PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
7 January 2020
Our reference: LEX 50190
Ms Julie Middleton
Only by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Ms Middleton
Acknowledgement of your Freedom of Information (FOI) request
I refer to your request for access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982
(
FOI Act). You requested access to:
‘1. The annual number - from 1992 to 2018 - of client MOD C forms provided to the
Department to be reported by State or Territory. The Department's Compensation
Management System ought to have this information and the date could be when the
new client record was created or the MOD C form signed or similar date. The address
fields would have the State or Territory.
The Centrelink Compensation and Damages form (MOD C) needs to be completed in
the event that an applicant or their partner is entitled to receive compensation. This
form is part of the claim for payment documentation to be provided to Centrelink
when individuals apply for income support.
2. The annual number - from 1992 to 2018 - of finalised compensation records to be
reported by State or Territory. This is where an insurer or law firm has paid the
amount requested by the Department and the client's obligation has been finalised.
3. The annual number - from 1992 to 2018 - for all outstanding compensation
recovery records to be reported by State or Territory. This is where clients have not
yet had any compensation recovery payments made to the Department.
4. Any Fact Sheets or similar documents that are provided to law firms to explain how
the compensation recovery calculations are made.’
Timeframe for processing your request
Your request was received by the department on 23 December 2019 and the 30 day
statutory period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date.
Due to the department's reduced activity period over December and January where many
business areas of the department end of year shut down or reduced staff, we are seeking
your permission to extend the processing time by an extra 15 days to allow us to process
your request. Can you please confirm by
10 January 2020 if you agree to an extension of
time of 15 days under the FOI Act (s15AA).
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Charges
The department will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request and the
amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No charge is payable for providing a
person with their own personal information.
Your address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address which we can send notices to. You
have advised that your electronic address is
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
We will send all notices and correspondence to this address. Please advise us as soon as
possible if you wish for correspondence to be sent to another address or if your address
changes. If you do not advise us of changes to your address, correspondence and notices
will continue to be sent to the address specified above.
Administrative release of documents
The department has administrative access arrangements (
arrangements) for the release of
certain documents without the need for a formal FOI request. Unless you advise us
otherwise, in processing your request we may provide you with documents under these
arrangements where appropriate. The arrangements do not extend to information or
materials of third parties. You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Disclosure log
Please note that 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, however it
is subject to certain exceptions, including where publication of personal, business,
professional or commercial information would be unreasonable.
Exclusion of junior staff details
The department is working towards ensuring that all staff have a choice about whether they
provide their full name, personal logon identifiers and direct contact details in response to
public enquiries. Where such details are included in the scope of a request, this may add to
processing time and applicable charges as it may be necessary to consider whether the
details are exempt under the FOI Act. On this basis, unless you tell us otherwise, we will
assume that these details are out of scope of your request and they will be redacted under
section 22 of the FOI Act.
Further assistance
If you have any FOI questions please email
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
FOI Registration Officer
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
