include a copy of the Department of Human Services' decision on
your FOI request with your application
Include your contact details
Set out your reasons for objecting to the department's decision.
Complaints to the Australian Information Commissioner and Commonwealth Ombudsman
Australian Information Commissioner
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner concerning action taken by an
agency in the exercise of powers or the performance of functions under the FOI Act, There is no fee
for making a complaint. A complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner must be made in
writing. The Australian Information Commissioner's contact details are:
Telephone: 1300 363 992
Website:
www.oaic.gov.au Commonwealth Ombudsman
You may also complain to the Commonwealth Ombudsman concerning action taken by an agency
in the exercise of powers or the performance of functions under the FOI Act. There is no fee for
making a complaint. A complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman may be made in person, by
telephone or in writing. The Commonwealth Ombudsman's contact details are:
Phone: 1300 362 072
Website:
www.ombudsman.gov.au
The Commonwealth Ombudsman generally prefers applicants to seek review before making a
complaint about a decision.
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Department of Human Services
