LEX 68168 Decision Decision letter Final.pdf

PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610

15 August 2022

Our reference:  LEX 68168
Posty (Right to Know)

Only by email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear Posty
Decision on your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request to Services Australia (the Agency) dated 2 June 2022 and revised on
4 July 2022, for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(the FOI Act) made in the following terms:
I request, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, copies of the following
documents:
Participation in Cashless Debit Card (CDC) 103-03150010 from your
Operational Blueprint.
I request that it be posted to your operational blueprint site for all to see if unredacted,
or if unable to be done a PDF to this right to know request
Any documents held by the agency relating to the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP,
Minister for Social Services’ Tweet titled “Media Release: Abolishing the Cashless
Debit Card” as at 3 June 2022, with documents being the agency’s email/calendaring
system and collaboration (i.e. outlook, Microsoft teams).
My decision
The Agency holds 2 documents (totalling 33 pages) that relate to your request.
I have decided to grant you part access to these documents with some of the content
removed.
I have decided that parts of the documents you have requested are exempt under the
FOI Act because they contain:
  operational information, the disclosure of which would, or could reasonably be
expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of
the operations of the Agency and release is contrary to the public interest
(section 47E(d) conditional exemption), and
  personal information of third parties, the disclosure of which would be unreasonable
and contrary to the public interest (section 47F(1) personal privacy exemption).
Please see the schedule at Attachment A to this letter for a detailed list of the documents
and the reasons for my decision, including the relevant sections of the FOI Act.
How we will send your documents to you
The documents are attached.
PAGE 1 OF 10

Please note that page 33 has no content once out of scope information has been redacted
and therefore this page is blank and has not been provided.
You can ask for a review of our decision
If you disagree with any part of the decision you can ask for a review. There are two ways
you can do this. You can ask for an internal review from within the Agency, or an external
review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. See Attachment B for
more information about how to request a review.
Further assistance
If you have any questions please email xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely

Phillipa
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Team
Information Access Branch | Legal Services Division
Services Australia

PAGE 2 OF 10

Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610

REASONS FOR DECISION
What you requested
On 2 June 2022, you requested access to:

I  request,  under  the  Freedom  of  Information  Act  1982,  copies  of  the  following
documents:

Participation  in  Cashless  Debit  Card  (CDC)  103-03150010  from  your  Operational
Blueprint.

I request that it be posted to your operational blueprint site for all to see if unredacted,
or if unable to be done a PDF to this right to know request.

On 3 June 2022, you contacted the Agency to revise the scope of your request, advising the
following:

Given the announcement to "Abolish the Cashless Debit Card" today:

https://twitter.com/AmandaRishworth/status/1532567834932674560

I would like to amend my request to additionally ask for any documents relating to the
abolishment of the Cashless Debit Card.
On 22 June 2022, I wrote to you about your original request and advised your request was
broad and did not sufficiently identify the documents you require. Between 22 June 2022 and
4 July 2022, the Agency formally consulted with you under section 24AB of the FOI Act. On
4 July 2022, you revised your request. Your revised request was confirmed by the Agency by
email on 11 July 2022.
Your revised request was made in the following terms:
I  request,  under  the  Freedom  of  Information  Act  1982,  copies  of  the  following
documents:
Participation  in  Cashless  Debit  Card  (CDC)  103-03150010  from  your
Operational Blueprint.
I request that it be posted to your operational blueprint site for all to see if unredacted,
or if unable to be done a PDF to this right to know request
Any documents held by the agency relating to the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP, Minister
for Social Services’ Tweet titled “Media Release: Abolishing the Cashless Debit Card”
as at 3 June 2022, with documents being the agency’s email/calendaring system and
collaboration (i.e. outlook, Microsoft teams).
For ease of reference, I have referred to your request for a copy of ‘Participation in Cashless
Debit Card (CDC) 103-03150010’ as ‘Part 1’ of your request and the remaining section of your
request as ‘Part 2’ of your request.
PAGE 4 OF 10

On  7  July  2022,  the  Agency  acknowledged  your  original  request  and  advised  you  that  we
would not include personal details about our staff (such as their names). You did not contact
the Agency again about this. Junior staff details have therefore been redacted in accordance
with section 22(1) of the FOI Act.
What I took into account
In reaching my decision I took into account:
  your original request dated 2 and 3 June 2022
  your revised request dated 4 July 2022
  other discussions and correspondence with you
  the documents that fall within the scope of your request
  whether the release of material is in the public interest
  consultations with Agency officers about:
o  the nature of the documents
o  the Agency's operating environment and functions
  guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of the
FOI Act (the Guidelines), and
  the FOI Act.
Reasons for my decisions
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
I have decided that parts of documents that you have requested are exempt under the
FOI Act. My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that the exemption applies to those
documents are discussed below.
Please note Document 1 relates to Part 1 of your request and Document 2 relates to Part 2
of your request.
Operations of an agency

I  have  applied  the  conditional  exemption  in  section  47E(d)  of  the  FOI  Act  to  parts  of
Document 1 and Document 2.

Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure
would, or could reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the proper
and efficient conduct of an agency.

This  section  of  the  FOI  Act  allows  the  Agency  to  redact  material  from  a  document  if  its
disclosure would have a serious and significant effect on  the Agency’s ability to conduct its
operations efficiently and properly.

Document 1 - Operational material

Document 1 contains details of Agency operational processes that are not publicly available.
In particular, the document outlines the eligibility criteria for participation in the Cashless Debit
Card (CDC) Program. I am satisfied this information is relevant to the implementation, delivery
PAGE 5 OF 10

and management of a process administered by the Agency, and is therefore relevant to the
conduct of the Agency’s operations.

I  consider  providing  the  exempt  material  to  you,  which  is  not  publicly  available,  would
negatively  affect  the  conduct  of  the  operations  of  the  Agency  because  it  would  enable
customers to tailor the information they provide to the Agency to influence their eligibility for
the  CDC  program.  It  is  likely  disclosure  of  such  information  could  lead  to  customers
circumventing  established  processes  and  procedures,  which  in  turn  would  result  in  Agency
procedures becoming less efficient and effective.

Document 2 – Positional mailboxes
The only information to which this conditional exemption has been applied for Document 2 are
internal positional mailboxes of Commonwealth agencies.

Whilst I have no reason to believe you would misuse the exempted material, the FOI Act does
not control or restrict dissemination of the information, so I must consider actions any member
of the public might take. This includes members of the public using the information as a new
point of contact of these agencies.

Release  of  internal  positional  mailboxes  would,  or  could  reasonably  be  expected  to  have  a
substantial  adverse  effect  on  the  proper  and  efficient  conduct  of  these  agencies  for  the
following reasons:

  these details are not in the public domain, and are intended to be used to facilitate
confidential  and  prompt  communications  within  the  Agency  and  between  the
respective agencies

  given the dedicated contact points currently available to members of the public, if other
contact details were released to the world-at-large, there would be a potential increase
in the workloads of those teams, reducing their efficiency. Members of the public would
not  contact  these  agencies  through  the  most  appropriate  contact  point,  which  may
compromise communications with the agencies and would require staff to be diverted
from their normal duties in order to respond to, or redirect enquiries

  from  time  to  time,  positional  mailboxes  are  deleted  or  changed  due  to  operational
requirements, and if a member of the public sends an email to such an address, there
is a high probability the email would not be actioned. This may result in services not
being administered correctly, or administered at all, and

  providing direct contact details may result in incorrect advice or inconsistent service
being  provided  and  would  also  inhibit  the  management  of  data  and  undermine  the
efforts of these agencies to provide services as efficiently and effectively as possible.

I confirm this conditional exemption has not been applied to publicly available positional
mailboxes or contact details of these agencies.
Public interest considerations

Access to conditionally exempt material must be given unless I am satisfied it would not be in
the public interest to do so.

I consider the disclosure of the operational material in Document 1 would generally promote
the objects of the FOI Act, which is in the public interest. However, I also consider disclosure
PAGE 6 OF 10

would increase the likelihood individuals would use this operational information to circumvent
the Agency’s procedures and tailor the information they provide to the Agency to influence
their eligibility for the CDC program. This in turn would significantly prejudice the Agency's
ability to deliver efficient and effective services to the Australian public.
I  consider  the  disclosure  of  Agency  positional  mailboxes  in  Document  2  would  generally
promote the objects of the FOI Act, which is in the public interest.  However, I also consider
disclosure would prejudice an Agency’s ability to properly and eﬃciently deliver services to the
public where established public contact channels already exist.

Overall, I find the public interest factors in favour of disclosing the material in Documents 1
and 2 are outweighed by the public interest factors against disclosure, and that release of the
material in question would be contrary to the public interest.
I have not taken into account any of the irrelevant factors set out in section 11B(4) of the FOI
Act in making this decision.
Unreasonable disclosure of personal information
I  have  applied  the  conditional  exemption  in  section  47F(1)  of  the  FOI  Act  to  parts  of
Document 2.
This section of the FOI Act allows the Agency to redact material from a document if its release
would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person.

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual
who is reasonably identifiable. It can include information such as a person’s name, address,
telephone number, date of birth, medical records, bank account details, taxation information
and signature.
I am satisfied Document 2 contains the personal information of an employee from another
Commonwealth agency, including their full name and contact details.
I am satisfied the disclosure of this information would be unreasonable as the information is
private, not publicly available, and would not reasonably be known to you.
On  this  basis,  I  have  decided  this  document  is  conditionally  exempt,  in  part,  under
section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.
Public interest considerations
Under the FOI Act, access to conditionally exempt material must be given unless I am
satisfied it would not be in the public interest to do so.
I consider the disclosure of the personal information of this individual would not promote the
objects of the FOI Act and there is little to no public interest in the material being released. I
also consider disclosure would prejudice this individual’s right to privacy, and adversely affect
or  harm  their  interests. I  consider there  is  a  persuasive  argument for  ensuring  their  right to
privacy where the personal information contained in this document is not reasonably known to
you.
Accordingly, I am satisfied the public interest in disclosing the material is outweighed by the
public interest against disclosure.
PAGE 7 OF 10

I have not taken into account any of the irrelevant factors set out in section 11B(4) of the FOI
Act in making this decision.
Summary of my decision
In conclusion, I have decided to grant you part access to two documents.
I have decided that:
  Documents 1 and 2 are conditionally exempt, in part, under section 47E(d) of the FOI
Act, and
  Document 2 is conditionally exempt, in part, under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act,
and disclosure would be contrary to the public interest for the purposes of section 11A(5) of
the FOI Act.
As identified in the Schedule, I have redacted the exempt information in the documents and
released the remaining material in accordance with section 22(1) of the FOI Act.
PAGE 8 OF 10

PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610

Attachment B

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 FOI 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 an Freedom of Information decision
If you still believe a decision is incorrect, the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (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:
1.  an Internal Review Officer in Services Australia (the Agency); and/or
2.  the Australian Information Commissioner.
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
  sent to the address at the top of the first page of this letter.
Note 1: 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.
PAGE 9 OF 10

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

Note 2: 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
  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.

PAGE 10 OF 10