Enterprise bargaining - what information is provided to department about employees' votes?

James Smith made this Freedom of Information request to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as part of a batch sent to 17 authorities

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

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,

This is request for information under the Freedom of Information Act.

I request all documents wherein the outcome of any enterprise bargaining ballots were communicated to the department by the entity who undertook the ballots.

This shall include the YES/NO vote amounts or percentages as well as any additional information related to the vote. For example, a breakdown of the vote by employee location, or APS level.

The scope of this request covers any such documents that were received as a result of EBA offers made to staff under:

Workplace Bargaining Policy 2015
or
Australian Government Public Sector Workplace Bargaining Policy 2014

I thank you in advance for processing this request.

Yours faithfully,

James Smith

FOI, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

UNCLASSIFIED
 
File No: 17/6705
Our Ref: 1702-F1646
 
Dear Mr Smith
 
Re: Freedom of Information (FOI) Request
 
Thank you for your e-mail of 27 February 2017 in which you seek access
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to:
 
“All documents wherein the outcome of any enterprise bargaining ballots
were communicated to the department by the entity who undertook the
ballots.
This shall include the YES/NO vote amounts or percentages as well as any
additional information related to the vote. For example, a breakdown of
the vote by employee location, or APS level.
The scope of the request covers any such documents that were received as a
result of EBA offers made to staff under: Workplace Bargaining Policy 2015
or Australian Government Public Sector Workplace Bargaining Policy 2014.”
 
This e-mail sets out some information about how your request will be
processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
 
Searches are now being undertaken in relevant areas of the Department for
documents relevant to your request.
 
Scope of request:
 
If it emerges that the scope of your request is unclear or is too large
for processing, the Department will contact you to discuss re-scoping the
request.
 
Timeframe for receiving our decision:
 
We received your request on 27 February 2017 and the 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that
date.  You should therefore expect a decision from us by 29 March 2017. 
The period of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances.  We will
advise you if any extension of time is required.
 
Charges:
 
Please note that the Department issues charges for processing FOI
requests.  We will advise you of these charges when we are in a position
to estimate the resources required to process your request.
 
Timing of release:
 
As the subject matter of your request will require DFAT to upload any
documents released to you to the Department’s FOI Disclosure Log, we take
this opportunity to advise you that the Department’s policy is to upload
documents to the disclosure log on the same day as the documents are
released to you.
 
Exclusion of officials’ names and contact details:
 
It is the Department’s policy to withhold the mobile numbers of all
government officials, and the names and contact details of government
officials not in the Senior Executive Service (SES) or equivalent.  If you
require the mobile numbers of all government officials, or the names and
contact details of non-SES officials, please let us know at
[1][DFAT request email] so the decision-maker may consider; otherwise we will
take it that you agree to that information being excluded from the scope
of your request.
 
Personal Information:
 
If we need to consult with other people or organisations regarding your
FOI request, we may need to disclose your personal information (e.g. your
name).  When we consult it may be apparent that you have made a request,
even if we do not disclose your identity.  Please let us know if you have
any concerns in this regard.  The Department’s privacy policy is available
at [2]dfat.gov.au/privacy.html.
 
Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact us by return e-mail at [3][DFAT request email].
 
Yours sincerely
 
 

FOI Team
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
 

FOI & Privacy Law Section      E |  [DFAT request email]

Corporate Legal Branch      T |  +61 2 6261 1111

Legal Division W |  [4]www.dfat.gov.au

 
 

show quoted sections

FOI, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

1 Attachment

UNCLASSIFIED
 
Dear Mr Smith
 
Please find attached the charges letter in relation to this FOI request.
 
 
Yours sincerely
 

FOI Team
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
 

FOI & Privacy Law Section      E |  [DFAT request email]

Corporate Legal Branch      T |  +61 2 6261 1111

Legal Division W |  [1]www.dfat.gov.au

 
 
 

show quoted sections