LEX 46551
Decision and Statement of Reasons made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982
Decision and reason for decision of Jessy (Position Number 62320730), Information Law
Section, Legal Services and Audit Branch, Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Applicant:
Mr Alan Ashmore
Decision date:
29 November 2021
FOI reference number:
LEX 46551
Sent by (email, post etc):
Via Email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Ashmore,
Freedom of Information Request: FOI 46551
Decision
1.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (
the department) has undertaken a reasonable search
of its records and has identified 1 document relevant to your request.
2.
I have made a decision to grant access to the document fal ing within the scope of your
request in full.
3.
The document that I have chosen to release in full is set out in
Schedule 1. Where I have
decided to remove material considered to be irrelevant to your request, I have provided
access to an edited copy of the document, modified by deletions in accordance with section
22(2) of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (
FOI Act).
Authority to make decision
4.
I, Jessy (Position Number 62320730), Information Access Officer, Information Law Section,
am authorised to make decisions in accordance with section 23(1) of the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
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Summary
5.
On 28 October 2021 you made a request for access to a document in the possession of the
department. Your request sought access to:
“
As DVA changed the way they report their complaints and
complements in their Annual Report I am seeking the total number
of complaints and complements for the 2020-2021 financial year”
6.
On 23 November 2021, I administratively issued an email to you enclosing a table that
encompassed the data you were seeking and requesting that you agree in writing to
withdraw your request for LEX 46551 by 25 November 2021.
7.
As the department has not received confirmation from you that you withdraw this request, I
am issuing this decision noting that the information has previously been issued to you
through administrative access.
8.
I have decided not to impose a charge in relation to this request, in accordance with
Regulation 8 of the
Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019.
Material taken into account
9.
In accordance with section 26(1)(a) of the FOI Act, my findings on any material question of
fact, the material on which those findings were based and the reasons for my decision to
grant full access to the document follows.
10. I have taken the following material into account in making my decision:
the terms of your request;
the types of information and documents that are in the department’s possession;
the content of the document that falls within the scope of your request;
Sections 3, 11 and 11A of the FOI Act which give the Australian community a legally
enforceable right to obtain access to information held by the Government of the
Commonwealth.
the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A
of the FOI Act (FOI Guidelines);
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Access to documents
11. The document released to you in accordance with the FOI Act is enclosed.
Information Publication Scheme
12. The Information Publication Scheme requires the department to publish information
released in response to individual requests made under the FOI Act, except in specified
circumstances.
13. I am of the view that details of your request should be made available on the department’s
FOI Disclosure Log. As such, details of your request wil be published on the department’s
FOI Disclosure Log which can be accessed at
http://www.dva.gov.au/about-dva/freedom-
information/foi-disclosure-log. Please note that the department does not publish details of
FOI applicants, it only publishes details of the FOI request and the documents released in
response to the request.
Yours sincerely,
Jessy (Position Number 62320730)
Information Access Officer
Information Law Section
Legal Services and Audit Branch
29 November 2021
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LEX 46551
Schedule 1
Schedule of documents
Applicant:
Mr Alan Ashmore
Decision date:
29 November 2021
FOI reference number:
LEX 46551
Doc Date of
Document description
Pages Decision Exemption
No. document
provision
1 27.09.2021
Client Feedback for Supplementary Budget Estimates
1
Ful access
s 22
4
LEX 46551
Schedule 2
Your rights of review
14. If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for internal review or request the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (
OAIC) review my decision. We
encourage you to seek internal review as a first step as it may provide a more rapid
resolution of your concerns.
15. If you are dissatisfied with my decision you may apply for Information Commissioner Review
of the decision through the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (
OAIC). In
accordance with section 54E(b) of the FOI Act, internal review is not available as the
Department did not finalise your FOI request within the prescribed statutory timeframe.
Internal review
16. Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to the department for an Internal
Review of my decision. The Internal Review application must be made within 30 days of the
date of this letter. Where possible please attach reasons why you believe review of the
decision is necessary. The internal review will be carried out by another officer within 30
days.
17. You can make your application for Internal Review in one of the following ways:
Post:
Legal Services and Audit Branch, Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
Facsimile:
(02) 6289 6337
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
OAIC review
18. Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the OAIC to review my decision. An
application for review by OAIC must be made in writing within 60 days of the date of this
letter, and be lodged in one of the fol owing ways:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
Director of FOI Dispute Resolution
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Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Facsimile:
(02) 9284 9666
Phone:
1300 363 992
Email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
1. More information about your review rights under the FOI Act is available in Fact Sheet 12
published by the OAIC:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-
complaints/information-commissioner-review/
Contact us
2. If you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the Information Law
Section using the fol owing details:
Online:
https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview/reporting/freedom-
information/access-information
Post:
Information Law, Legal Services and Audit Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601
Facsimile:
(02) 6289 6337
Phone:
1800 838 372
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
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Document Outline
