Defective Administration in the Robodebt Scheme
Dear Services Australia,
By the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), I wish to request the following information relating to the Robodebt scheme: I seek to obtain any risk matrix that was in place before, at commencement, and during the Robodebt scheme, upon the release of Robodebt and what risk matrix has been in place since its cessation.
When I refer to Robodebt, I am referring to the following programs;
· PAYG Manual Compliance Intervention program: From July 1, 2015 to July 1, 2016
· Online Compliance Intervention: From July 1, 2016 to February 10, 2017
· Employment Income Confirmation: From February 11, 2017 to September 30, 2018
· Check and Update Past Income: From September 30, 2018 to May 29, 2020
· Income Compliance Program: Also known as Robodebt, this program ended in November 2019
Additionally, I am requesting statistics on the number of debts raised by defective administration and how this was detected and managed prior to and during the Robodebt Scheme.
These requests are in the public interest of those affected by the scheme through the practice of averaging and those affected by the defective administration portion of the Robodebt scheme. This information will benefit the public by helping them understand the department's measures taken in relation to the duty of care in raising debts. It will also ensure safeguards are put in place for those who have accepted money in good faith, determining how the department deals with vulnerabilities, how they measure vulnerabilities and how to ensure all harms of Robodebt are mitigated in the future.
Yours faithfully,
Kathleen Madgwick
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
FOI – Extension of time request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) you have a right, with
limited exceptions, to access documents the Agency holds. The Agency has
30 days to process an FOI request. Please note this period may be extended
if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will advise
you if this happens.
We are currently experiencing a higher than usual volume of requests,
which has resulted in some delays in our review and response process. We
are seeking your agreement to extend the processing time by an additional
30 days. If you agree to this additional time, we would appreciate it if
you could reply to this email with ‘I agree’ at your earliest opportunity.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate.
Any parts of your FOI request that are addressed by documents being
released under the arrangements will be considered withdrawn. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Personal information of Agency staff
We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:
•names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
•direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and email
addresses.
If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act.
Charges
No charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.
If you are requesting non-personal information the Agency will advise you
as soon as practicable if a charge is payable to process your request, and
the amount of any such charge.
How we will send documents to you
We typically use this email address to send documents related to your FOI
request unless you have specifically requested to receive them via post.
However, we might seek your consent to deliver the documents
electronically if it is deemed more suitable.
How long do I have to wait?
We are required to answer your request within 30 days unless the time
frame is extended under the FOI Act.
Dear Services Australia,
I agree to the 30-day extension of the processing time and consent to the redaction of personal information of Agency Staff.
I look forward to the information being released in due course.
Yours faithfully,
Kath Madgwick
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
FOI – Extension of time request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) you have a right, with
limited exceptions, to access documents the Agency holds. The Agency has
30 days to process an FOI request. Please note this period may be extended
if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will advise
you if this happens.
We are currently experiencing a higher than usual volume of requests,
which has resulted in some delays in our review and response process. We
are seeking your agreement to extend the processing time by an additional
30 days. If you agree to this additional time, we would appreciate it if
you could reply to this email with ‘I agree’ at your earliest opportunity.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate.
Any parts of your FOI request that are addressed by documents being
released under the arrangements will be considered withdrawn. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Personal information of Agency staff
We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:
•names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
•direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and email
addresses.
If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act.
Charges
No charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.
If you are requesting non-personal information the Agency will advise you
as soon as practicable if a charge is payable to process your request, and
the amount of any such charge.
How we will send documents to you
We typically use this email address to send documents related to your FOI
request unless you have specifically requested to receive them via post.
However, we might seek your consent to deliver the documents
electronically if it is deemed more suitable.
How long do I have to wait?
We are required to answer your request within 30 days unless the time
frame is extended under the FOI Act.