If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
8 October 2018
Our reference: LEX 39739
Mr Keith Owen
Only by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Dear Mr Owen
Your Freedom of Information Request – Consultation
I refer to your request, dated and received by the Department of Human Services
(
department) on 22 September 2018, for access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982
(
FOI Act) to the following documents:
I would like to access any training documents for DHS Employees regarding
dealing/interacting with clients who have a disability. In particular I am seeking
access to training documents used by the Child Support Program.
Consultation - your request gives rise to two practical refusal reasons
I am consulting with you because:
your request does not provide sufficient information as is reasonably necessary to
enable the department to identify the documents that you are requesting; and
processing your request, as best the department can understand its terms, is likely to
result in a substantial and unreasonable diversion of the resources of the department.
I am asking you to:
revise your request to give me more specific details about the documents you are
requesting; and
narrow your request so that it is not too large for the department to process.
For a more detailed explanation of what this means see
Attachment A.
If you do not revise your request in order to resolve the issues raised in this letter, I will have
to refuse your request on the basis that one or more practical refusal reasons still exists.
How to send us a 'revised request'
Within the next 14 days (
consultation period) you must do one of the following, in writing:
withdraw the request;
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make a revised request; or
advise that you do not want to revise your request.
Your written response must be received by the department before the consultation period
ends.
If no response is received, your request will be taken to have been withdrawn, pursuant to
the operation of the FOI Act.
The 14 day consultation period is not included in the initial 30 day processing period for your
request.
Contact officer
I am the contact officer for your request. During the consultation period you are welcome to
ask for my help in revising your request. You can contact me:
in writing to the address at the top of this letter; or
via email to xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Note: When you contact us please quote the reference number
FOI LEX 39739.
Further assistance
The department’s Protocol for engaging people with disability
The department is a member of the National Disability Strategy Interdepartmental Committee
which is responsible for carrying out the National Disability Strategy at a national level. The
department has developed a protocol that applies to the entire department to provide
guidance on the manner in which the National Disability Strategy is to be implemented.
The following is a link to the protocol which is publicly available on our website:
https://www.humanservices.gov.au/organisations/about-us/publications-and-
resources/protocol-engaging-people-disability. The information contained in the protocol
may provide you with the information you are seeking in regards to how the department
delivers services to persons who may have a disability.
If you have any questions please email
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Ellen
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Team
Employment Law and Freedom of Information Branch | Legal Services Division
Department of Human Services
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Department of Human Services
Attachment A
What you requested
I would like to access any training documents for DHS Employees regarding
dealing/interacting with clients who have a disability. In particular I am seeking
access to training documents used by the Child Support Program.
Interpretation of the scope of your request
Your request is unclear
Your request does not provide such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the
department to identify the documents that you are requesting.
Firstly, the phrase ‘training’ is broad and can be interpreted to mean:
compulsory formal training modules compiled by the department for all employees;
internal formal training modules made available to departmental employees;
external formal training modules made available to departmental employees;
specific training provided as part of a positional requirement; or
informal or ad hoc training.
Secondly, the phrase ‘documents for DHS employees’ is open to various interpretations
including, specific training workbooks, learning packages, previously completed workbooks
from employees, training calendars on a team and entire departmental scale, internal
department correspondence and correspondence between the department and third parties.
Thirdly, in your request you use the term ‘clients’. I note that the department refers to people
who use the department’s services as ‘customers’, however it is unclear as to the type of
customer you are referring to. You may be referring to a small group, such as customers who
have identified as having a disability, or may be referring to all the members of the
community we service.
Fourthly, the term ‘disability’ itself is unclear as the term could be interpreted to refer to any
condition which restricts a person’s mental, sensory or mobility function. It can be temporary
or permanent, it can be visible or invisible, and it may have a minimal or substantial impact
on a person’s abilities. Accordingly, it is not clear what form of disability you are referring to.
Final y, your request makes particular mention to ‘training documents used by the Child
Support Program’, in light of your request for ‘any training documents’, this is unclear. Your
request could be interpreted to mean:
Documents developed for Child Support exclusively; or
Documents developed for the department more broadly (but also used by Child
Support).
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Department of Human Services
The terms you have used in your request are unclear; your request does not identify specific
documents. Please provide additional information and specify the documents you are
seeking so that we may be able to process your request.
Your request may be too large for the department to process
To the extent that some of the documents you are requesting are able to be identified,
processing your request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the
department from its other operations.
For example, if your request was to be interpreted as ‘any training document for DHS
employees’, which, as discussed above, includes a broad range of material, this could mean
the department would potentially have to search for, retrieve, and process thousands of
documents.
Your request is not narrowed by reference to a date range and you have also not excluded
drafts which further increases the volume of documents potentially within scope of your
request.
Revising your request
If you wish to revise your request, please consider specifying:
whether you are seeking documents from the Child Support program only;
the type of documents you would like;
the type of training you would like documents for;
what you are mean by ‘training’;
what you mean by ‘clients’;
what you mean by ‘disability’; and
providing a precise, and limited, date range for your request.
Please note that, even if you provide the department with specific information that allows us
to identify the documents you are seeking, the request may still give rise to a practical refusal
reason if the revised scope remains too broad. You will need to take this into consideration
when revising the scope of your request.
The department does not undertake ‘part processing’ of an FOI request, meaning that, even
if some parts of your request were clear, the department cannot process any aspect of your
request if part of it remains unclear.
Additionally, broad and large requests also often mean that, if an officer were to reasonably
identify the documents that you seek, it would be an unreasonable and substantial diversion
of departmental resources to search for, retrieve and process such a large request.
Relevant sections of the Freedom of Information Act 1982
Section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act provides that a request must provide such information as is
reasonably necessary to enable the agency to identify the documents that are being
requested.
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Department of Human Services
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(1)(b) of the FOI Act provides that a practical refusal reason exists in relation to
a request for a document if the request does not satisfy the requirement in section 15(2)(b) of
the FOI Act.
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(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.
Section 24AB(7) of the FOI Act provides that the request is taken to have been
withdrawn 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
the applicant does not do one of the things mentioned in subsection (6) before the
end of the consultation period.
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Department of Human Services
