Our reference: FOI 2122-047
Applicant: HTag Analytics
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Date: 8 December 2021
Dear Htag Analytics,
Freedom of Information request FOI 2122-047
I refer to your correspondence received by the Department of Social Services
(
Department) on 8 November 2021, in which you requested access, under the
Commonwealth
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to:
“Number of evictions per suburb per quarter 2. Property type for which the eviction
occurred i.e. house, apartment, townhouse 3. Reason for eviction i.e. misconduct,
financial hardship, other”.
Authority to make this decision
I am an officer authorised by the Secretary of the Department to make decisions about
access to documents in the possession of the Department in accordance with
section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
Summary
On 26 November 2021, the Department acknowledged receipt of your FOI access
request, and informed you that your decision letter is to be sent to you by 9 December
2021.
Decision
The Department has undertaken a reasonable search of its records and has not been
able to identify documents relevant to your request. For this reason, I have made a
GPO Box 9820 Canberra ACT 2601
Emai
l xxx@xxx.xxx.xx Telephone 1300 653 227
National Relay Service: TTY: 133 677, Speak and listen: 1300 555 727, Internet relay: www.relayservice.com.au
www.dss.gov.au
decision to refuse your request under section 24A of the FOI Act, as the documents do
not exist.
Material taken into account
In accordance with paragraph (a) of subsection 26(1) 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 refuse access to the documents follows.
In reaching my decision, I have taken the following material into account:
• your correspondence dated 8 November 2021, outlining the particulars of your
request for documents under the FOI Act;
• consultations with departmental officers in the Data and Evaluation Branch and
the Pensions, Housing and Homelessness Branch as to the information held by
the department and searches for documents undertaken by them;
• 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. I also considered section 24A of the FOI Act (Requests
may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or have not been
received) relevant to my decision; and
• the guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under
section 93A of the FOI Act (FOI Guidelines).
Reasons for decision
Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or have not
been received (section 24A)
Subsection 24A(1) of the FOI Act provides that an agency or Minister may refuse a
request for access to a document if:
• all reasonable steps have been taken to find t
he document; and
• t
he agency o
r Minister is satisfied that th
e document:
- is in the
agency's o
r Minister's possession but cannot be found; or
- does not exist.
The relevant officers within the Department undertook thorough searches of the
Department’s internal records management systems. No documents were identified that
match the scope of your request. It is my view that as advised in an email to you on 16
November 2021, the Department does not hold data relevant to the scope of your request.
2
I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to determine whether the relevant
information exists and such steps have failed to locate any documents falling within the
scope of your request. I have therefore decided to refuse your request pursuant to
section 24A of the FOI Act on the basis that the documents you are seeking do not exist.
Your rights of review
Information about your rights to seek a review of this decision are at
Attachment A.
Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter please do not hesitate to contact
the FOI team by email at
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
M. Blair
Assistant Director Cabinet and FOI Section
Government and Executive Services Branch
8 December 2021
3
