PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
17 July 2020
Our reference: LEX 56248
Mr John Smith
Only by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Smith
Your Freedom of Information Request
Acknowledgement
I refer to your request for access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982
(the
FOI Act). You requested access to:
'- A document that contains the total number of non-APS staff, filling equivalent roles
to actual APS staff in your department.
- A document that contains a list of all position titles within your department, that are
currently filled by non-APS staff.
Typically these non-APS employees are ostensibly employed through labour hire
agencies, and fulfil functionally equivalent roles to their colleagues.
If no such document exists please advise.’
Your Address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address which we can send notices to. You
have advised your electronic address i
s xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx. We
will send all notices and correspondence to this address. Please advise us as soon as
possible if you wish 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.
Exclusion of junior staff details
Services Australia 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.
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Preliminary assessment of the charge
In accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act, I have decided that you are liable to pay a
charge for the processing of your request. My preliminary assessment of that charge is $75
calculated as follows:
Search and retrieval time: 5 hours, at $15.00 per hour:
$75.00
Decision-making time (*after deduction of 5 hours): 0 hours, at
$0.00
$20.00 per hour
TOTAL
$75.00
*The FOI Act provides that the first five hours of decision-making time are free of charge and
this is reflected in the calculation.
I am advised that Services Australia has in its possession a document relevant to your
request. Please note that the payment of the charge does not guarantee access to the
requested document, in full or in part.
Required Action
If you would like Services Australia to continue processing your request, you must notify
Services Australia in writing within 30 days of receiving this notice that you:
a) agree to pay the charge; or
b) wish to contend that the charge:
i. has been wrongly assessed; or
ii. should be reduced or not imposed; or
iii. both
Alternatively, you may wish to withdraw your request for access.
If you do not provide a written response in accordance with one of options a) or b) above
within 30 days of receiving this notice, your request will be taken to have been withdrawn
under section 29(2) of the FOI Act.
Further information on options a) and b) is set out below.
Option a) - pay the charge
As the charge exceeds $25, you are required to pay a deposit of $20 within 30 days of
receiving this notice. You may, of course, elect to pay the charge in full at this point.
You may select from one of the following payment methods:
1. Online payment via Government EasyPay - follow
this link and enter the relevant
details. You will need your FOI LEX reference number,
LEX 56248; or
2. Cheque made out to the Collector of Public Monies and posted to Freedom of
Information, Services Australia, PO BOX 7820, Canberra BC, ACT 2610; or
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3. Money order made out to the Collector of Public Monies and posted to Freedom of
Information, Services Australia, PO BOX 7820, Canberra BC, ACT 2610.
If you elect to pay the charge, please email
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx to
advise us of your payment. Please quote reference number
LEX 56248 in this
correspondence.
Option b) - seek reduction or non-imposition of the charge
You may contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed, or should be reduced or not
imposed. Section 29(5) of the FOI Act provides that, in deciding whether to reduce or not to
impose a charge, the decision-maker must take into account any relevant reasons, including
whether payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause you or your organisation financial
hardship, and whether the giving of access to the documents is in the general public interest
or in the interest of a substantial section of the public.
If you wish to contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed or should be reduced or
not imposed, please set out your reasons and the evidence in support of your reasons as
clearly as possible. If you believe that payment of the charge would cause you or your
organisation financial hardship, please provide sufficient details of your financial
circumstances to enable the decision-maker to make a well-informed decision in this regard.
Time limits for processing your request
Your request was received by Services Australia on 6 July 2020 and the 30 day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date.
However, section 31 of the FOI Act provides that where a notice is sent to an applicant
regarding the payment of a charge in respect of a request, the time limit for processing the
request is suspended from the date the notice is received until either:
a) the day following payment of the charge (in full or the required deposit); or
b) if applicable, the day following the notification to the applicant of a decision not
to impose the charge.
Address for correspondence
Please send all correspondence regarding your FOI request to me at the following address:
Freedom of Information team
Services Australia
PO Box 7820
CANBERRA ACT 2610
Or by email to
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Publication of information in the FOI disclosure log Information released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log on Services
Australia's website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this publication, subject to certain
exceptions, including where publication of personal, business, professional or commercial
information would be unreasonable.
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Further assistance
If you have any questions please email
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Yours sincerely
Samantha
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Team
Employment Law and FOI | Legal Services Division
Services Australia
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