Document 1
FOIREQ18/00140 001
From:
FOIDR
To:
"xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx"
Subject:
RQ18/02489 - Extension of time decision [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Date:
Friday, 7 September 2018 4:06:00 PM
Attachments:
Extension of time decision to DVA.pdf
Our reference: RQ18/02489
Your reference: FOI 23544
Ms Leia s 47F
Department of Veterans' Affairs
By email: xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Extension of time under s 15AB
Dear Ms s 47F
Please find the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s extension of time decision
attached.
Kind regards
Carl English | Assistant Review and Investigation Officer | Freedom of Information Dispute
Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001| www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: s 22
| E-mail: s 22
FOIREQ18/00140 002
FOIREQ18/00140 003
The Department estimates it would take 30 hours to finalise the request.
By granting
an extension of time it is anticipated that the Department will provide a well-
reasoned and better managed decision.
Ms Pane will be notified of this decision.
Contact
If you have any questions about this email, please contact me on s 22
or via email
s 22
. In all correspondence please include OAIC reference number
RQ18/02489.
Yours sincerely
Carl English
Assistant Review and Investigation Officer
Freedom of Information Dispute Resolution
7 September 2018
2
Document 3
FOIREQ18/00140 004
From:
INFORMATION.LAW
To:
FOIDR
Subject:
FW: ***Decision issued*** ***DVA response*** MR18/00607 - IC review application (ICR 24053)
[DLM=For-Official-Use-Only]
Date:
Tuesday, 25 September 2018 4:10:38 PM
Attachments:
image001.jpg
image002.png
image003.png
image004.png
image005.png
image006.png
FOI 24050 Decision and Statement of Reasons.pdf
Apologies Carl, the new FOI reference for the internal review is FOI 24649.
Regards,
Leia
From: INFORMATION.LAW
Sent: Tuesday, 25 September 2018 4:10 PM
To: 'FOIDR' <xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: RE: ***Decision issued*** ***DVA response*** MR18/00607 - IC review application
(ICR 24053) [DLM=For-Official-Use-Only]
Good afternoon Carl,
Please find attached a copy of the decision as requested (for FOI 24050). For your information,
Verity Pane has sought internal review (new reference is FOI . A decision on that request will be
due by 22 October 2018.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions.
Kind Regards,
Leia
Information Law Team
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx |
W: www.dva.gov.au
cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
From: FOIDR [mailto:xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx]
Sent: Monday, 24 September 2018 9:15 AM
To: INFORMATION.LAW <xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: RE: ***Decision issued*** ***DVA response*** MR18/00607 - IC review application
(ICR 24053) [DLM=For-Official-Use-Only]
Dear Leia
FOIREQ18/00140 005
FOIREQ18/00140 006
From: FOIDR [mailto:xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx]
Sent: Friday, 31 August 2018 10:32 AM
To: Information.Law <xxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: RE: ***DVA response*** MR18/00607 - IC review application (ICR 24053) [DLM=For-
Official-Use-Only]
Dear Leia
Thank you for your advice.
I will note that a decision is expected by 14 September 2018.
Kind regards
Carl English | Assistant Review and Investigation Officer | Freedom of Information Dispute
Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001| www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: s 22
| E-mail: s 22
From: s 47F Leia <22
>
On Behalf Of Information.Law
Sent: Friday, 31 August 2018 9:03 AM
To: FOIDR <xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: ***DVA response*** MR18/00607 - IC review application (ICR 24053) [DLM=For-
Official-Use-Only]
Good morning Carl,
OAIC Reference: MR18/00607
DVA Reference: ICR 24053 (review of FOI 24050 deemed)
Thank you for advising the Department of a request for an IC Review by Verity Pane. Apologies
for the delay in responding, I was out of office Monday and Tuesday this week and had to attend
to 8 decisions that fell due this week (within the Canberra team).
It seems the request was accidently saved into one of Verity Pane’s other FOI request outlook
folders. We have discussed this as a team and have implemented a revised system of managing
our information law inbox to ensure we limit the risk of this happening again (for any applicants).
Since receipt of your notice and contact from Verity Pane, we have sent a request to the relevant
business area to identity documents. For your information, the FOI requests seeks access to:
“…
Under FOI I seek copy of the invoice or invoices for external legal services expenditure
by the Department, for advice received in FY2011/12, in relation to external legal advice
FOIREQ18/00140 007
sought by the Department about the implications of the publication of departmental
correspondence reproduced on websites not controlled by the Department, by veterans,
for the Department under the incoming Work, Health and Safety Act 2012 (Cth)…”
We have been contacted by the business and asked to provide further clarification about the
information sought. We will need to speak with the business area about this and if not resolved,
we may need to also seek further clarification from the applicant. Once this has been done and
all documents identified, a decision will be issued. At this stage, I hope to be in a position to issue
the decision within the next weeks, aiming for a decision by
Friday, 14 September. This should
hopefully provide enough time to seek any necessary clarification and to obtain relevant
documents. If this changes we will let the OAIC and Verity Pane know.
We have advised the applicant that we are taking steps to process the request and will apologise
for the error in our decision.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss.
Kind Regards,
Leia s 47F
Assistant Director
Information Law | Legal Services & Assurance
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
T: 22
|
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx |
W: www.dva.gov.au
cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
From: FOIDR [mailto:xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx]
Sent: Monday, 20 August 2018 9:32 AM
To: Information.Law <xxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: MR18/00607 - IC review application [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Our reference: MR18/00607
The FOI Contact Officer
Department of Veterans' Affairs
Sent by email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Notice of request for IC review and Preliminary Inquiries under s 54V
Dear Sir/Madam
Ms Verity Pane has requested that the Information Commissioner review of a deemed decision by
the Department of Veterans' Affairs (the Department) of 17 August 2018, to refuse access to
documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).
I attach a copy of the application for review.
FOIREQ18/00140 008
Preliminary Inquiries (s 54V)
I note it appears that Ms Pane’s FOI request is deemed to have been refused pursuant to s 15AC.
However, Ms Pane’s retains an obligation to provide Ms Pane with a substantive decision as soon
as practicable.
Pursuant to s 54V, to assist the OAIC in progressing Ms Pane’s IC review please provide:
· An explanation with regards to the present status of Ms Pane’s request
· If the request is not yet finalised - an estimated date for its completion.
· If the Department has provided a statement of reasons to the applicant, please forward a
copy to the OAIC.
Please provide a response to this email by close of business 27 August 2018.
Yours sincerely
Carl English | Assistant Review and Investigation Officer | Freedom of Information Dispute
Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001| www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: s 22
| E-mail: s 22
***********************************************************************
WARNING: The information contained in this email may be confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient, any use or copying of any part
of this information is unauthorised. If you have received this email in
error, we apologise for any inconvenience and request that you notify
the sender immediately and delete all copies of this email, together
with any attachments.
***********************************************************************
IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous publications and DVA
does not consent to the receipt of commercial electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) please go
to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/feedback.aspx
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.
***********************************************************************
WARNING: The information contained in this email may be confidential.
FOIREQ18/00140 009
If you are not the intended recipient, any use or copying of any part
of this information is unauthorised. If you have received this email in
error, we apologise for any inconvenience and request that you notify
the sender immediately and delete all copies of this email, together
with any attachments.
***********************************************************************
IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous publications and DVA
does not consent to the receipt of commercial electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) please go
to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/feedback.aspx
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.
***********************************************************************
WARNING: The information contained in this email may be confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient, any use or copying of any part
of this information is unauthorised. If you have received this email in
error, we apologise for any inconvenience and request that you notify
the sender immediately and delete all copies of this email, together
with any attachments.
***********************************************************************
IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous publications and DVA
does not consent to the receipt of commercial electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) please go
to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/feedback.aspx
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.
Document 4
FOIREQ18/00140 010
Document 5
FOIREQ18/00140 011
Document 6
FOIREQ18/00140 012
Document 7
FOIREQ18/00140 013
From:
FOIDR
To:
"INFORMATION.LAW"
Subject:
RE: ***Decision issued*** ***DVA response*** MR18/00607 - IC review application (ICR 24053)
[DLM=For-Official-Use-Only]
Date:
Friday, 28 September 2018 9:39:00 AM
Attachments:
image001.jpg
image002.png
image003.png
image004.png
image005.png
image006.png
Dear Leia
Thank you for your advice and your time discussing this matter with me.
We have written to the applicant to see if they wish to proceed with an IC review. We will write to
the Department to advise the next steps once they respond.
Kind regards
Carl English | Assistant Review Officer
Freedom of Information Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
| oaic.gov.au
s 22
| s 22
| s 22
|
|
|
Subscribe to OAICnet newsletter
From: INFORMATION.LAW <xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Sent: Tuesday, 25 September 2018 4:10 PM
To: FOIDR <xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: RE: ***Decision issued*** ***DVA response*** MR18/00607 - IC review application
(ICR 24053) [DLM=For-Official-Use-Only]
Good afternoon Carl,
Please find attached a copy of the decision as requested (for FOI 24050). For your information,
Verity Pane has sought internal review (new reference is FOI . A decision on that request will be
due by 22 October 2018.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions.
Kind Regards,
Leia
Information Law Team
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx |
W: www.dva.gov.au
FOIREQ18/00140 014
cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
From: FOIDR [mailto:xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx]
Sent: Monday, 24 September 2018 9:15 AM
To: INFORMATION.LAW <xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: RE: ***Decision issued*** ***DVA response*** MR18/00607 - IC review application
(ICR 24053) [DLM=For-Official-Use-Only]
Dear Leia
Thank you for your advice.
Please forward a copy of the decision to the OAIC.
Once we have received a copy of the statement of reasons we will ask Ms Pane if she wishes to
withdraw her application for IC review and consider the next steps based on her response.
Kind regards
Carl English | Assistant Review Officer
Freedom of Information Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
| oaic.gov.au
s 22
| s 22
| s 22
|
|
|
Subscribe to OAICnet newsletter
From: INFORMATION.LAW <xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Sent: Friday, 21 September 2018 5:46 PM
To: FOIDR <xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: ***Decision issued*** ***DVA response*** MR18/00607 - IC review application (ICR
24053) [DLM=For-Official-Use-Only]
Good evening Carl,
Please be advised that the Department has issued a decision to Verity Pane in relation to FOI
24050. Verity Pane has been advised of review rights which include the ability to seek an internal
review or IC review. The Department also apologised for the delay and noted that we have put
systems in place to limit the chance of it happening again.
As a decision has now been issued, we would ask the OAIC to consider closing this IC review.
Happy to discuss.
Kind Regards,
FOIREQ18/00140 015
Leia
Assistant Director
Information Law | Legal Services & Assurance
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx |
W: www.dva.gov.au
cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
From: FOIDR [mailto:xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx]
Sent: Friday, 31 August 2018 10:32 AM
To: Information.Law <xxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: RE: ***DVA response*** MR18/00607 - IC review application (ICR 24053) [DLM=For-
Official-Use-Only]
Dear Leia
Thank you for your advice.
I will note that a decision is expected by 14 September 2018.
Kind regards
Carl English | Assistant Review and Investigation Officer | Freedom of Information Dispute
Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001| www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: s 22
| E-mail: s 22
From: s 47F , Leia <22
>
On Behalf Of Information.Law
Sent: Friday, 31 August 2018 9:03 AM
To: FOIDR <xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: ***DVA response*** MR18/00607 - IC review application (ICR 24053) [DLM=For-
Official-Use-Only]
Good morning Carl,
OAIC Reference: MR18/00607
DVA Reference: ICR 24053 (review of FOI 24050 deemed)
FOIREQ18/00140 016
Thank you for advising the Department of a request for an IC Review by Verity Pane. Apologies
for the delay in responding, I was out of office Monday and Tuesday this week and had to attend
to 8 decisions that fell due this week (within the Canberra team).
It seems the request was accidently saved into one of Verity Pane’s other FOI request outlook
folders. We have discussed this as a team and have implemented a revised system of managing
our information law inbox to ensure we limit the risk of this happening again (for any applicants).
Since receipt of your notice and contact from Verity Pane, we have sent a request to the relevant
business area to identity documents. For your information, the FOI requests seeks access to:
“…
Under FOI I seek copy of the invoice or invoices for external legal services expenditure
by the Department, for advice received in FY2011/12, in relation to external legal advice
sought by the Department about the implications of the publication of departmental
correspondence reproduced on websites not controlled by the Department, by veterans,
for the Department under the incoming Work, Health and Safety Act 2012 (Cth)…”
We have been contacted by the business and asked to provide further clarification about the
information sought. We will need to speak with the business area about this and if not resolved,
we may need to also seek further clarification from the applicant. Once this has been done and
all documents identified, a decision will be issued. At this stage, I hope to be in a position to issue
the decision within the next weeks, aiming for a decision by
Friday, 14 September. This should
hopefully provide enough time to seek any necessary clarification and to obtain relevant
documents. If this changes we will let the OAIC and Verity Pane know.
We have advised the applicant that we are taking steps to process the request and will apologise
for the error in our decision.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss.
Kind Regards,
Leia s 47F
Assistant Director
Information Law | Legal Services & Assurance
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
T: 22
|
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx |
W: www.dva.gov.au
cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
From: FOIDR [mailto:xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx]
Sent: Monday, 20 August 2018 9:32 AM
To: Information.Law <xxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: MR18/00607 - IC review application [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
FOIREQ18/00140 017
Our reference: MR18/00607
The FOI Contact Officer
Department of Veterans' Affairs
Sent by email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Notice of request for IC review and Preliminary Inquiries under s 54V
Dear Sir/Madam
Ms Verity Pane has requested that the Information Commissioner review of a deemed decision by
the Department of Veterans' Affairs (the Department) of 17 August 2018, to refuse access to
documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).
I attach a copy of the application for review.
Preliminary Inquiries (s 54V)
I note it appears that Ms Pane’s FOI request is deemed to have been refused pursuant to s 15AC.
However, Ms Pane’s retains an obligation to provide Ms Pane with a substantive decision as soon
as practicable.
Pursuant to s 54V, to assist the OAIC in progressing Ms Pane’s IC review please provide:
· An explanation with regards to the present status of Ms Pane’s request
· If the request is not yet finalised - an estimated date for its completion.
· If the Department has provided a statement of reasons to the applicant, please forward a
copy to the OAIC.
Please provide a response to this email by close of business 27 August 2018.
Yours sincerely
Carl English | Assistant Review and Investigation Officer | Freedom of Information Dispute
Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001| www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: s 22
| E-mail: s 22
***********************************************************************
WARNING: The information contained in this email may be confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient, any use or copying of any part
of this information is unauthorised. If you have received this email in
error, we apologise for any inconvenience and request that you notify
the sender immediately and delete all copies of this email, together
with any attachments.
***********************************************************************
IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential information
FOIREQ18/00140 018
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous publications and DVA
does not consent to the receipt of commercial electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) please go
to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/feedback.aspx
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.
***********************************************************************
WARNING: The information contained in this email may be confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient, any use or copying of any part
of this information is unauthorised. If you have received this email in
error, we apologise for any inconvenience and request that you notify
the sender immediately and delete all copies of this email, together
with any attachments.
***********************************************************************
IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous publications and DVA
does not consent to the receipt of commercial electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) please go
to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/feedback.aspx
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.
***********************************************************************
WARNING: The information contained in this email may be confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient, any use or copying of any part
of this information is unauthorised. If you have received this email in
error, we apologise for any inconvenience and request that you notify
the sender immediately and delete all copies of this email, together
with any attachments.
***********************************************************************
IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
FOIREQ18/00140 019
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous publications and DVA
does not consent to the receipt of commercial electronic messages.
5. To unsubscribe from emails from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) please go
to
http://www.dva.gov.au/contact_us/Pages/feedback.aspx
, and advise which mailing list you would like to unsubscribe from.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.
Document 8
FOIREQ18/00140 020
From:
FOIDR
To:
"INFORMATION.LAW"
Subject:
RE: MR18/00607 (DVA reference FOI 24649 (regarding FOI 24050) Advice provided to applicant re unable
to offer internal review as discussed [DLM=For-Official-Use-Only]
Date:
Friday, 28 September 2018 9:58:00 AM
Attachments:
image001.png
image002.jpg
image003.png
image004.png
image005.png
image006.png
Dear Leia
Thank you for your email.
I apologise, I acknowledged the Department’s decision a moment ago, before I saw the below.
I have written to Verity Pane this morning and outlined the relevant provisions.
Our advice to Ms Pane was as follows:
Because the Department was deemed to have refused your request, the FOI Act does not permit the an
internal review to be conducted.
This is because s 15AC of the FOI provides that where a decision is not made by the agency within the
statutory timeframe, the principal officer of the agency is deemed to have refused the request. Section
54 provides that an applicant can seek internal review of an agency’s FOI decision, other than a decision
made by the principal officer of the agency. An actual decision made during the course of an IC review
does not enliven the right to seek internal review under s 54.
I have also sought confirmation in light of that advice if the applicant still wishes to withdraw her
application.
I am happy to discuss this further. My number is s 22
Kind regards
Carl English | Assistant Review Officer
Freedom of Information Dispute Resolution
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
| oaic.gov.au
s 22
| s 22
| s 22
|
|
|
Subscribe to OAICnet newsletter
From: INFORMATION.LAW <xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Sent: Friday, 28 September 2018 9:30 AM
To: FOIDR <xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: MR18/00607 (DVA reference FOI 24649 (regarding FOI 24050) Advice provided to
applicant re unable to offer internal review as discussed [DLM=For-Official-Use-Only]
Importance: High
Good morning Carl,
As requested, we contacted Verity Pane in relation to FOI 24649 advising that because the
FOIREQ18/00140 021
decision became deemed we are unable to offer an internal review (even though a decision was
subsequently made for FOI 24050). Copy of the email we sent is below.
For your information, Verity Pane has responded as also provided below. I think it would be a
good idea if the OAIC could contact Verity Pane noting you wanted us to inform the applicant
first.
Also as mentioned in our call, once this IC review is allocated we would like the opportunity to
talk with the officer as further clarification is required around the OAIC documents the applicant
has mentioned in previous emails to the Department as well as directly with the OAIC. We need
to be able to source and review the material the applicant refers to, to see if we can ascertain
the legal advice referred to; which should ultimately help refine the searches. It is not our intent
to avoid having to reconsider our decision nor is it our “
intent is to remove the statutory
obligation…” as claimed by the applicant. Our view was to undertake a review and additional
searches, which is why we asked Verity Pane to provide us with the document/information
referred to in previous correspondence. The OAIC is aware of the responses received, including
references to Verity Pane being in possession of documentation (through a whistle-blower or
otherwise) that would in fact help us refine searches.
The above status is now unclear noting the applicant’s comment below that the IC review is
withdrawn. We would appreciate further advice and confirmation that we are in fact, unable to
perform an internal review whether or not the IC review is withdrawn. It seems as though Verity
Pane is of the view that by withdrawing, we would then have the ability to finalise an internal
review. We think it would be courteous of us to reply to the below, but we would like the OAIC’s
written advice that we are unable to proceed with the internal review.
Please let us know if there is anything further you require.
Kind Regards,
Leia
Information Law Team
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx |
W: www.dva.gov.au
cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0
-----Original Message-----
From: Verity Pane s 22
Sent: Thursday, 27 September 2018 7:34 PM
To: INFORMATION.LAW <xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: Re: FOI 24649 (regarding FOI 24050) Decision and Statement of Reasons [DLM=For-
Official-Use-Only]
Dear Corrupt DVA Information Law,
FOIREQ18/00140 022
Has the OAIC now decided that DVA speaks for them?
I’ve certainly received no such communication from them.
There is no legal power for you to do as you claim, and you certainly don’t have that discretion.
It’s pretty obvious that your intent is to remove the statutory obligation on you to provide an
internal review decision within 30 days (which cannot be extended), in order to allow delays
extending years, which IC Reviews typically run up to now, thanks to OAIC indifference.
The IC Review concerned your deemed refusal, which was not functus officio as a result of the
deemed decision.
Your long over due FOI decision effectively became a s 55G substitution of sorts of the deemed
refusal.
The difficultly now is your decision claims the document does not exist, when it clearly does.
Under IC Review, the OAIC does not conduct searches of DVA records itself. That continues to
remain the responsibility of DVA. Therefore, in respect to this particular Internal Review ground,
which is the only ground an IC Review could consider, the OAIC cannot replace DVA.
To avoid all doubt, the deemed refusal IC review is withdrawn, given a access refusal decision
has been substituted. I’ll refer your conduct under s 70 instead for your flagrant breaches of s
15(5)(a) and s 15(5)(b), and therefore the Internal Review deadline remains intact (especially
since you are the only agency that can carry out further searches to confirm the document
exists, which you and I both know does).
And only after the Internal Review is complete, a new IC Review can be lodged.
At least this way, external review can be undertaken much quicker (no waiting two years for the
OAIC to do nothing).
Yours sincerely,
Verity Pane
-----Original Message-----
Good afternoon Verity Pane,
After a discussion with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner it has been agreed
that the Department is unable to proceed with an internal review of FOI 24050. This is because,
although we issued you with a decision, it was issued after the decision became deemed. As
such, the review will need to be undertaken by the Information Commissioner. For this reason,
the Department will not be reviewing FOI 24050 through the internal review mechanism.
FOIREQ18/00140 023
If you have any questions about this course of action please contact the Information
Commissioner with your reference of MR18/00607. Our reference for this matter will remain the
same (FOI 24649).
Kind Regards,
Information Law Team
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
E: [email address] | W: www.dva.gov.au
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