If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
30 November 2017
Our reference: LEX 33598
Ms Shae Courtney
By email only
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Dear Ms Courtney,
Your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request for access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982
(the
FOI Act), dated 27 November 2017 and received by the Department of Human Services
(the
department) on the same date.
You have requested access to the following documents:
‘Can you reveal the prevalence of Medicare care holders who receive health services
as part of of a Reciprocal Health Care arrangement with another country?
I would be seeking the number of procedures and the total finance cost by country
with which Australia has an arrangement.
How does Australia recoup these costs?’
I have considered your request and determined that it does not currently meet the
requirements of a valid request under the FOI Act.
The FOI Act provides a right of access to documents which are in the possession of the
department. A ‘document’
is defined in section 4(1) of the FOI Act to include any or any part
of the following:
any paper or other material on which there is writing
a map, plan, drawing or photograph
any paper or other material on which there are marks, figures, symbols or
perforations having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them
any article or material from which sounds, images or writing are capable of being
reproduced with or without the aid of any other article or device
any article on which information has been stored or recorded, either mechanically or
electronically
any other record of information
any copy, including any part of any copy, of a reproduction or duplicate of a thing
listed above.
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Parts 1 and 3 of your request are framed as questions to the department. As set out above,
the FOI Act confers a right of access to documents, but does not require the department to
respond to specific questions. For this reason, these parts of your request are not considered
valid and therefore the entirety of your request cannot be processed.
How to make an FOI request
If you would like to resubmit your FOI request to address the issues outlined in this letter, you
can do so in the following ways:
By post addressed to:
Department of Human Services, PO Box 7820, Canberra BC, ACT, 2610.
By email addressed to:
o
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
It is important to remember that, in order for your request to be valid, it must:
be in writing;
state that the request is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act;
provide information about the documents to assist us to process your request; and
provide an address for reply.
Further assistance
If you have any questions please email
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx. Yours sincerely
Stacey
Freedom of Information Team
FOI and Litigation Branch | Legal Services Division
Department of Human Services
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Department of Human Services