If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
3 February 2020
Our reference: LEX 50114
Ms Julie Middleton
Only by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Dear Ms Middleton
Decision on your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request, dated 19 December 2019 and received by Services Australia on the
same date, for access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the
FOI Act) to the
following documents:
‘I am seeking copies of the following:
1) a document that states the name of Centrelink's data-matching program and
explains the connecting relationship with other government Departments programs;
2) a User Guides (or similar instruction manual) that explains how to prevent errors
from occurring;
3) all audit reports that have identified errors relating to the data-matching programs;
4) any documents the explain how to correct errors - when identified by a client.
Electronic Accounts Payable files for the past payments would have the same data as
shown on a client's bank statement; i.e. the actual payment. Depending on how many
programs are adversely impacted, manually checking those Accounts Payable
records may be the only option’.
My decision
Services Australia holds eight documents (totalling 143 pages) that relate to your request.
I have decided to grant you
full access to the eight documents (documents 1-8).
I have also decided to
refuse access to the following part of your request, on the basis that
all reasonable steps have been taken to locate those documents and I am satisfied they do
not exist:
‘3) all audit reports that have identified errors relating to the data-matching programs’.
Please see the schedule at
Attachment A to this letter for a detailed list of the documents
and the reasons for my decision, including the relevant sections of the FOI Act.
PAGE 1 OF 10
How we will send your documents to you
The documents are attached.
Processing charge On 22 January 2020, Services Australia notified you of a preliminary processing charge of
$25.50. This charge was based on an assessment estimate calculated in accordance with
Regulation 9 of the
Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019 (
Charges
Regulations).
On 22 January 2020, Services Australia was notified you paid the charge in full. In
accordance with Regulation 10 of the Charges Regulations, I have considered the actual
time taken to process your request.
I have decided the preliminary charge of $25.50 is a fair and accurate reflection of the time
taken to process your request. On this basis, I have decided not to adjust the preliminary
assessment, and have fixed the charge under Regulation 10.
You can ask for a review of our decision
If you disagree with any part of the decision you can ask for a review. There are two ways
you can do this. You can ask for an internal review from within Services Australia, or an
external review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. You do not have to
pay for reviews of decisions. See
Attachment B for more information about how to arrange a
review.
Further assistance
If you have any questions please email
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Bell Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Team
Employment Law and FOI Branch | Legal Services Division
Services Australia
PAGE 2 OF 10
If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
Attachment A
SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS FOR RELEASE
MIDDLETON, Julie (Right to Know) - LEX 50114
Doc
Pages
Date
Description
Decision
Exemption
Comments
No.
1.
1-
19
Aug 2016
Non-employment Income Data Matching
Release in full
N/A
N/A
(NEIDM) - Program Protocol
2.
20 -29
Jul 2017
Data-matching between Department of
Release in full
N/A
N/A
Human Services and the Department of
Education and Training - Family Day Care
(FDC) - Program Protocol
3.
30 -42
Jul 2017
Data-matching between Australian
Release in full
N/A
N/A
Taxation Office and Department of Human
Services - Trust Beneficiary - Program
Protocol
4.
43 -56
Jul 2017
Data-matching between Australian
Release in full
N/A
N/A
Taxation Office and Department of Human
Services Annual Investment Income
Report (AIIR) 1 Program Protocol
PAGE 3 OF 10
Doc
Pages
Date
Description
Decision
Exemption
Comments
No.
5.
57 -77
May 2017
Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) Data-Matching -
Release in full
N/A
N/A
Program Protocol
6.
78 -85
Current
Operational Blueprint 110-13060070
Release in full N/A
Information in the document relating to
version
Referral for Anomalies and Mismatches for
PAYG mismatches (pages 81-82) contains
valid from
Compliance Interventions
outdated references and does not represent
25.01.19
current process.
7.
86 -137
Current
Operational Blueprint 110-13090010
Release in full
N/A
Out of scope material redacted under s 22
version
Customer support for EIC online
of the FOI Act.
valid from
compliance interventions
22.11.19
8.
138-143
Current
Operational Blueprint 110-18092008
Release in full
N/A
N/A
version
Identify anomaly or mismatch for the
valid from
check and update past income (CUPI)
21.08.19
service
PAGE 4 OF 10
3180049_004.xml
If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
REASONS FOR DECISION
What you requested
‘I am seeking copies of the following:
1) a document that states the name of Centrelink's data-matching program and
explains the connecting relationship with other government Departments programs;
2) a User Guides (or similar instruction manual) that explains how to prevent errors
from occurring;
3) all audit reports that have identified errors relating to the data-matching programs;
4) any documents the explain how to correct errors - when identified by a client.
Electronic Accounts Payable files for the past payments would have the same data as
shown on a client's bank statement; i.e. the actual payment. Depending on how many
programs are adversely impacted, manually checking those Accounts Payable
records may be the only option’.
On 20 December 2019, you provided written confirmation of your agreement to a 15 day
extension of time for Services Australia to process your request. As such, the timeframe for a
decision on your request was extended to 3 February 2020.
What I took into account
In reaching my decision I took into account:
your original request dated 19 December 2019;
other correspondence with you;
the documents that fall within the scope of your request;
consultations with Services Australia officers about:
o the nature of the documents;
o Services Australia's operating environment and functions;
guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of
the FOI Act (the
Guidelines); and
the FOI Act.
PAGE 5 OF 10
Reasons for my decisions
Section 22 of the FOI Act – Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted
Section 22 of the FOI Act states:
(1) This section applies if:
(a) an agency or Minister decides:
i. to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or
ii. that to give access to a document would disclose information that
would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access;
and
(b) it is possible for the agency or Minister to prepare a copy (an
edited copy)
of the document, modified by deletions, ensuring that:
i. access to the edited copy would be required to be given under
section 11A (access to documents on request); and
ii. the edited copy would not disclose any information that would
reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request; and
(c) it is reasonably practicable for the agency or Minister to prepare the edited
copy, having regard to:
i. the nature and extent of the modification; and
ii. the resources available to modify the document; and
(d) it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the applicant)
that the applicant would decline access to the edited copy.
Access to edited copy
(2) The agency or Minister must:
(a) prepare the edited copy as mentioned in paragraph (1)(b); and
(b) give the applicant access to the edited copy.
Application of section 22 to your request
Parts 2 and 4 of your request sought access to the following documents:
‘2) a User Guides (or similar instruction manual) that explains how to prevent
errors from occurring’;
‘4) any documents the explain how to correct errors - when identified by a
client…’.
Document 9 is an Operational Blueprint file which contains information on how Services
Australia officers should manually process compliance interventions. Part of document 9
relates to Services Australia’s procedures where a possible anomaly or mismatch has been
identified, and therefore is relevant to the parts of your request referenced above. This part of
the document has been released to you.
PAGE 6 OF 10
However, other parts of the document contain material that does not relate to the process of
preventing or correcting errors. For example, this includes, but is not limited to, material
regarding Services Australia’s manual processing procedures in circumstances:
where a customer is unable to confirm their identity online;
where a customer has requested an extension of time; and
where a customer advises Services Australia that they do not have access to payslips
or bank accounts.
Accordingly, I have redacted the parts of document 9 that do not relate to the anomaly or
mismatch process on the basis that they do not explain how to ‘prevent’ or ‘correct’ errors. I
am satisfied that this material is irrelevant, and therefore out of scope.
In accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act, I have prepared an edited copy of the
documents, such that they can be released to you with irrelevant (i.e. out of scope) material
removed.
Section 24A of the FOI Act – Documents cannot be found, or do not exist
Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that:
(1) An agency or Minister may refuse a request for access to a document if:
(a) all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and
(b) the agency or Minister is satisfied that the document:
(i) is in the agency's or Minister's possession but cannot be found; or
(ii) does not exist.
Part of your request is for:
‘3) all audit reports that have identified errors relating to the data-matching programs’.
The Customer Compliance Division (
Division) conducted searches of Services Australia’s
electronic records and databases. The Division is responsible for the delivery of Services
Australia’s compliance programme. The Division informed me that no internal audits
reviewing Services Australia’s data matching activities have been conducted, and as such,
there are no documents within scope.
On the basis of these searches, I am satisfied that in accordance with section 24A of the FOI
Act:
1. all reasonable steps have been taken to find the documents; and
2. the documents do not exist.
PAGE 7 OF 10
Additional Information
Although Services Australia does not have a specific document to provide you in relation to
this part of your request, Services Australia has identified several additional documents from
publicly available sources which you may find to be of assistance. Specifically, these
documents contain third party assessments in relation to Services Australia’s compliance
activities, the outcomes of which have been published online. This includes:
The Senate Community Affairs References Committee ‘Design, scope, cost-
benefit analysis, contracts awarded and implementation associated with the
Better Management of the Social Welfare System initiative’ (21 June 2017),
available online at:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Communit
y_Affairs/SocialWelfareSystem/Report;
Commonwealth Ombudsman ‘Centrelink’s automated debt raising and recovery
system’ (April 2017), available online at:
https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/43528/Report-
Centrelinks-automated-debt-raising-and-recovery-system-April-2017.pdf;
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner ‘Handling of personal
information — Department of Human Services NEIDM data matching program’
(30 September 2019), available online at:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-assessments/handling-of-personal-
information-department-of-human-services-neidm-data-matching-program/; and
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, ‘Handling of personal
information — Department of Human Services PAYG data matching program’
(30 September 2019), available online at:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-assessments/handling-of-personal-
information-department-of-human-services-payg-data-matching-program/.
PAGE 8 OF 10
If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
Attachment B
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 an 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 Services Australia; 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 Services Australia 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 Services Australia
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.
PAGE 9 OF 10
You can
lodge your application:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Note 3: The Office of 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 with your application a copy of the Services
Australia decision on your FOI request
Include your contact details
Set out your reasons for objecting to Services Australia'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
Services Australia 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
Services Australia 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
complaining about a decision.
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