If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
25 May 2015
Ben Fairless
Our reference: LEX 12236
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Fairless
Your Freedom of Information Request - Decision
1. I refer to your request dated 12 February 2015 and received by the Department of
Human Services (the
department) on the same date, for access under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the
FOI Act) to the following documents:
‘106-03010000 First Contact Service Offer (FSCO)
106-03010010 Opening the First Contact Service Offer application
106-03010020 Running the First Contact Service Offer (FCSO)
106-03010030 First Contact Service Offer screens and functions.’
2. I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
Background
3. On 6 February 2015, you requested the above operational information through the
department’s Information Publication Scheme (IPS).
4. On 12 February 2015, you were informed that the operational information you had
requested was no longer available through the department’s IPS. You were invited to
make a request under the FOI Act.
5. On 16 February 2015, you were notified that you were liable to pay a charge of $24.35
for processing your request.
6. On the same date, you contended that the charge had been incorrectly assessed and
should not be imposed.
7. On 5 March 2015, you were notified of the department’s decision not to reduce the
amount of the charge.
8. On 9 March 2015, you requested an internal review of the department’s decision not to
reduce the charge.
9. On 8 April 2015, you were notified that the department had decided to affirm the decision
to impose a charge.
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10. On 29 April 2015, the department notified you of its decision to waive the charge.
Decision and Documents
11. The department has identified 4 documents (totalling 45 pages) as falling within the
scope of your freedom of information (
FOI) request. A schedule of the documents is set
out at
Attachment B (the
Schedule).
12. Having considered these documents, I have decided to:
grant access, in full, to document 3; and
grant access, in part, to documents 1, 2 and 4.
13. I have decided that certain pages contain material that is conditionally exempt under
section 47E(d) of the FOI Act because disclosure would or could reasonably be
expected to have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the
operations of the department.
14. Please note that some information has been deleted under section 22 of the FOI Act as
the information was irrelevant to the scope of your request.
Information Considered
15. In reaching my decision, I have considered:
the terms of your request, dated 12 February 2015;
documents falling within the scope of your request;
the FOI Act;
factors relevant to my assessment of whether or not disclosure of certain pages
would be in the public interest;
consultations with departmental officers about:
o the nature of the documents;
o the department's operating environment and functions; and
guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A
of the FOI Act (the
Guidelines).
Reasons for Decision
16. As set out above, certain parts of documents within the scope of your request are exempt
under the FOI Act. My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that the exemption
applies to those documents are discussed below.
Conditional exemption – Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act
17. Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act relevantly provides:
‘A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or could
reasonably be expected to, do any of the following:
…
(d)
have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the
operations of an agency.’
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Department of Human Services
18. Paragraph 6.92 of the Guidelines provides the following relevant commentary in relation
to the term ‘reasonably be expected’:
‘There must be more than merely an assumption or allegation that damage may occur
if the document were to be released’
19. Furthermore, paragraph 6.112 of the Guidelines provides the following relevant
commentary in relation to the term ‘proper and efficient conduct of operations’:
‘The predicted effect must bear on the agency’s ‘proper and efficient’ operations, that
is, the agency is undertaking its expected activities in an expected manner.’
Application of section 47E(d) of the FOI Act to the documents
20. I have applied the exemption in section 47E(d) of the FOI Act to documents 1, 2 and 4 as
set out in the Schedule.
21. The department is responsible for the development of service delivery policy and
providing access to social, health and other payments and services. The department
offers these services through Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support.
22. The department receives a large number of new claims for services and payments on a
daily basis. To manage these claims, the department employs a number of guides and
tools to ensure that all new claims are directed to the correct areas and actioned in an
efficient and effective manner.
23. The First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) tool guides the screening process when a
customer first contacts the department. The FCSO tool allows customer service officers
to properly and efficiently assess customers in order to determine the payments and
services that they may be eligible for. The tool requires customers provide accurate and
fulsome responses to a number of questions. From these answers, the tool lists the
payments and services that a claimant may be eligible for.
24. Documents 1, 2 and 4 contain material in regard to the streaming of Youth Allowance and
Disability Support Pensions claimants. Given that the disclosure of documents under the
FOI Act is akin to the disclosure to the world at large, I am satisfied the release of this
material would be reasonably expected to encourage claimants to provide less accurate
and fulsome information in order to be eligible for more favourable payments and
services. This could delay the correct streaming of claimants to the most appropriate
payment types, allow applicant to avoid non-payment periods and prevent the
department from connecting claimants with the job market as quickly as possible. This
could reasonably be expected to have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and
efficient conduct of the operations the department in regard to assessing new claimants.
25. For the reasons set out above, I am satisfied that parts of the requested documents are
exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act, as identified in the Schedule.
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Department of Human Services
Public interest test
26. Section 11A(5) of the FOI Act provides the following:
“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.”
27. When weighing up the public interest for and against disclosure under section 11A(5) of
the FOI Act, I have taken into account relevant factors in favour of disclosure. In
particular, I have considered the extent to which disclosure would promote the objects of
the FOI Act.
28. I have also considered the relevant factors indicating that access would be contrary to the
public interest. In particular, I have considered the extent to which disclosure could
reasonably be expected to prejudice the department’s ability to receive accurate
information from customers and prejudice the department ability to process new claims
efficiently.
29. Based on these factors, I have decided that in the circumstances of this particular matter,
the public interest in disclosing the information in the above-mentioned documents is
outweighed by the public interest against disclosure.
30. 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.
Conclusion
31. In summary I am satisfied that parts of documents, as set out in the Schedule, are
conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act. Furthermore I have decided
that on balance it would be contrary to the public interest to release this information.
Accordingly I have decided not to release these documents in full to you.
32. As identified in the Schedule, I have deleted the exempt information in these document
and released the remaining material in accordance with section 22(1) of the FOI Act.
Release of documents
33. Documents for release, as referred to in the Schedule, are attached to this email.
Rights of review
34. I have enclosed information about your rights of review under the FOI Act at
Attachment
A.
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Department of Human Services
35. Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please email
xxx.xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
FOI Delegate
FOI and Litigation Branch
Department of Human Services
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Department of Human Services
Attachment A
INFORMATION ON RIGHTS OF REVIEW
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
Application for review of decision
The
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) gives you the right to apply for a review of
this decision. Under sections 54 and 54L of the FOI Act, you can apply for a review of this
decision by:
(i)
an internal review officer in the Department of Human Services; or
(ii)
the Information Commissioner.
Internal Review
If you apply for internal review, it will be carried out by a different decision-maker who will
make a fresh decision on your application. An application for review must be:
• made in writing;
• made within 30 days of receiving this letter; and
• sent to the address at the head of this letter.
No particular form is required, but it is desirable to set out in the application the grounds upon
which you consider the decision should be reviewed.
If the internal review officer decides not to grant you access to all of the documents to which
you have requested access, you have the right to seek a review of that decision by the
Information Commissioner. You will be further notified of your rights of review at the time you
are notified of the internal review decision.
Please note that if you apply for an internal review and a decision is not made by an internal
review officer within 30 days of receiving the application, you have the right to seek review by
the Information Commissioner for a review of the original FOI decision on the basis of a
'deemed refusal' decision, An application for Information Commissioner review in this
situation must be made within 60 days of the date when the internal review decision should
have been made (provided an extension of time has not been granted or agreed).
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Department of Human Services
Information Commissioner review
You must apply in writing within 60 days of the receipt of the decision letter and you can
lodge your application in one of the following ways:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au Post: GPO Box 2999, Canberra ACT
2601
Fax: +61 2 9284 9666
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
If a person has sought an internal review and no result of that review is provided within 30
days, then the applicant may apply to the Information Commissioner to review the matter.
An application form is available on the website at www.oaic.gov.au. Your application should
include a copy of the notice of the decision that you are objecting to (if one was provided),
and your contact details. You should also set out why you are objecting to the decision.
Complaints to the Commonwealth Ombudsman and Information Commissioner
Commonwealth Ombudsman
You may complain to the 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 Ombudsman may be made in person, by telephone or in
writing. The 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.
Information Commissioner
You may also complain to the 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 Information Commissioner must be made
in writing. The Information Commissioner's contact details are:
Telephone:
1300 363 992
Website:
www.oaic.gov.au
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is disbanding
Please note: The Australian Government announced as part of the 2014-15 Budget that the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) will be disbanded. The OAIC
remains operational until further notice.
For further information on how the OAIC will deal with IC reviews and FOI complaints please
visit their website at
www.oaic.gov.au
PAGE 7 OF 9
Department of Human Services
If not delivered return to PO Box 7820 Canberra BC ACT 2610
ATTACHMENT B
SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS
LEX 12236 – Fairless
Doc
Pages
Date
Description
Decision
Exemption
Comments
No.
Material that could or would reasonably be expected to have a
1.
1 – 18
Undated
First Contact Service Offer
Access granted in
S 47E(d)
substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct
(FCSO)
part
of the operations of the department on pages 3, 4, 5 and 10 –
14.
106-0301000
Irrelevant material deleted under section 22.
2.
19 – 28 Undated
Running the First Contact
Access granted in
S 47E(d)
Material that could or would reasonably be expected to have a
Service Offer (FCSO)
part
substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of
application
the operations of the department on page 24.
106-03010020
Irrelevant material deleted under section 22.
3.
29 – 31 Undated
Opening the First Contact
Access granted in
Irrelevant material deleted under section 22.
Service Offer application
full
106-03010010
PAGE 8 OF 9
Doc
Pages
Date
Description
Decision
Exemption
Comments
No.
4.
32
Undated
First Contact Service Offer
Access granted in
S 47E(d)
Material that could or would reasonably be expected to have a
screens and functions
part
substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of
the operations of the department on pages 37 and 41.
106-03010030
Irrelevant material deleted under section 22.
PAGE 9 OF 9
Department of Human Services
