Good afternoon Mr Smith

 

I refer to your correspondence received by the Department of Employment
(the Department) on 4 April 2017 (below) in which you requested access
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) to the
following:

 

1. All documents sent to all employees which explain what information
about them was passed onto the ballot provider for each ballot.

 

2. Any documents sent to the relevant decision maker(s) who approved the
use of the data that was used in the ballots.

 

3. Any documents which explain the rational for obtaining breakdowns of
votes

 

4. Any documents which mention benefits to the department or to the
bargaining process in obtaining a breakdown of votes.

 

5. Any documents between the departmental bargaining team and the
departmental Executive which discuss breakdowns of votes and suggest how
that information should be used or otherwise taken into consideration by
the department.

 

6. Any documents from the APSC that mention what information about
employees can or should be used in ballots.

 

The Department will advise you if a charge is payable to process your
request and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable.

 

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may be published
in a disclosure log on the Department’s website. Section 11C of the FOI
Act requires this publication, however it is subject to certain
exceptions, including where publication of personal, business,
professional or commercial information would be unreasonable.

 

Should you have any queries about this matter, please do not hesitate to
contact me via email: [1][email address].

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

 

James Ramsay

Information Law Team

Information Law, Practice Management and Corporate Advising Branch

Australian Government Department of Employment

 

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

 

-----Original Message-----
From: James Smith [mailto:[FOI #3342 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 4 April 2017 8:10 PM
To: Employment - FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Enterprise Agreement ballots -
were employees informed of what data about them was used in the ballot?

 

Dear Department of Employment,

 

Through a previous FOI request, you have indicated the department has used
certain information relating to your employees to conduct your enterprise
agreement ballots for at least one enterprise agreement proposed under
either the governments current bargaining policy or the one before it.

 

In one or more of your ballots, I have determined you passed on
information about your employees that goes beyond the minimum required in
order to conduct the ballots.

 

This may include information such as classification level, branch within
the department, employment type, etc.

 

I would like to determine to what extent the department explained to
employees what information about them was required for ballots, and what
information about them was used in ballots.

 

I would also like to understand the rationale of the department in using
employee information to profile employees' votes (in a breakdown of
results), and I would like to know who authorised the decision to use such
data.

 

I therefore request:

 

1. All documents sent to all employees which explain what information
about them was passed onto the ballot provider for each ballot.

 

2. Any documents sent to the relevant decision maker(s) who approved the
use of the data that was used in the ballots.

 

3. Any documents which explain the rational for obtaining breakdowns of
votes

 

4. Any documents which mention benefits to the department or to the
bargaining process in obtaining a breakdown of votes.

 

5. Any documents between the departmental bargaining team and the
departmental Executive which discuss breakdowns of votes and suggest how
that information should be used or otherwise taken into consideration by
the department.

 

6. Any documents from the APSC that mention what information about
employees can or should be used in ballots.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

James Smith

 

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

 

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

[2][FOI #3342 email]

 

Is [3][email address] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Employment? 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...

 

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.

 

 

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

 

Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8am - 5pm Local time)
and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[FOI #3342 email]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
5. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Good afternoon Mr Smith

 

Please find attached the charge notice in relation to your request, dated
4 April 2017, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).

 

Kind regards

 

 

James Ramsay

Information Law Team

Information Law, Practice Management and Corporate Advising Branch

Australian Government Department of Employment

 

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

 

-----Original Message-----
From: James Smith [mailto:[FOI #3342 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 4 April 2017 8:10 PM
To: Employment - FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Enterprise Agreement ballots -
were employees informed of what data about them was used in the ballot?

 

Dear Department of Employment,

 

Through a previous FOI request, you have indicated the department has used
certain information relating to your employees to conduct your enterprise
agreement ballots for at least one enterprise agreement proposed under
either the governments current bargaining policy or the one before it.

 

In one or more of your ballots, I have determined you passed on
information about your employees that goes beyond the minimum required in
order to conduct the ballots.

 

This may include information such as classification level, branch within
the department, employment type, etc.

 

I would like to determine to what extent the department explained to
employees what information about them was required for ballots, and what
information about them was used in ballots.

 

I would also like to understand the rationale of the department in using
employee information to profile employees' votes (in a breakdown of
results), and I would like to know who authorised the decision to use such
data.

 

I therefore request:

 

1. All documents sent to all employees which explain what information
about them was passed onto the ballot provider for each ballot.

 

2. Any documents sent to the relevant decision maker(s) who approved the
use of the data that was used in the ballots.

 

3. Any documents which explain the rational for obtaining breakdowns of
votes

 

4. Any documents which mention benefits to the department or to the
bargaining process in obtaining a breakdown of votes.

 

5. Any documents between the departmental bargaining team and the
departmental Executive which discuss breakdowns of votes and suggest how
that information should be used or otherwise taken into consideration by
the department.

 

6. Any documents from the APSC that mention what information about
employees can or should be used in ballots.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

James Smith

 

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

 

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

[1][FOI #3342 email]

 

Is [2][email address] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Employment? If so, please contact us using this
form:

[3]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:

[4]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.

 

 

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

 

Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8am - 5pm Local time)
and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #3342 email]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
4. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections