FOI ref: 2020/0070
28 July 2020
Mr Alan Ashmore
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Dear Mr Ashmore
Notice of Decision for Freedom of Information Request no. 2020/0070
The purpose of this letter is to give you a decision about access to documents that you
have requested under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (
FOI Act).
Summary
I am an officer authorised under s 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to
FOI requests.
You lodged an FOI request on 2 July 2020 for access to
NUMBER OF NEW APPLICATIONS TO THE AAT BY VETERANS:
I request the number of applications made to the AAT by veterans following the rejection
of their claim by DVA and/or the VRB for the following period:
•
1 July 2018 to 31 December 2018,
•
1 January 2019 to 30 June 2019,
•
1 July 2019 to 31 December 2019, and
•
1 January 2020 to 30 June 2020.
On 14 July 2020, your request was revised to:
The number of applications lodged in the Veterans’ Appeals Division for the following
periods:
•
1 July 2018 to 31 December 2018,
•
1 January 2019 to 30 June 2019,
•
1 July 2019 to 31 December 2019, and
•
1 January 2020 to 30 June 2020.
Lev el 6, 83 Clarence Street
T: 02 9276 5000 or 1800 228 333
National Relay Service
SY DNEY NSW 2000
F: 02 9276 5599
www.relay service.gov.au
GPO Box 9955 Sy dney NSW 2001
E: f xx@xxx.xxx.xx
ABN 90 680 970 626
www.aat.gov .au
As you requested statistics that do not already exist in a discrete document, I have
processed your request under section 17 of the FOI Act. This means that I have used
our existing computer systems to retrieve data from the AAT’s case management
systems to produce a written document for you.
As a result, I identified the following documents which fall within the scope of your
request:
•
Attachment A: Applications lodged to the Veterans’ Appeals Division of the AAT
in specified periods as at
23 July 2020.
Decision
I have decided to release these documents to you in full.
I have taken the following into account in making my decision:
• your email received on 2 July 2020
• the FOI Act, specifically section 17
• the guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under s 93A of
the FOI Act.
Your review rights
Information about how you can apply for a review of this decision or complain about how
we have dealt with this matter is set out in the attached fact sheet, FOI 2.
If you have any questions about this decision, please contact me a
t xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely,
Angela L
Authorised FOI Officer (APS 6)
Attachments
FOI 2 – Information about reviews and complaints under the Freedom of Information Act
Attachment A: Applications lodged to the Veterans’ Appeals Division of the AAT in specified
periods as at
23 July 2020
PAGE 2 OF 4
Information about reviews and complaints under the
Freedom of Information Act
What should I do prior to applying for internal review or contacting the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner?
Before you apply for an internal review or contact the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner, we recommend that you telephone the officer who made the FOI
decision. It is often possible to resolve concerns or answer your questions using this
approach and, if not, the officer will be able to assist you in applying for review.
How do I apply for internal review to the AAT?
You can apply to us for an internal review of the FOI decision. The application for
internal review must be made within 30 days or such further period as we allow, after the
day the decision is notified to you. To apply for an internal review you must do so in
writing. You may also wish to explain why you are not satisfied with the decision. A
different and more senior officer authorised under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) will conduct the internal review and make a new decision within 30 days
after receipt of your application.
If you have already applied for internal review and want to seek a further review of that
decision, you will need to apply to the Australian Information Commissioner.
How do I apply for review to the Australian Information Commissioner?
You may also apply directly to the Australian Information Commissioner for review of the
FOI decision. The application for review must be made within 60 days after the day
notice of the decision was given. An application for review must be in writing, include
details of how notices in relation to the review are to be sent to you and include a copy
of the decision. You may also wish to explain why you are not satisfied with the decision.
An online application form is available on the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner’s website, details of which are provided below.
What if I want to make a complaint about the handling of a Freedom of
Information request?
If you have a complaint about the way in which we have processed your request for
access under the FOI Act you can ask the Australian Information Commissioner to
investigate. An online complaint form is available on the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner’s website, details of which are provided below.
Where can I find further information or contact details for the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner?
Further information is available on the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner’s website at
www.oaic.gov.au and you can contact the office on 1300 363
992 or by email
at xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx..
FOI 2 (July 2016)
PAGE 3 OF 4
Attachment A
Applications lodged to the Veterans’ Appeals Division of the AAT in specified periods as
at
23 July 2020:
Period
Applications lodged
1 July 2018 to 31 December 2018
147
1 January 2019 to 30 June 2019
114
1 July 2019 to 31 December 2019
93
1 January 2020 to 30 June 2020
101
Note: The Administrative Appeals Tribunal is currently preparing our official 2019-20 Financial
Year statistics. In the course of that work , very minor adjustments to statistics are possible. The
counts given for the two periods covering the 2019-20 Financial Years are correct at the time of
preparing this information.
PAGE 4 OF 4
Document Outline
