Documents: Cth tender CN3665779

John Smith made this Freedom of Information request to Services Australia

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was refused by Services Australia.

Dear Department of Human Services,

Please provide all documents relating to the Open Tender of and contract for Management support services by Services Australia awarded to Partners in Performance International PL ("PIP") including documents relating to the :

1. calling of the tender
2. the contract awarded to PIP (please provide a copy)
3. any technical specifications or requirements issued by Services Australia in relation to the tender or contract

The following references on AusTender may be helpful:

CN ID: CN3665779
SON ID: SON3538332

Agency Reference ID: D365030094

Given the large amount of public money associated with this tender (>$3M), I ask that a public interest in the transparency of this matter be recognised; and the ordinarily applicable FOI fee be consequently waived.

Yours faithfully,

John Smith

FOI.LEGAL.TEAM, Services Australia

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Smith

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your Freedom of Information request.

Kind Regards

Freedom of Information Team
Employment Law and Freedom of Information Branch | Legal Services Division
Email: [email address]

Please note: This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal professional privilege or  information that is otherwise sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately and permanently delete this email.

-----Original Message-----
From: John Smith <[FOI #6347 email]>
Sent: Monday, 18 May 2020 10:24 AM
To: FOI.LEGAL.TEAM <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Documents: Cth tender CN3665779

Dear Department of Human Services,

Please provide all documents relating to the Open Tender of and contract for Management support services by Services Australia awarded to Partners in Performance International PL ("PIP") including documents relating to the :

1. calling of the tender
2. the contract awarded to PIP (please provide a copy) 3. any technical specifications or requirements issued by Services Australia in relation to the tender or contract

The following references on AusTender may be helpful:

CN ID: CN3665779
SON ID: SON3538332

Agency Reference ID: D365030094

Given the large amount of public money associated with this tender (>$3M), I ask that a public interest in the transparency of this matter be recognised; and the ordinarily applicable FOI fee be consequently waived.

Yours faithfully,

John Smith

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #6347 email]

Is [DHS request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Department of Human Services? If so, please contact us using this form:
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:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

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.

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FOI.LEGAL.TEAM, Services Australia

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Smith

 

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your request for
documents made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

 

Kind regards

 

Kaitlin

Freedom of Information Team

Employment Law and Freedom of Information Branch | Legal Services Division

Services Australia

Email: [1][email address]

 

This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: FOI.LEGAL.TEAM <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 22 May 2020 4:12 PM
To: 'John Smith' <[FOI #6347 email]>
Subject: LEX 54856 - Your FOI Request - Acknowledgement Letter
[SEC=OFFICIAL]

 

Dear Mr Smith

 

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your Freedom of
Information request.

 

Kind Regards

 

 

Freedom of Information Team

Employment Law and Freedom of Information Branch | Legal Services Division

Email: [2][email address]

 

Please note: This email and any attachments may contain information
subject to legal professional privilege or  information that is otherwise
sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this
email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication.
If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender
immediately and permanently delete this email.

 

-----Original Message-----

From: John Smith <[3][FOI #6347 email]>

Sent: Monday, 18 May 2020 10:24 AM

To: FOI.LEGAL.TEAM <[4][email address]>

Subject: Freedom of Information request - Documents: Cth tender CN3665779

 

Dear Department of Human Services,

 

Please provide all documents relating to the Open Tender of and contract
for Management support services by Services Australia awarded to Partners
in Performance International PL ("PIP") including documents relating to
the :

 

1. calling of the tender

2. the contract awarded to PIP (please provide a copy) 3. any technical
specifications or requirements issued by Services Australia in relation to
the tender or contract

 

The following references on AusTender may be helpful:

 

CN ID: CN3665779

SON ID: SON3538332

 

Agency Reference ID: D365030094

 

Given the large amount of public money associated with this tender (>$3M),
I ask that a public interest in the transparency of this matter be
recognised; and the ordinarily applicable FOI fee be consequently waived.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

John Smith

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[5][FOI #6347 email]

 

Is [6][DHS request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to Department of Human Services? If so, please
contact us using this form:

[7]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:

[8]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

 

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.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

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Dear FOI.LEGAL.TEAM,

Given the large amount of public money associated with this tender (>$3M), I ask that a public interest in the transparency of this matter be recognised; and the ordinarily applicable FOI fee be consequently waived in its entirety, on the grounds of a public interest in the proper use of public expenditure.

Alternatively, I request that the fee be waived on the ground of financial hardship.

Yours sincerely,

John Smith

FOI.LEGAL.TEAM, Services Australia

Dear Mr Smith

 

Thank you for your email dated 4 June 2020.

 

By way of background, on 3 June 2020 Services Australia issued you with a
preliminary assessment of charges notice (the Notice) under section 29(1)
of the Freedom of Information 1982 (FOI Act) (our reference: LEX 54856).
The Notice stated you were liable to pay a charge in relation to the
processing of the request for documents made under the FOI Act. You
requested access to:

 

‘Please provide all documents relating to the Open Tender of and contract
for Management support services by Services Australia awarded to Partners
in Performance International PL ("PIP") including documents relating to
the:

- calling of the tender

- the contract awarded to PIP (please provide a copy)

- any technical specifications or requirements issued by Services
Australia in relation to the tender or contract.’

 

In your email of 4 June 2020, you requested that Services Australia waive
the charges set out in the Notice on public interest grounds. You also
requested Services Australia waive the charges on grounds of financial
hardship. 

 

To allow Services Australia’s decision-maker to appropriately reconsider
the issuing of charges in light of your email, please provide evidence of
your financial hardship.

 

As the reconsideration of the preliminary estimate of charges decision is
due on 4 July 2020, we request you forward your response to
[1][email address] by 18 June 2020, quoting
reference LEX 54856. 

 

Sincerely

 

Freedom of Information Team

Employment Law and Freedom of Information Branch | Legal Services Division

Services Australia

 

 

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IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
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subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
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dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
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Dear FOI.LEGAL.TEAM,

I have sent through evidence to the email address, as requested.

Please waive the associated FOI fee both in reliance on that evidence, AND in reliance on the public interest reasons that I have raised.

Yours sincerely,

John Smith

FOI.LEGAL.TEAM, Services Australia

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Smith

 

Please see attached correspondence in relation to the Freedom of
Information request you made to Services Australia.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Freedom of Information Team

Employment Law and Freedom of Information Branch | Legal Services Division

Services Australia

Email: [1][email address]

 

This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.

 

 

 

**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or
subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender immediately
and delete all electronic and hard copies of this transmission together
with any attachments. Please consider the environment before printing this
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Dear FOI.LEGAL.TEAM,

I seek internal review of this decision. In my email to you enclosing my low-income health card, I stated that the name 'John Smith' is a pseudonym. I do not understand why in your reasons, you have decided that there is an identity issue between the pseudonym used to make this FOI request; and my provided documents.

Why was I not contacted to clarify the issue of whether the low income card belonged to be, before this adverse finding was made? It is unreasonable and lacks natural justice.

It is my understanding that the use of pseudonyms is allowed through the FOI guidelines.

In the interests of confirming that the card belongs to me, the last 4 characters of the CRN on the card provided to you; was '137T'. Would you be willing to confirm that is the case?

-Public interest ground-

I note that in your reasons you have disputed my claim that an attempt at oversight of a large amount of spending by a government agency, isn't a sufficient public interest reason.

It may be the case that the procurement was made under government rules. That is besides the point. Whether the taxpayer got value for money through the procurement, can only be discerned by the public if the details of transactions are known. It is also besides the point that these transactions are already overseen by parliament and the government. The FOI act is for members of the public to make requests that are of interest to the public, regardless of whether those transactions are already of interest to the government.

While this specific transaction might appear to be unimportant in isolation, it is part of a pattern of increased government outsourcing within the APS, and especially Services Australia in recent years. The increased use of private contractors within public agencies has been the subject of much public reporting.

For instance; these practices have been mentioned in the Australian Financial Review:
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/gov...

The ABC:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-09/l...

Among other publications.

To re-iterate my point; this FOI request is a part of a series of FOI requests that intend to investigate the use of outsourcing within government departments. This is what makes the request in the public interest.

While I could have attempted to include 20 or 30 outsourcing contracts within a single FOI, I wanted to avoid an unreasonable burden upon your agency.

Please include these reasons within my request for an internal review.

Yours sincerely,

John Smith

FOI.LEGAL.TEAM, Services Australia

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Smith

 

Please see correspondence about your Internal Review attached.

 

Kind regards

 

Authorised FOI Officer

FOI Team

Employment Law and Freedom of Information Team

 

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IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or
subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender immediately
and delete all electronic and hard copies of this transmission together
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FOI.LEGAL.TEAM, Services Australia

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    LEX 56235 Decision Internal Review of Reconsideration of Charges LEX 54082.pdf

    318K Download View as HTML

Dear Mr Smith

 

Please find a letter about your internal review request attached.

 

Kind regards

 

Authorised FOI Officer

FOI Team

Employment Law and Freedom of Information Team

 

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IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or
subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender immediately
and delete all electronic and hard copies of this transmission together
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Dear FOI.LEGAL.TEAM,

Your assertion that these documents would provide nothing new; that they have been made redundant by various senate inquiries is totally unreasonable.

I will be appealing this to the OAIC.

Yours sincerely,

John Smith