COVIDSafe installation counts or statistics
Dear Digital Transformation Agency,
Under Freedom of Information Act 1982 I request the following:
Any documents containing:
* dates,
* installation counts,
* operating system details,
* other statistics, charts or reports.
relating to the COVIDSafe mobile tracing application.
This can be limited to after the public release date of 26th April 2020.
An agency or minister may impose a charge for providing access to a document under s29 of the FOI Act.
As this has been reported in the news daily, I request that the Department waive any charges applicable to this request, on the basis that the release of these documents would be in the public interest (s29(5)(b))
Please also note as this is timely information, if requested no extension would be granted under s15AA.
Yours faithfully,
Chris F
OFFICIAL
Hi Chris,
Your request is for information that is more closely related to the functions of the Department of Health. The DTA is not the publisher of the app in the Apple or Google app stores and for that reason Apple or Google don’t provide us with reports on the app. In these circumstances we would normally transfer the application to the Department of Health, however I understand that the Department of Health has an identical application from you that they are processing.
Would you agree to withdraw your application with the DTA? This does not affect the processing of the application you have made to the Department of Health.
I'm happy to discuss this, my number is below. Have a good weekend.
Regards,
Morgan
--
Freedom of Information
Digital Transformation Agency (DTA)
Australian Government
www.dta.gov.au
Email: [email address]
+61 2 6120 8541
OFFICIAL
Dear Morgan,
My apologies for the delay in my response, I missed catching the email.
Your CEO Mr Brugeaud stated in the Senate Select hearing last week that:
"we have worked closely with the Department of Health and the Attorney-General's Department on the rapid development of the COVIDSafe app to support contact tracing."
Also the Attorney-General Mr Porter earlier today in the House of Reps stated:
"Currently the DTA is responsible for technical administration of COVIDSafe and the national COVIDSafe data-store. In consultation with the Department of Health when the bill becomes law the Department of Health will formally delegate some of it's administrator functions to the DTA to reflect this arrangement."
Based on these it appears there is a bit of overlap between agencies.
I understand that Department of Health are the primary agency responsible - including being the owner of the app, however with the dual roles and delegations I still require this request to move forward for the DTA side.
I understand this is a very busy time, however I'm hoping with the live date limitation/filter, that should remove a lot of the pre-launch searching that would be required, meaning only a minimal amount of documents would match the DTA's side of the FOI request.
Yours sincerely,
Chris
OFFICIAL
Dear Chris,
I refer to your request for access to documents relating to the COVIDSAFE App under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
I am writing to tell you that I have transferred your request to the Department of Health. Under section 16(1) of the FOI Act, a request may be transferred if the subject matter of the document is more closely connected with the functions of another agency.
Accordingly, on 12 May 2020 I transferred your request which relates to COVIDSafe App to the Department of Health whose functions are more closely connected to the subject area. The Department of Health will continue to process your request.
We received your request on 7 May 2020 and the 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date. The Department of Health will treat your request as though it received it the same day that we did.
The contact officer at the Department of Health can be contacted at [email address].
Regards,
Morgan
--
Freedom of Information
Digital Transformation Agency (DTA)
Australian Government
www.dta.gov.au
Email: [email address]
+61 2 6120 8541
OFFICIAL
Attention: Chris F
The Department of Health (Health) has accepted transfer of your request to
the Digital Transformation Agency dated 7 May 2020 as follows:
‘Any documents containing:
* dates,
* installation counts,
* operating system details,
* other statistics, charts or reports.
relating to the COVIDSafe mobile tracing application.
This can be limited to after the public release date of 26th April 2020.’
As Health has received an identical request from you (FOI 1681), please
let us know by COB 20 May 2020 if you are agreeable to combining the two
requests. The department will provide you with one decision for the
combined requests. Health will provide you with a decision by COB 6 June
2020.
Regards
FOI Officer
FOI and Legislation Support Section
[1]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220
Legal & Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group
Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Australian Government Department of Health
T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [2][email address]
GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present.
If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.
Our reference: RQ20/01757
Agency reference: FOI 1716
Chris
Sent by email: [1][FOI #6333 email]
Extension of time application by the Department of Health
Dear Chris
I write to advise that on 4 June 2020, the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner (the OAIC) received an application from the
Department of Health (the Department) for an extension of time to process
your FOI request of 7 May 2020.
The Department has applied for an extension of time under s15AB of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) because your request is considered
to be voluminous and/or complex.
The Department has advised the OAIC that:
· on 29 April 2020, the Department received a request for the same
information from you. On 12 May 2020, this request was transferred from
the Digital Transformation Agency. The Department is currently processing
both requests and ensuring it locates all the relevant documents.The
Department is currently consulting the with the Digital Transformation
Agency
· the line area which is responsible for processing this request
is the Department’s Information Technology Division, who is leading the
response and development of the COVID Safe app. The decision-maker for
this request is currently managing critical priorities, and
· the Department anticipates finalising this request prior to the
proposed extension date, however the additional time will ensure you are
provided with the correct information that falls within the scope of your
request.
The Department has requested an extension for 14 days to 20 June 2020.
The decision maker will take any comments you may have to make into
account when deciding the application.
Please respond to this email by close of business 9 June 2020. Please do
not hesitate to contact us before this date should you require further
time to provide your response. If I do not hear from you by this date, the
decision maker will proceed to make a decision on the basis of the
information provided to the OAIC by the Department.
You will be notified of the decision once the matter has been finalised.
Further information about extension of time requests may be found on our
website at [2]Extensions of time.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact me on (02) 9284 9861 or via
email [3][email address]. In all correspondence please include
reference number at the top of this email.
Yours sincerely
[4]OAIC Tahnee De Souza | Assistant
Review and Investigation
Adviser
Freedom of information
Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 |
[5]oaic.gov.au
+61 2 9284 9861 |
[6][email address]
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Dear Tahnee,
This request was intended specifically for the DTA and not for the Department of Health, which is why the requests are the same. The DTA transferred this back to Health which was not the original intention of my request.
I'm happy for this duplicate request which has ended up at Health to be closed under FOI s 24(2)(a), as long as the original Department of Health request remains open.
Yours sincerely,
Chris F
Our reference: RQ20/01757
Agency reference: FOI 1716
Chris F
Sent by email: [1][FOI #6333 email]
Extension of time under s 15AB
Dear Chris
Please find attached a decision of today’s date in relation to your FOI
request to the Department of Health.
Kind Regards
[2]OAIC Tahnee De Souza | Assistant
Review and Investigation
Adviser
Freedom of information
Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 |
[3]oaic.gov.au
+61 2 9284 9861 |
[4][email address]
[8]Subscribe [9]Subscribe to
[5]Facebook | [6]LinkedIn | [7]Twitter | icon Information
Matters
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #6333 email]
2. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
3. http://www.oaic.gov.au/
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.facebook.com/OAICgov
6. https://www.linkedin.com/company/office-...
7. https://twitter.com/OAICgov
9. https://www.oaic.gov.au/media-and-speech...
Dear Chris F
I refer to your request of 26 April 2020 (FOI 1681) to the Department of
Health (the department), and your request of 7 May 2020 (FOI 1716) to the
Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) which was transferred to the
department seeking access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)
(FOI Act) to the following documents:
‘* dates,
* installation counts,
* operating system details,
* other statistics, charts or reports.
relating to the COVIDSafe mobile tracing application.
This can be limited to after the public release date of 26th April 2020.’
We have liaised with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
(OAIC) and understand you have agreed with the OAIC for the duplicate
request FOI 1716 to be closed as long as the department’s request remains
open (FOI 1681). As FOI 1716 was submitted later, this request would
produce more documents. Therefore, the department seeks your confirmation
to withdraw FOI 1681 and proceed with FOI 1716.
On this basis, can you please confirm if you would like to withdraw your
request for FOI 1681, or if you would still prefer to withdraw your
request for FOI 1716.
If the department does not hear from you by COB 12 June 2020 indicating
your preferred way forward, we will consider FOI 1681 request withdrawn
and proceed with FOI 1716.
Please do not hesitate to contact the FOI Unit on (02) 6289 1666, or via
email at [1][email address] if you would like to discuss further.
Kind regards
FOI Team - FOI and Legislation Support Section
[2]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220
Legal & Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group
Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Australian Government Department of Health
T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [3][email address]
GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present.
If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.
Dear Chris F
I refer to your request of 26 April 2020 (FOI 1681) to the Department of
Health (the department), and your request of 7 May 2020 (FOI 1716) to the
Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) which was transferred to the
department seeking access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)
(FOI Act) to the following documents:
‘* dates,
* installation counts,
* operating system details,
* other statistics, charts or reports.
relating to the COVIDSafe mobile tracing application.
This can be limited to after the public release date of 26th April 2020.’
We have liaised with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
(OAIC) and understand you have agreed with the OAIC for the duplicate
request FOI 1716 to be closed as long as the department’s request remains
open (FOI 1681). As FOI 1716 was submitted later, this request would
produce more documents. Therefore, the department seeks your confirmation
to withdraw FOI 1681 and proceed with FOI 1716.
On this basis, can you please confirm if you would like to withdraw your
request for FOI 1681, or if you would still prefer to withdraw your
request for FOI 1716.
If the department does not hear from you by COB 12 June 2020 indicating
your preferred way forward, we will consider FOI 1681 request withdrawn
and proceed with FOI 1716.
Please do not hesitate to contact the FOI Unit on (02) 6289 1666, or via
email at [1][email address] if you would like to discuss further.
Kind regards
FOI Team - FOI and Legislation Support Section
[2]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220
Legal & Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group
Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Australian Government Department of Health
T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [3][email address]
GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present.
If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.
Dear Chris F
Please see attached – correspondence in relation to your Freedom of
Information request to the Department of Health and the documents being
released to you.
Kind regards
FOI Officer
FOI Unit – FOI and Legislation Support Section
[1]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220
Legal Advice and Legislation Branch
Legal and Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group
Australian Government Department of Health
T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [2][email address]
GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present.
If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.
Dear FOI,
My apologies for my very late response.
Thanks for providing those documents.
Are you able to confirm that the only documents existing in Health were limited to these 17 emails with registration numbers?
Meaning:
- no documents with app installation counts (as opposed to registration)
- no documents with android / apple (operating system statistics)
- no charts / spreadsheets / reports relating to the app
- no other document linking the COVIDSafe app with any numbers, statistics or reports
Yours sincerely,
Chris F