PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
2 August 2022
Our reference: LEX 68161
OpenWelfare
Only by email
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Dear OpenWelfare
Freedom of Information Request – Reconsideration of Charges
I refer to your request under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), received by
Services Australia (the agency) on 2 June 2022. You revised your request on 15 June 2022
as follows:
As of writing 520 out of 5230 (About 10%) of all Operational Blueprint pages feature a
warning at the top:
"This procedure is under review. An Operational Message about this content exists."
eg
https://operational.servicesaustralia.gov.au/public/Pages/job-seekers/001-09040120-
01.html
Normally, outside of Centrelink - reviews are made for reasons. This message is obtuse
- as an outsider I don't fully understand what this message means.
Could you please, in an administrative fashion, not under the FOI act - briefly explain
these messages and why they exist to me and the rest of the public on right to know?
in addition -
I request under the Freedom of Information act 1982, copies of the following
documents:
*Internal documents providing advice on how to use this message should that exist
*Written records of internal discussion (memo, email, etc) where a blueprint status was
changed to “This procedure is under review. An Operational Message about this
content exists”, for the two most recent operational blueprints where this change has
occurred with documentation to support them.
Background
On 29 June 2022, the agency notified you in accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act you
were liable to pay a charge for the processing of your request.
The preliminary assessment of the charge was $311.48 (
preliminary charge), calculated as
follows:
Search and retrieval time: 10 hours, at $15.00 per hour:
$150.00
Decision-making time (*after deduction of 5 hours): 8.07 hours,
at $20.00 per hour
$161.48
TOTAL
$311.48
*The FOI Act provides that the first five hours of decision-making time are free of charge and this is reflected in
the calculation.
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Reconsideration of preliminary charge
On 3 July 2022, you responded to the preliminary charge notification, stating:
This project has no funding, I am contesting the charges entirely that they should not be
imposed at all. Unfortunately I don't have the energy right not for lengthy argument so I'll
just start and finish with the description of the operational blueprint from your page:
"The Operational Blueprint explains how we deliver services. It also holds reference
material to support staff delivering those services. It contains all service delivery operating
procedures in simple, clear language that can be accessed and understood by staff,
customers and stakeholders. It allows for greater transparency and consistency when
making service delivery decisions."
Key words by CUSTOMERS AND STAKEHOLDERS. If the public can't figure out what
your 'operational messages' are then how are you meeting your goals. it's the public right
to know.
My decision
I have reconsidered the preliminary charge and have decided to apply a 50% reduction on
public interest grounds. The reasons for my decision are set out below.
What I took into account
In reaching my decision I took into account:
the preliminary charge
your reconsideration request
the documents falling within the scope of your request
consultations with agency officers about:
o search and retrieval time for the documents within the scope of your request
o the agency’s operating environment and functions
the FOI Act
the
Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019, and
the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A
of the FOI Act (Guidelines).
Relevant legislation
Subsection 29(4) of the FOI Act provides that where an applicant has notified an agency they
contend a charge should be reduced or not imposed in relation to a request under the FOI Act,
the agency may decide the charge is to be reduced or not imposed.
Subsection 29(5) of the FOI Act provides, without limiting the matters the agency may take into
account when making a decision about whether to reduce or not impose a processing charge,
the decision maker must consider:
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whether the payment of a charge, or part of it, would cause financial hardship to an
applicant, and
whether the giving of access to the document in question is in the general public interest
or in the interest of a substantial section of the public.
Subsection 29(8) of the FOI Act provides that if an applicant makes a contention about a
charge as mentioned in subsection 29(4), and the agency makes a decision to reject the
contention in whole or in part, the agency must give the applicant written notice of the decision
and of the reasons for the decision.
Reconsideration of the charge
In order to complete a comprehensive reconsideration of the preliminary charge, I have
assessed the calculations forming the basis of the preliminary charge and set out my
conclusions below.
Search and retrieval time
In processing your FOI request, the agency conducted searches of its records for any relevant
documents. These searches included consultations with the relevant business areas within the
agency to identify, retrieve and collate the relevant documents.
The preliminary charge estimated 10 hours of search and retrieval time. The business areas
that undertook the searches confirmed this was an accurate reflection of the time taken to
complete this task.
Accordingly, I have determined the search and retrieval component of the preliminary charge
is accurate and should not be revised.
Decision-making time
When calculating the decision-making time component of the preliminary charge, I estimated
the time required to:
examine the relevant pages
make redactions to the pages for release where required, and
prepare a statement of reasons.
The preliminary charge was based on an 8.07 hours of decision-making time (after deducting
the first 5 hours of decision-making time which is free of charge), which includes 2 minutes to
review each page within scope of the request, an additional 2 minutes per page to redact
exempt material and the time required to draft a statement of reasons.
Having carefully reviewed the documents I am satisfied that 13.07 hours is a fair reflection of
the time that would be required to make a decision on your request (before the reduction of 5
hours free processing time).
Please note that, on reviewing the documents for the purpose of reconsidering the preliminary
charge, I found that the preliminary charge was calculated on the basis that your request
captured 63 pages of material. However, as one of those pages has been released to you
administratively, a decision will now be made on the 62 pages of material remaining in scope,
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and I consider the inclusion of that page in the initial calculation did not materially affect the
preliminary charge amount.
Reconsideration of the preliminary charge – other considerations
Financial hardship
Paragraph 29(5)(a) of the FOI Act provides an agency must take into account whether payment
of a charge, or part of it, would cause financial hardship to the applicant.
Paragraph 4.103 of the Guidelines provides:
An applicant relying on this ground could ordinarily be expected to provide some
evidence of financial hardship. For example, the applicant may rely upon (and provide
evidence of) receipt of a pension or income support payment; or provide evidence of
income, debts or assets…
When assessing whether payment of the preliminary charge would cause financial hardship in
this matter, I have considered paragraph 4.101 of the Guidelines which provides as follows:
Whether payment of a charge will cause financial hardship to an applicant is primarily
concerned with the applicant’s financial circumstances and the amount of the estimated
charge. Financial hardship means more than an applicant having to meet a charge from
his or her own resources. The decision in
‘AY’ and Australian Broadcasting Corporation referred to the definition of financial hardship in guidelines issued by the Department
of Finance for the purpose of debt waiver decisions:
Financial hardship exists when payment of the debt would leave you unable to provide
food, accommodation, clothing, medical treatment, education or other necessities for
yourself or your family, or other people for whom you are responsible.
You have advised, “the project has no funding, I am contesting the charges entirely that they
should not be imposed at all.”
I have considered your reconsideration request outlining the absence of funding by Open
Welfare. However, as you have not provided evidence that payment of the preliminary charge
would result in financial hardship, I am have decided not to waive or reduce the preliminary
charge on this ground.
The public interest
Paragraph 29(5)(b) of the FOI Act provides an agency must take into account whether the
giving of access to the document in question is in the general public interest or in the interest
of a substantial section of the public. In other words, there must be a benefit flowing generally
to the public or a substantial section of the public from disclosure of the documents in question.
This requires me to consider the nature of the documents and the context of their release.
Paragraph 4.107 of the Guidelines provides:
An applicant relying on this ground should identify or specify the ‘general public interest’
or the ‘substantial section of the public’ that will benefit from this disclosure.
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In your correspondence dated 4 May 2022, you noted the following:
The giving of access to the documents is in the general public interest or in the interest
of a substantial section of the public as this information affects those on the Age
Pension. And as of 2021 there are around 2.6 million Age Pension recipients in
Australia.
Paragraph 4.107 of the Guidelines provides:
Matters to be considered include whether the information in the documents is already
publicly available, the nature and currency of the topic of public interest to which the
documents relate, and the way in which a public benefit may flow from the release of
the documents.
The material you have requested (being internal documents on how Operational Messages
are used and written records of internal discussion about how these are added to Operational
Blueprints) is contained within documents intended for use by agency staff when delivering the
agency’s programmes and services.
In my view there is some public interest in releasing documents falling within the scope of the
request as disclosure may promote access to government-held information and increase
transparency of the government’s administration of service delivery to some extent.
However, I have also taken into account the fact that the material you have requested is not
publicly available and the documents contain other information regarding the agency’s internal
processes. To that end, I do not consider the information contained in the documents you have
requested would meaningfully add to the public record on important aspects of the agency’s
decision making. Moreover, an explanation of what Operational Messages are has already
been released to you administratively.
Therefore, I am not persuaded the charge should be waived in full.
However, having considered the factors identified above, I am satisfied in these circumstances
that it is appropriate to reduce the preliminary charge by 50% on public interest grounds.
Accordingly, I have decided to impose a charge of
$155.74 to process your request
(
Reconsidered Charge).
Conclusion
I am satisfied the search and retrieval time and the estimated decision making time set out in
the preliminary charge was accurate.
While I am not satisfied the charge should be reduced or waived on the grounds of financial
hardship, I have decided to reduce the preliminary charge by 50% on public interest grounds.
I have therefore decided to impose a Reconsidered Charge of
$155.74. 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 Reconsidered Charge (deposit or in full), or
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b) seek an internal review of the Reconsidered Charge.
Alternatively, you may wish to seek an external review by the Information Commissioner or
you may wish to withdraw your request for access to documents.
Should you wish to withdraw your request, please confirm this in writing.
Further information on options a) and b) is provided below.
Please note the payment of a charge does not guarantee access to documents, in full or in
part.
Option a) - pay the charge
As the Reconsidered Charge exceeds $25, you are required to pay a deposit of
$38.94 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 - follo
w this link and enter the relevant
details. You will need your FOI LEX reference number,
LEX 68161, 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
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
Reconsidered
Charge,
please
email
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx to advise us of your payment. Please quote
reference number
LEX 68161 in this correspondence.
Option b) - seek review
If you disagree with the decision to impose the Reconsidered Charge, or the amount of the
Reconsidered Charge, you can ask for a review. There are two ways you can do this. You can
ask for an internal review from within Services Australia, or an external review by the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner. See Attachment A
for more information.
Time limits for processing your request
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 by email to
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
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Further assistance
If you have any questions please emai
l xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx. Yours sincerely
Leanne
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Team
Information Access Branch | Legal Services Division
Services Australia
PAGE 7 OF 9
PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
Attachment A
INFORMATION ON RIGHTS OF REVIEW
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
Asking for a full explanation of a Freedom of Information decision
Before you ask for a formal review of a freedom of information decision, you can contact us
to discuss your request. We will explain the decision to you. This gives you a chance to
correct misunderstandings.
Asking for a formal review of a Freedom of Information decision
If you still believe a decision is incorrect, the FOI Act gives you the right to apply for a review
of the decision. Under sections 54 and 54L of the FOI Act, you can apply for a review of an
FOI decision by:
an Internal Review Officer in the agency, and/or
the Australian Information Commissioner.
There are no fees for these reviews.
Applying for an internal review by an Internal Review Officer
If you apply for internal review, a different decision maker to the agency delegate who made
the original decision will carry out the review. The Internal Review Officer will consider all
aspects of the original decision and decide whether it should change. An application for
internal review must be:
made in writing
made within 30 days of receiving this letter, or
sent to the address at the top of the first page of this letter.
You do not need to fill in a form. However, it is a good idea to set out any relevant
submissions you would like the Internal Review Officer to further consider, and your reasons
for disagreeing with the decision.
Applying for external review by the Australian Information Commissioner
If you do not agree with the original decision or the internal review decision, you can ask the
Australian Information Commissioner to review the decision.
If you do not receive a decision from an Internal Review Officer in the agency within 30 days
of applying, you can ask the Australian Information Commissioner for a review of the original
FOI decision.
You will have 60 days to apply in writing for a review by the Australian Information
Commissioner.
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You can
lodge your application:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner generally prefers FOI applicants to
seek internal review before applying for external review by the Australian Information
Commissioner.
Important:
if you are applying online, the application form the 'Merits Review Form' is available at
www.oaic.gov.au.
if you have one, you should include with your application a copy of the Services
Australia decision on your FOI request
include your contact details, and
set out your reasons for objecting to the agency's decision.
Complaints to the Australian Information Commissioner and Commonwealth
Ombudsman
Australian Information Commissioner
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner concerning action taken by
an agency in the exercise of powers or the performance of functions under the FOI Act,
There is no fee for making a complaint. A complaint to the Australian Information
Commissioner must be made in writing. The Australian Information Commissioner's contact
details are:
Telephone: 1300 363 992
Website:
www.oaic.gov.au Commonwealth Ombudsman
You may also complain to the Commonwealth Ombudsman concerning action taken by an
agency in the exercise of powers or the performance of functions under the FOI Act. There is
no fee for making a complaint. A complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman may be
made in person, by telephone or in writing. The Commonwealth Ombudsman's contact
details are:
Phone: 1300 362 072
Website:
www.ombudsman.gov.au
The Commonwealth Ombudsman generally prefers applicants to seek review before
complaining about a decision.
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