NAPLAN
Dear Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority,
In the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood, Development and Youth Affairs April 2012 Communiqué the following was reported:
“Ministers discussed concerns over practices such as excessive test preparation and the potential narrowing of the curriculum as a result of the publication of NAPLAN data on My School. Ministers requested that ACARA provide the Standing Council with an assessment of these matters.”
- See more at: http://newmatilda.com/2013/07/04/school-... FOI
On the basis of this statement, under the provisions of the FOI Act I request copies of all documentation in ACARA's possession that provide information on action taken by ACARA or other bodies/persons in response to this directive, including the assessment provided to the Standing Council.
Yours faithfully,
Red
Dear Sir/Madam
I refer to your recent email (below) seeking documents from ACARA under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act). In accordance with
section 15(5)(a) of the FOI Act, I attach ACARA’s acknowledgement letter.
Kind Regards
Peter Verey
Senior Project Officer - Legal and Compliance
Board Secretariat
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
Level 10 | 255 Pitt Street | SYDNEY | NSW | 2000
Phone: +612 8098 3176
Email: [1][email address]
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__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Sir/Madam
I refer to our recent correspondence and attach ACARA’s initial decision
letter in relation to your FOI request. I look forward to hearing from
you.
Kind regards
Peter
Peter Matheson
Board Secretary, Office of the CEO
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
Level 10 | 255 Pitt Street | SYDNEY | NSW | 2000
Phone: +612 8098 3116
[mobile number]
Email: [1][email address]
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From: Verey, Peter
Sent: Friday, 19 July 2013 9:47 AM
To: '[FOI #283 email]'
Cc: Matheson, Peter
Subject: Your Freedom of Information request - F13/565-5
Dear Sir/Madam
I refer to your recent email (below) seeking documents from ACARA under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act). In accordance with
section 15(5)(a) of the FOI Act, I attach ACARA’s acknowledgement letter.
Kind Regards
Peter Verey
Senior Project Officer - Legal and Compliance
Board Secretariat
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
Level 10 | 255 Pitt Street | SYDNEY | NSW | 2000
Phone: +612 8098 3176
Email: [3][email address]
Please consider the environment before printing this email
[4]Description: Description: Description: Description: Description:
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C:\Users\tolsen\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet
Files\Content.Outlook\0MSCB3L2\ACARA_Logo_large.jpg
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Mr Matheson
Thank you for your correspondence of 2 August 2013 indicating that you intend to refuse access to all of the documents covered by my request because the work involved in processing my request would divert the resources of ACARA from its other operations.
Having read your thorough initial decision letter I now wish to accept your offer to revise my request.
Accordingly (and the context for this request is identical to the context of the original request), under the provisions of the FOI Act I simplify my request to be a request only for a copy of the assessment provided to the Standing Council by ACARA as a result of the directive by the Ministers to provide such an assessment.
Yours sincerely,
Red
Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you for your email of 6 August 2013 and apologies for the delay in
my response, I was unwell and out of the office much of last week.
I will be recommending to our FOI decision maker, Robert Randall, that a
practical refusal reason no longer exists in relation to your revised
request.
Request for extension
I am writing to you to seek your agreement to extend the time required to
provide you with a final decision letter. I propose that we provide you
with the final decision letter by Thursday 22 August 2013. This adds an
additional 13 days to the statutory 30 day deadline.
Statutory 30 day deadline
The 30 day deadline, as extended by the practical refusal decision,
expired on Friday 9 August 2013. The calculations are as follows:
· original 30 day deadline was due to expire on Monday 5
August 2013;
· the clock stopped on Friday 2 August 2013 with the
practical refusal letter; and
· you responded on Tuesday 6 August 2013.
Reasons for extension
We are juggling a number of FOI matters at the moment, including an appeal
by an Applicant to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Our only FOI
decision maker, Robert Randall, ACARA’s CEO, is away on leave. In the week
beginning Monday 19 August, we need a few days in the beginning of the
week to obtain Rob’s feedback and adjust the letter, if necessary.
Please let me know whether this is acceptable to you.
Kind regards
Peter
Peter Matheson
Board Secretary, Office of the CEO
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
Level 10 | 255 Pitt Street | SYDNEY | NSW | 2000
Phone: +612 8098 3116
[mobile number]
Email: [1][email address]
Please consider the environment before printing this email
[2]Description: cid:image001.jpg@01CE3B5A.486FB960
From: Red <[3][FOI #283 email]>
Date: 6 August 2013 8:22:17 AM AEST
To: "Matheson, Peter" <[4][email address]>
Subject: Re: Your Freedom of Information request - F13/565-5
Dear Mr Matheson
Thank you for your correspondence of 2 August 2013 indicating that
you intend to refuse access to all of the documents covered by my
request because the work involved in processing my request would
divert the resources of ACARA from its other operations.
Having read your thorough initial decision letter I now wish to
accept your offer to revise my request.
Accordingly (and the context for this request is identical to the
context of the original request), under the provisions of the FOI
Act I simplify my request to be a request only for a copy of the
assessment provided to the Standing Council by ACARA as a result of
the directive by the Ministers to provide such an assessment.
Yours sincerely,
Red
Dear Sir/Madam
I refer to our recent correspondence and attach ACARA’s final decision
letter in relation to your FOI request.
Kind regards
Peter
Peter Matheson
Board Secretary, Office of the CEO
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
Level 10 | 255 Pitt Street | SYDNEY | NSW | 2000
Phone: +612 8098 3116
[mobile number]
Email: [1][email address]
Please consider the environment before printing this email
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority,
Attention Mr Peter Matheson, Board Secretary, ACARA.
I am writing to request an internal review of Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority's handling of my FOI request 'NAPLAN'.
The decision paper provided by Mr Randall states that one document relevant to my revised request has been identified but that he has decided to wholly exempt this document from disclosure under s47B(a).
His position is that disclosure would, or could reasonably be expected to, cause damage to relations between the Commonwealth and a State.
Interestingly however, on pages 7-9 of the decision wherein Mr Randall provides examples of how release of this document would or could be expected to damage current working relations, he actually hints at the existing difficulties/damaged relations between the Commonwealth and States in regards to (for example) school funding negotiations.
If the current working relations are already damaged, is it really valid to exempt this document on the basis that it might damage current working relations?
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/na...
Yours faithfully,
Red
Dear Sir/Madam
I refer to your email of 22 August 2013 (below) requesting an internal review of the decision of 21 August 2013 made by our Chief Executive Officer, Robert Randall.
In the circumstances, ACARA considered it was appropriate for the Chief Executive Officer to make a decision in the first instance in respect of your FOI request. However, as a result of Mr Randall making the original decision on 21 August 2013, it is not possible for ACARA to conduct an internal review of its decision on your request. This is because s 54(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) provides that internal review is not available where an access refusal decision was made personally by the principal officer of an agency (see also paragraph 9.9 of the Guidelines Issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under s 93A of the FOI Act, available at http://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-inform...). Mr Randall is the person responsible for ‘the day-to-day management of ACARA’ and therefore the ‘principal officer’ of ACARA for the purposes of the FOI Act (see the definition of ‘principal officer’ in s 4(1)(b)(iii)).
This means that if you are dissatisfied with ACARA’s decision and wish it to be reviewed, you must make an application to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). An application to the OAIC must be made within 60 days of you receiving Mr Randall’s decision (see s 54S(1) of the FOI Act). The Australian Information Commissioner is an independent office holder who may review decisions of agencies and Ministers under the FOI Act. More information is available on the OAIC website www.oaic.gov.au<http://www.oaic.gov.au>. You can contact the Information Commissioner to request a review of a decision online or by writing to the Information Commission at:
GPO Box 2999
Canberra ACT 2601
Complaints to Ombudsman or Australian Information Commissioner
Alternatively, you may complain to either the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the Australian Information Commissioner about action taken by ACARA in relation to your request. The Ombudsman will consult with the Australian Information Commissioner before investigating a complaint about the handling of an FOI request.
Your enquiries to the Ombudsman can be directed to:
Phone 1300 362 072 (local call charge)
Email [email address]<mailto:[email address]>
Your enquiries to the Australian Information Commissioner can be directed to:
* Phone 1300 363 992 (local call charge)
Email [email address]<mailto:[email address]>
There is no particular form required to make a complaint to the Ombudsman or the Australian Information Commissioner. The request should be in writing and should set out the grounds on which it is considered that the action taken in relation to the request should be investigated and identify ACARA as the relevant agency.
Kind regards
Peter Matheson
Board Secretary, Office of the CEO
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
Level 10 | 255 Pitt Street | SYDNEY | NSW | 2000
Phone: +612 8098 3116
[mobile number]
Email: [email address]<mailto:[email address]>
Please consider the environment before printing this email
[cid:[email address]]
[X]
Red left an annotation ()
I have made an application to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for review of this decision.
Alex Sadleir left an annotation ()
FYI ACARA have previously successfully claimed an exemption from the FOI Act where if "documents are disclosed, there is a real risk that the States will withdraw from the My School [NAPLAN] program, making the program untenable." http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/A...