Dear Mr Ashmore

Freedom of Information Request: FOI 46295

I refer to your request for access to documents held by the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs (Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(FOI Act). Your request was received by the Department on 28 October 2021
and was made in the following terms:

The information I am seeking is:

The percentage of high impact errors, (HIE), for the following period:

              1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021.

For the following:

:  MRCA Initial Liability Claims,

:  DRCA Initial Liability Claims,

:  MRCA Permanent Impairment, and

:  DRCA Permanent Impairment.

I request that each of the above categories be further broken up to
include the following:

:  Number of cases checked.

:  Total number of work elements.

:  Number of work elements with HIE, and

:  HIE correctness rate.

In accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act, the due date for a
decision on your request is 29 November 2021.

When the processing period may be extended or suspended

The current due date may be extended by up to 30 days if agreed by you
(section 15AA of the FOI Act). Also, the due date may be extended by an
additional 30 days in each instance, if your request is considered
voluminous or complex (section 15AB of the FOI Act) or if the Department
is required to undertake a third party consultation (sections 26A, 27 or
27A of the FOI Act). If any of these extensions apply, the Department will
notify you.

Additionally, there are occasions where the time to process your request
may be suspended. This will usually take place if a practical refusal
consultation process takes place (section 24AB of the FOI Act) or if a
charges notice is issued to process your request (section 29 of the FOI
Act). If the Department decides that either of these apply to your
request, the Department will notify you.

We will write again when the Department has more information. Further
information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner at [1]https://www.oaic.gov.au/.

Publication of documents

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log at
[2]https://www.dva.gov.au/about-dva/freedom...
subject to certain exceptions, such as if the documents relate to your own
personal information. The Department will advise you in its decision
whether details of your request will be published on the disclosure log or
not.

Removal of non-SES staff details and duplicate material for more efficient
decision making

To allow for a more efficient decision making process, the Department
prefers to remove all duplicate documents and the surnames and contact
details of non-SES staff from documents falling within the scope of your
request. This will not include any staff details that have already been
disclosed to you.

We are seeking your agreement to the removal of duplicate material and
non-SES staff surnames and contact details under section 22 of the FOI
Act.

Please reply to this email to advise whether you agree to the removal of
duplicate material and/or the surnames and contact details of non-SES
staff.

Contacting us about your request

We will contact you using the email address you have provided. Please
advise if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.

If you have any questions, please contact me using the following details:

Post:            Information Law Section, Legal Services & Audit Branch

GPO Box 9998 CANBERRA   ACT   2601

Facsimile:    (02) 6289 6337

Email:           [3][email address]

Yours sincerely,

Erin (position number 62315640)

Senior Legal Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [4][email address] | [5]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[6]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. https://www.dva.gov.au/about-dva/freedom...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.dva.gov.au/

Dear Mr Ashmore,

Please find attached the department’s response to your FOI request LEX
46925.

Kind regards,

Erin (position number 62315640)

Senior Legal Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/

Good morning Mr Ashmore,

Thank you for your time on the phone just now.

As discussed I am re-sending this decision of 29 November 2021 to the two
right to know email addresses you have used for correspondence with the
department.

I would be grateful if you could please respond to confirm receipt of this
decision.

Kind regards,

Erin (position number 62315640)

Senior Legal Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

From: INFORMATION.LAW
Sent: Monday, 29 November 2021 5:27 PM
To: [FOI #8028 email]
Subject: LEX 46925 - FOI Request [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Dear Mr Ashmore,

Please find attached the department’s response to your FOI request LEX
46925.

Kind regards,

Erin (position number 62315640)

Senior Legal Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [4][email address] | [5]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[6]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.dva.gov.au/

Good morning Mr Ashmore,

Thank you for your time on the phone just now.

As discussed I am re-sending this decision of 29 November 2021 to the two
right to know email addresses you have used for correspondence with the
department.

I would be grateful if you could please respond to confirm receipt of this
decision.

Kind regards,

Erin (position number 62315640)

Senior Legal Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [1][email address] | [2]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[3]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

From: INFORMATION.LAW
Sent: Monday, 29 November 2021 5:27 PM
To: [FOI #8028 email]
Subject: LEX 46925 - FOI Request [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Dear Mr Ashmore,

Please find attached the department’s response to your FOI request LEX
46925.

Kind regards,

Erin (position number 62315640)

Senior Legal Officer

Information Law Section

Legal Services and Audit Branch

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

t 1800 838 372 | e [4][email address] | [5]www.dva.gov.au

p GPO Box 9998, Canberra ACT 2601

[6]cid:image001.png@01D0027A.1DAB84F0

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

IMPORTANT: This document contains legal advice and may be subject to legal
professional privilege. Unless it is waived or lost, legal professional
privilege is a rule of law that, in part, provides that the client need
not disclose confidential communications between a legal practitioner and
client. To keep this privilege, the purpose and content of this advice
must only be disclosed to persons who have a need to know and on the basis
that those persons also keep it confidential.

You should consider this advice and take it into account when forming a
decision on how best to proceed. If you decide to adopt a position that
does not align with this advice, you should not state that DVA Legal
Services & Audit Branch has cleared or endorsed a particular position.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.dva.gov.au/