Brief to Secretary or Minister on Remediation of Unlawful Debts
Dear Department of Social Services,
I seek the following documents relating to the implementation of the Ombudsman's recommendations on unlawful income apportionment:
- a copy of any brief sent to Secretary Griggs or the Minister for the purposes of approving, or approving the design of, a remediation strategy for these unlawful decisions. If a copy has not yet been sent, I seek the most recent draft of it.
- a copy of any supporting costing and assumptions document prepared for the options included in the brief.
With the Department and Agency likely having presided over hundreds of thousands of unlawful calculations, the public interest to my request is clear. A reminder that section 34(6) of the FOI Act applies to any and all purely factual material in the costings document. (see broadly Justin Warren and Services Australia (Freedom of information) [2019] AICmr 70 (11 November 2019).
Yours faithfully,
Frank N Fearless
Thank you for your email.
You have contacted the Freedom of Information (FOI) team of the Department
of Social Services (the Department).
If your email relates to a Freedom of Information application made under
the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), the Department
will respond to you as soon as practicable.
Further information about FOI is available on our website at:
[1]https://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-departm...
This email address is for applications under the FOI Act only. The
Department is unable to respond to non-FOI related enquiries sent to this
email address. Any correspondence received that is not an information
access request will not be responded to or forwarded. Should you have a
query unrelated to FOI, please complete our [2]online feedback, enquiry or
compliment form on our website or direct your email to
[3][email address]. Alternatively you can contact the Department by
calling 1800 634 035.
With regards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Freedom of Information
Legal Services Branch
Department of Social Services
E: [4][Department of Social Services request email]
The Department of Social Services acknowledges the traditional owners of
country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
water and community.
We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past
and present.
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References
Visible links
1. https://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-departm...
2. https://www.dss.gov.au/contact/feedback-...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[Department of Social Services request email]
Dear Frank N Fearless,
I refer to your correspondence received by the Department of Social
Services (the Department) on 26 March 2024, in which you requested access
under the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to:
“documents relating to the implementation of the Ombudsman's
recommendations on unlawful income apportionment:
- a copy of any brief sent to Secretary Griggs or the Minister for the
purposes of approving, or approving the design of, a remediation strategy
for these unlawful decisions. If a copy has not yet been sent, I seek the
most recent draft of it.
- a copy of any supporting costing and assumptions document prepared for
the options included in the brief.”
The decision for this request is currently due on 26 April 2024 (noting 25
April 2024 is a public holiday). This timeframe may be extended, for
example, where the Department decides to consult with third parties. We
will inform you if this occurs.
Removal of certain information from the scope of your request
The Department is seeking your agreement to remove the following
information from the scope of your request:
o group email addresses used for internal departmental purposes;
o all personal information of members of the public;
o all personal information of non-SES government staff; and
o all personal information of SES level government staff with the
exception of the names of the Department’s SES staff.
If you agree to the above amendment the names of the Department’s SES
staff will be released where they are present in the documents and do not
attract an exemption.
Could you please respond to this email by 2 April 2024 to confirm your
agreement to this change.
Should you have any queries about this matter, please do not hesitate to
contact the FOI team via email at [1][Department of Social Services request email].
Yours sincerely,
Kim
Freedom of Information
Legal Services Group
Department of Social Services
E: [2][Department of Social Services request email]
P: (02) 6146 8333
The Department of Social Services acknowledges the traditional owners of
country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
water and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and
to Elders both past and present.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Frank N Fearless <[FOI #11268 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2024 11:22 AM
To: FOI <[Department of Social Services request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Brief to Secretary or Minister
on Remediation of Unlawful Debts
Dear Department of Social Services,
I seek the following documents relating to the implementation of the
Ombudsman's recommendations on unlawful income apportionment:
- a copy of any brief sent to Secretary Griggs or the Minister for the
purposes of approving, or approving the design of, a remediation strategy
for these unlawful decisions. If a copy has not yet been sent, I seek the
most recent draft of it.
- a copy of any supporting costing and assumptions document prepared for
the options included in the brief.
With the Department and Agency likely having presided over hundreds of
thousands of unlawful calculations, the public interest to my request is
clear. A reminder that section 34(6) of the FOI Act applies to any and all
purely factual material in the costings document. (see broadly Justin
Warren and Services Australia (Freedom of information) [2019] AICmr 70 (11
November 2019).
Yours faithfully,
Frank N Fearless
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #11268 email]
Is [4][Department of Social Services request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests
to Department of Social Services? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[5]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[6]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Department of Social Services request email]
2. mailto:[Department of Social Services request email]
3. mailto:[FOI #11268 email]
4. mailto:[Department of Social Services request email]
5. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
6. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Dear Kim
I am happy for those details to be excluded.
I’m a bit worried my wording might capture briefs dating back to when DSS was responding to the ombudsman report 1 or 2. That could generate far too much work.
So to clarify, I’m happy for you to limit the scope of the request to any briefs drafted on February 1 2024 or later. The request is just my effort to check if there has been any movement after the historic debt sampling exercises were completed by Services Australia.
Yours sincerely,
Frank N Fearless
Thank you for your email.
You have contacted the Freedom of Information (FOI) team of the Department
of Social Services (the Department).
If your email relates to a Freedom of Information application made under
the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), the Department
will respond to you as soon as practicable.
Further information about FOI is available on our website at:
[1]https://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-departm...
This email address is for applications under the FOI Act only. The
Department is unable to respond to non-FOI related enquiries sent to this
email address. Any correspondence received that is not an information
access request will not be responded to or forwarded. Should you have a
query unrelated to FOI, please complete our [2]online feedback, enquiry or
compliment form on our website or direct your email to
[3][email address]. Alternatively you can contact the Department by
calling 1800 634 035.
With regards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Freedom of Information
Legal Services Branch
Department of Social Services
E: [4][Department of Social Services request email]
The Department of Social Services acknowledges the traditional owners of
country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
water and community.
We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past
and present.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. https://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-departm...
2. https://www.dss.gov.au/contact/feedback-...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[Department of Social Services request email]
Dear Frank N Fearless,
Please find attached the decision made in response to the Freedom of
Information request LEX 50010.
Regards,
Freedom of Information
Legal Services Group
Department of Social Services
E: [1][Department of Social Services request email]
P: (02) 6146 8333
The Department of Social Services acknowledges the traditional owners of
country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
water and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and
to Elders both past and present.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Frank N Fearless <[FOI #11268 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2024 11:22 AM
To: FOI <[Department of Social Services request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Brief to Secretary or Minister
on Remediation of Unlawful Debts
Dear Department of Social Services,
I seek the following documents relating to the implementation of the
Ombudsman's recommendations on unlawful income apportionment:
- a copy of any brief sent to Secretary Griggs or the Minister for the
purposes of approving, or approving the design of, a remediation strategy
for these unlawful decisions. If a copy has not yet been sent, I seek the
most recent draft of it.
- a copy of any supporting costing and assumptions document prepared for
the options included in the brief.
With the Department and Agency likely having presided over hundreds of
thousands of unlawful calculations, the public interest to my request is
clear. A reminder that section 34(6) of the FOI Act applies to any and all
purely factual material in the costings document. (see broadly Justin
Warren and Services Australia (Freedom of information) [2019] AICmr 70 (11
November 2019).
Yours faithfully,
Frank N Fearless
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[2][FOI #11268 email]
Is [3][Department of Social Services request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests
to Department of Social Services? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[4]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[5]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Department of Social Services request email]
2. mailto:[FOI #11268 email]
3. mailto:[Department of Social Services request email]
4. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
5. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...