In regards to a project report
To: The FOI Officer
University of Canberra
Dear FOI Officer,
It looks like back in 2014 (http://www.education.gov.au/national-pri... , in Project #14) the University of Canberra $95,000 to "Develop an educational disadvantage index and overlay it with socio-economic status mapping to better identify disadvantaged students." The Education Department web-site also says the index "... will be made available to all universities". Google, however, is in the dark. We can't find a report of the outcomes or any other information about the project.
We request access, under administrative arrangements if possible, to a copy of the report of the research and development of the index. If it is not possible to give access under administrative arrangements please tell us but please don't treat this request as an FOI request at this stage.
Thank you.
P. Gale (Mrs)
V. Wilson
December 1st, 2016.
Dear Mrs Gale
Thank you for your email requesting the report on the University of
Canberra’s IT Solutions Project (14) which received National Priorities
Pool funding in 2014.
The University has prepared a draft report which has been submitted to the
Commonwealth Department of Education and Training, however the Report has
not been finalised.
As the Report was prepared for the Department, we recommend you contact
the Department directly to request access to this Report.
If you have any further questions for the University please email
[1][University of Canberra request email]
Kind regards
FOI Team
Australian Government Higher Education (CRICOS) Registered Provider
number: #00212K
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Dear FOI Team,
Thank you for your email of December 13th, 2016. We're glad to hear that there's a report of the research to "Develop an educational disadvantage index and overlay it with socio-economic status mapping to better identify disadvantaged students" but sorry not to have received a copy.
We can understand your suggestion to contact the Department of Higher Education but we think it would not serve any good purpose. If we ask the department for a copy of the report they would have to consult with you to make an FOI decision because you own the report, so it is better to ask you directly.
So, our request is (almost) the same as before. We request a copy of the report of the research and development of the index (how the research was done, what its findings were, what the index is, etc.). If you can release the report under administrative arrangements, as we think you can, please do that. Otherwise, please treat this as a request under the FOI Act.
Thank you.
P. Gale (Mrs)
V. Wilson
December 14th, 2016.
Dear Mrs Gale,
We refer to your application under the Freedom of Information Act 1989
(ACT), which was received by the University on 14 December 2016.
Please see letter attached.
Kind regards
FOI Team
Australian Government Higher Education (CRICOS) Registered Provider
number: #00212K
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contain confidential or copyright materials and are for the attention of
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Canberra accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus
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Dear Mrs Gale,
We refer to your application under the Freedom of Information Act 1989
(ACT), which was received by the University on 14 December 2016.
Please see letter attached.
Kind regards
FOI Team
Australian Government Higher Education (CRICOS) Registered Provider
number: #00212K
NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: This email and any files transmitted with it may
contain confidential or copyright materials and are for the attention of
the addressee only. If you have received this email in error please notify
us by email reply and delete it from your system. The University of
Canberra accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus
transmitted by this email.
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Dear FOI Team,
Thank you for your email of January 17th, 2016.
Frankly, we're amazed you've decided not to release the report under administrative arrangements and decided to go by an expensive and unnecessary route instead.
We think you're overcharging. We also think you shouldn't be charging at all. We also think the consultation is unnecessary and just inflates the administrative burden.
The report is funded by a grant from the Australian Government but we'd be astounded if the Higher Education Department required you to consult with them before you publish or release the report. What would that mean for academic freedom? If the grant the University of Canberra has gotten is anything like other grants from the Higher Education Department, the intellectual property will be yours to do what you want with. We'd be real surprised if you the terms of the contract say that your researchers can't publish without H.E.D. permission. As it stands, it looks like somebody's covering up something they don't like in the research.
When you look at how much money you have gotten from taxpayers to fund a project, don't you think you should be making it public free of charge? We do.
Thank you.
V. Wilson
P.Gale (Mrs)
February 16th, 2016.
Dear FOI Team,
We wrote you Feb 16th about your estimate of charges for our FOI request in regards to a project report. We got an automatic receipt from your email infrastructure but we've not gotten any reply from you. In our email we said we thought you'd charged way too much and you ought reduce or waive the charge.
I understand the absence of a reply from you within 28 days of the day we made our contention means that you are taken to have made a decision refusing to reduce or waive the charge. I'd be real appreciative if you could confirm that assumption. We may want to get a review.
Thank you.
P. Gale (Mrs)
March 27th, 2017
Dear Mrs Gale,
Thank you for your email.
We received your email of 16 February, however your intention to contend
the charge was not apparent. If you would like to allow the University a
further 7 days to consider your contention we will do so. Please confirm
whether you are seeking a total or partial remission of the charge.
In accordance with section 29 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014
(ACT), the matters which the University should consider in relation your
application are not limited, however must include,
· Whether payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause you
financial hardship;
· Whether the document relates to your own personal information, or
a person on whose behalf the application was made; and
· Whether access to the document is in the general public interest,
or in the interest of a substantial section of the public.
We ask you to consider the above mentioned points and advise whether you
wish to resubmit your email of 16 February as your application for
remission of the charge, or whether you are submitting a revised
application.
Kind regards
FOI Team
Australian Government Higher Education (CRICOS) Registered Provider
number: #00212K
NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: This email and any files transmitted with it may
contain confidential or copyright materials and are for the attention of
the addressee only. If you have received this email in error please notify
us by email reply and delete it from your system. The University of
Canberra accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus
transmitted by this email.
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Dear FOI Team,
Thank you for your email of March 28th, 2017. Also, thank you for the offer to reconsider a contention regarding the proposed charges. We have decided in fact not to continue with our request at this stage. Please treat our request as withdrawn.
One reason we are withdrawing our request is that we are too busy at the moment to write a formal contention but also we've learnt that a new FOI Act will be in force in the A.C.T. in a few months. So, we might reapply then if we've not gotten hold of a copy of the report in the meantime.
We do have a final request however. You said in your email December 13th, 2016 "The University has prepared a draft report which has been submitted to the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training, however the Report has not been finalised." Are you able to tell us when the draft report was submitted? And can you confirm the report is still not finalised?
Thank you.
P.Gale (Mrs)
April 3rd, 2017.
Dear Mrs Gale,
Thank you for your email.
We confirm you have withdrawn your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 1989 (ACT).
To answer your questions, we confirm the draft report was submitted to the
Commonwealth Department of Education and Training in February 2016. Since
this time, the University and the Department have been consulting on the
draft report. As at 5 April 2017, the report remains in draft form.
Kind regards
FOI Team
Australian Government Higher Education (CRICOS) Registered Provider
number: #00212K
NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: This email and any files transmitted with it may
contain confidential or copyright materials and are for the attention of
the addressee only. If you have received this email in error please notify
us by email reply and delete it from your system. The University of
Canberra accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus
transmitted by this email.
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