LEX 51340
Revised decision made under section 55G of the Freedom of Information
Act 1982
Decision and reason for decision of Stella (Position Number 62331110),
Executive Director, Information Access Unit,
Client Access and Rehabilitation Branch, Department of Veterans’ Affairs
Applicant:
Julie A
Date of primary decision:
29 April 2022
FOI reference number:
LEX 51340
Revised decision date:
27 September 2022
Revised decision reference number: FOI 48448 (MR22/00930)
Dear Julie A,
Freedom of Information Request: LEX 51340
1. The purpose of this correspondence is to advise you of a revised decision the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs (
Department) has made under section 55G of the
Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (
FOI Act) in relation to LEX 48448.
Revised Decision
2. I have made a decision to vary the original decision made by Joanna, Position Number
62329542, Information Access Officer, Information Access Unit. That decision was to provide
full access to the document with deletions under section 22 of the FOI Act to remove staff
names and position numbers.
3. I have made a decision to grant full access with the previous section 22 deletions removed.
Authority to make decision
4. I, Stel a (Position Number 62331110), Executive Director, Information Access Unit, Client
Access Rehabilitation Branch, am an officer authorised by the Secretary of the Department
1
to make decisions about access to documents in the possession of the Department in
accordance with section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
Summary
5. On 9 March 2022, you made a request for information under the FOI Act. Your request
sought access to:
‘…I request the cost of expenditure and number of matters briefed to
external legal services for the financial years 2011-2021, by financial year,
giving costs incurred (each identified seperately) from external solicitors
briefed, seconded lawyers, disbursements to engaged solicitors/seconded
lawyers/counsel, costs paid to solicitors of other parties, and costs paid
for disbursements of other parties, along with a total of external legal
expenditure (Table 13 in the FY 2020/21 Annual Report provides a guide).
I also request the cost of expenditure Veterans spent on direct and
indirect internal legal services, and the number of full-time equivalent
ongoing APS staff employed to provide direct and indirect internal legal
services for Veterans for the financial years 2011-2021.
I also request copy of the email, including header detail and its metadata,
of the email (excluding my email address) Veterans claims to have sent
me on 3 February 2022 (that it referred to in its email to me of Monday 7
March 2022)…’
6. On 15 March 2022, the department acknowledged your request, in accordance with the
timeframes prescribed by s 15(5(a) of the FOI Act.
7. On 8 April 2022, the OAIC granted the department an extension of time under s 15AB(2) of
the FOI Act altering the due date to 29 April 2022.
8. On 29 April 2022, the department sent you the decision to ‘
grant access in full to the
documents with irrelevant material deleted under s 22 of the FOI Act’. The document was
released to the email address listed as the address for notices to be received under the FOI
Act when the request was made.
9. On 14 July 2022, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (
OAIC) sent the
Department a notice of Request for IC review and Preliminary Inquiries under s 54V of the
FOI Act.
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Reasons for decision
10. I have decided to
grant access to the document within the scope of your request, with the
previous deletions under section 22 of the FOI Act removed.
Access to documents
11. The document released to you in accordance with the FOI Act is enclosed.
Application for Information Commissioner Review – request to withdraw application
12. I consider the Department to have satisfactory resolved the issues you have identified. As
such, I kindly ask you to consider withdrawing your application for review with the OAIC.
Your rights of review
13. If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may advise the OAIC that you do not wish to
withdraw your application for IC Review.
14. You can contact the OAIC in one of the fol owing ways:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Facsimile:
(02) 9284 9666
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
In person: Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
15. More information about your review rights under the FOI Act is available in Fact Sheet 12
published by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:
http://oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-resources/freedom-of-information-fact-
sheets/foi-factsheet-12-your-review-rights
Contact us
16. If you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the Information Access
Unit using the following details:
Online:
https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview/reporting/freedom-
information/access-information
Post:
Information Access Unit
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
3
GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001
Phone:
1800 838 372
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Stella
Position Number 62331110
Executive Director
Information Access Unit
Client Access and Rehabilitation Branch
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
27 September 2022
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LEX 51340
Schedule 1
Schedule of documents
Applicant:
Julie A
Date of primary decision:
29 April 2022
FOI reference number:
LEX 51340
Revised decision date:
27 September 2022
Revised decision reference number: LEX 48448 (MR22/00930)
Doc
Date of
Document description
Pages Decision Exemption
No. document
provision
1 03/02/2022 Email sent from
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx to 1 – 2 Full
N/A
‘xxxxx.xxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx’,
“Response
Release
to fol ow up question regarding LEX 46947 –
Decision [SEC=OFFICIAL]”
2
N/A
Document created pursuant to section 17 of the 3 – 5 Full
N/A
FOI Act, including,
Release
- Table created by the department to
respond to applicant’s request, and
- Email ‘properties’ of email sent from
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx to
‘xxxxx.xxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx’
5
LEX 51340
Schedule 2
Schedule of relevant provisions in the FOI Act
3
Objects—general
(1)
The objects of this Act are to give the Australian community access to information held by
the Government of the Commonwealth or the Government of Norfolk Island, by:
(a)
requiring agencies to publish the information; and
(b)
providing for a right of access to documents.
(2)
The Parliament intends, by these objects, to promote Australia’s representative democracy
by contributing towards the fol owing:
(a)
increasing public participation in Government processes, with a view to promoting
better informed decision-making;
(b)
increasing scrutiny, discussion, comment and review of the Government’s
activities.
(3)
The Parliament also intends, by these objects, to increase recognition that information held
by the Government is to be managed for public purposes, and is a national resource.
(4)
The Parliament also intends that functions and powers given by this Act are to be
performed and exercised, as far as possible, to facilitate and promote public access to
information, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost.
11
Right of access
(1)
Subject to this Act, every person has a legally enforceable right to obtain access in
accordance with this Act to:
(a)
a document of an agency, other than an exempt document; or
(b)
an official document of a Minister, other than an exempt document.
(2)
Subject to this Act, a person’s right of access is not affected by:
(a)
any reasons the person gives for seeking access; or
(b)
the agency’s or Minister’s belief as to what are his or her reasons for seeking
access.
11A Access to documents on request
Scope
(1)
This section applies if:
(a)
a request is made by a person, in accordance with subsection 15(2), to an agency or
Minister for access to:
(i)
a document of the agency; or
(ii)
an official document of the Minister; and
(b)
any charge that, under the regulations, is required to be paid before access is given
has been paid.
(2)
This section applies subject to this Act.
Note:
Other provisions of this Act are relevant to decisions about access to documents, for example the fol owing:
(a)
section 12 (documents otherwise available);
(b)
section 13 (documents in national institutions);
(c)
section 15A (personnel records);
(d)
section 22 (access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted).
6
Mandatory access—general rule
(3)
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document in accordance with
this Act, subject to this section.
Exemptions and conditional exemptions
(4)
The agency or Minister is not required by this Act to give the person access to the
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is an exempt document.
Note:
Access may be given to an exempt document apart from under this Act, whether or not in response to a request
(see section 3A (objects—information or documents otherwise accessible)).
(5)
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document if it is conditionally
exempt at a particular time unless (in the circumstances) access to the document at that
time would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.
Note 1: Division 3 of Part IV provides for when a document is conditional y exempt.
Note 2: A conditional y exempt document is an exempt document if access to the document would, on balance, be
contrary to the public interest (see section 31B (exempt documents for the purposes of Part IV)).
Note 3: Section 11B deals with when it is contrary to the public interest to give a person access to the document.
(6)
Despite subsection (5), the agency or Minister is not required to give access to the
document at a particular time if, at that time, the document is both:
(a)
a conditional y exempt document; and
(b)
an exempt document:
(i)
under Division 2 of Part IV (exemptions); or
(ii)
within the meaning of paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of exempt
document in subsection 4(1).
15
Requests for access (as related to the requirements for requests)
Persons may request access
(1) Subject to section 15A, a person who wishes to obtain access to a document of an agency
or an official document of a Minister may request access to the document.
Requirements for request
(2)
The request must:
(a)
be in writing; and
(aa) state that the request is an application for the purposes of this Act; and
(b)
provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably necessary to
enable a responsible officer of the agency, or the Minister, to identify it; and
(c)
give details of how notices under this Act may be sent to the applicant (for
example, by providing an electronic address to which notices may be sent by
electronic communication).
(2A) The request must be sent to the agency or Minister. The request may be sent in any of the
following ways:
(a)
delivery to an officer of the agency, or a member of the staff of the Minister, at the
address of any central or regional office of the agency or Minister specified in a
current telephone directory;
(b)
postage by pre-paid post to an address mentioned in paragraph (a);
(c)
sending by electronic communication to an electronic address specified by the
agency or Minister.
17
Requests involving use of computers etc
(1)
Where:
(a)
a request (including a
request in relation to which
a practical refusal reason exists)
is made in accordance with the requirements o
f subsection 15(2) to an
agency;
7
(b)
It appears from the
request that the desire of th
e applicant is for information that
is not available in discrete form in writte
n documents of the
agency; and
(ba)
it does not appear from th
e request that th
e applicant wishes to be provided with
a computer tape or computer disk on which the information is recorded; and
(c)
th
e agency could produce a written
document containing the information in
discrete form by:
(i) the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the
agency for retrieving or collating stored information; or
(ii) the making of a transcript from a sound recording held in th
e agency;
th
e agency shall deal with the
request as if it were
a request for access to a written
document so produced and containing that information and, for that purpose, this Act
applies as if th
e agency had such
a document in its possession.
(2)
An
agency is not required to comply wit
h subsection (1) if compliance would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of the
agency from its other operations.
22
Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted
Scope
(1)
This section applies if:
(a)
an agency or Minister decides:
(i)
to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or
(ii)
that to give access to a document would disclose information that would
reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access; and
(b)
it is possible for the agency or Minister to prepare a copy (an edited copy) of the
document, modified by deletions, ensuring that:
(i)
access to the edited copy would be required to be given under section 11A
(access to documents on request); and
(ii)
the edited copy would not disclose any information that would reasonably
be regarded as irrelevant to the request; and
(c)
it is reasonably practicable for the agency or Minister to prepare the edited copy,
having regard to:
(i)
the nature and extent of the modification; and
(ii)
the resources available to modify the document; and
(d)
it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the applicant) that
the applicant would decline access to the edited copy.
Access to edited copy
(2)
The agency or Minister must:
(a)
prepare the edited copy as mentioned in paragraph (1)(b); and
(b)
give the applicant access to the edited copy.
Notice to applicant
(3)
The agency or Minister must give the applicant notice in writing:
(a)
that the edited copy has been prepared; and
(b)
of the grounds for the deletions; and
(c)
if any matter deleted is exempt matter—that the matter deleted is exempt matter
because of a specified provision of this Act.
(4)
Section 26 (reasons for decision) does not apply to the decision to refuse access to the
whole document unless the applicant requests the agency or Minister to give the applicant
a notice in writing in accordance with that section.
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23
Decisions to be made by authorised persons
(1)
Subject to subsection (2), a decision in respect of a request made to an agency may be
made, on behalf of the agency, by the responsible Minister or the principal officer of the
agency or, subject to the regulations, by an officer of the agency acting within the scope of
authority exercisable by him or her in accordance with arrangements approved by the
responsible Minister or the principal officer of the agency.
(2)
A decision in respect of a request made to a court, or made to a tribunal, authority or body
that is specified in Schedule 1, may be made on behalf of that court, tribunal, authority or
body by the principal officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body or, subject to the
regulations, by an officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body acting within the scope
of authority exercisable by him or her in accordance with arrangements approved by the
principal officer of that court, tribunal, authority or body.
26
Reasons and other particulars of decisions to be given
(1)
Where, in relation to a request, a decision is made relating to a refusal to grant access to a
document in accordance with the request or deferring provision of access to a document,
the decision-maker shall cause the applicant to be given notice in writing of the decision,
and the notice shal :
(a)
state the findings on any material questions of fact, referring to the material on
which those findings were based, and state the reasons for the decision; and
(aa)
in the case of a decision to refuse to give access to a conditionally exempt
document—include in those reasons the public interest factors taken into account
in making the decision; and
Note:
Access must general y be given to a conditional y exempt document unless it would be contrary to the public
interest (see section 11A).
(b)
where the decision relates to a document of an agency, state the name and
designation of the person giving the decision; and
(c)
give to the applicant appropriate information concerning:
(i)
his or her rights with respect to review of the decision;
(ii)
his or her rights to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner in
relation to the decision; and
(iii)
the procedure for the exercise of the rights referred to in subparagraphs (i)
and (ii); including (where applicable) particulars of the manner in which an
application for internal review (Part VI) and IC review (Part VII) may be
made.
(1A)
Section 13 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 does not apply to a
decision referred to in subsection (1).
(2)
A notice under this section is not required to contain any matter that is of such a nature
that its inclusion in a document of an agency would cause that document to be an exempt
document.
(see section 11A).
55G
Procedure in IC review--revocation or variation of access refusal decision
(1) An agency or Minister may vary (or set aside and substitute) an access refusal decision (the
original decision ) in relation to a request or an application under section 48 at any time
during an IC review of the access refusal decision if the variation or substitution (the revised
decision ) would have an effect of:
(a) giving access to a document in accordance with the request; or
(b) relieving the IC review applicant from liability to pay a charge; or
(c) requiring a record of personal information to be amended or annotated in
accordance with the application.
Note: When making the revised decision, a consultation requirement under section 26A
(documents affecting Commonwealth-State relations etc.), 27 (business documents)
or 27A (documents affecting personal privacy) may apply.
9
(2) If an agency or Minister varies (or sets aside and substitutes) an access refusal decision
under subsection (1):
(a) the agency or Minister must, in writing, notify the Information Commissioner as
soon as practicable after the agency or Minister makes the variation or
substitution; and
(b) the Information Commissioner must deal with the IC review application for review
of the original decision as if it were an IC review application for the review of the
varied or substituted decision, subject otherwise to this Part.
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Document Outline
