Operational Blueprint "Under Review" meaning
Dear Services Australia,
As of writing 520 out of 5230 (About 10%) of all Operational Blueprint pages feature a warning at the top:
"This procedure is under review. An Operational Message about this
content exists."
eg
https://operational.servicesaustralia.go...
Normally, outside of Centrelink - reviews are made for reasons. This message is obtuse - as an outsider I don't fully understand what this message means.
Could you please, in an administrative fashion, not under the FOI act - briefly explain these messages and why they exist to me and the rest of the public on right to know?
in addition -
I request under the Freedom of Information act 1982, copies of the following documents:
*Internal documents providing advice on how to use this message should that exist
*The last two most current blueprints that have written records of internal discussion (be it memo, email, etc) relating to changing a blueprints status to under review.
Should this information be provided in under 30 days I will permit this to be provided administratively, otherwise the FOI act applies in all instances.
Yours faithfully,
OpenWelfare
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia.
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
Timeframe For processing your request
Under the FOI Act you have a right, with limited exceptions, to access
documents the agency holds. A FOI request normally takes 30 days to
process.
Please note this period may be further extended if we need to consult
third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
Charges
Services Australia will advise you if a charge is payable to process your
request and the amount of any such charge as soon as practicable. No
charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.
Your Address
The FOI Act requires you provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. We will send all notices and correspondence to the address you
have used to email us. Please advise us as soon as possible if you wish
correspondence to be sent to another address or if your address changes.
Administrative release of documents
The agency has administrative access arrangements in place for the release
of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI request. These
arrangements do not extend to information or material of third parties.
Exclusion of junior staff details
Services Australia is working towards ensuring all staff have a choice
about whether they provide their full name, personal logon identifiers and
direct contact details in response to FOI requests. Where such details are
included in documents they will be redacted. If you request staff details
as part of your FOI application, this may add to processing time and
applicable charges as it will be necessary to consider whether these
details are exempt under the Act.
Dear Services Australia,
whoops, don't do math late at night.
523 individual process pages out of 20236 individual process pages.
so that's more like 2%, sorry about that.
the request remains the same, i just wanted to correct my error.
Yours faithfully,
OpenWelfare
Dear OpenWelfare
Please find attached correspondence from Services Australia dated 7 June
2022 in relation to your request for access under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Team
Information Access Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]cid:image003.jpg@01D6B8DA.4DF87C40
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land now
called Australia. We pay our respect to all Elders, past, present and
emerging of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
Please note: This email and any attachments may contain information
subject to legal professional privilege or information that is otherwise
sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this
email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication.
If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender
immediately and permanently delete this email
References
Visible links
Dear OpenWelfare
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request received by Services
Australia (the Agency) on 2 June 2022. As part of your request, you have
sought:
*The last two most current blueprints that have written records of
internal discussion (be it memo, email, etc) relating to changing a
blueprints status to under review.
We understand this part of your request to be for:
Written records of internal discussion (memo, email, etc) where a
blueprint status was changed to “This procedure is under review. An
Operational Message about this content exists”, for the two most recent
operational blueprints where this has occurred.
If this is the correct interpretation of the documents you are seeking,
please respond to this email with ‘I agree’. Otherwise, please provide
further information to clarify the scope of this part of your request by
COB 14 June 2022.
If you have any questions, please email
[1][email address].
Yours sincerely
Patricia
Freedom of Information Team
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[2]cid:image003.jpg@01D6B8DA.4DF87C40
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land now
called Australia. We pay our respect to all Elders, past, present and
emerging of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
Please note: This email and any attachments may contain information
subject to legal professional privilege or information that is otherwise
sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this
email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication.
If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender
immediately and permanently delete this email
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Patricia,
RE:
" We understand this part of your request to be for:
Written records of internal discussion (memo, email, etc) where a
blueprint status was changed to “This procedure is under review. An
Operational Message about this content exists”, for the two most recent
operational blueprints where this has occurred."
I disagree, but only slightly because I don't have a full understanding of what 'under review' means and how formal the process is.
heres a hypothetical example to clarify:
1. most recent - Operational Blueprint #1 - put in review status by manager after reading on their terminal, not communicated to team at all in any documented format after manual review. changes made, message deleted. exists to those only who came across it manually in time period.
2. second most recent OB #2 Manager mailout to team advising of change, to bear operational message in mind.
3. third most recent OB #3 Social services minister directs OB to be under review due to stated issues.
In this case, the scope would capture #2 and #3 because documents exist for them, therefore #2 and #3 would be "the most recent records", while #1 would happen, you could argue 'no documents exist for it'.
I am only interested in the most recent events that have documentation to support them.
I am assuming that two such events exist, this assumption could be wrong?
Is that clearer?
Yours sincerely,
OpenWelfare
Dear OpenWelfare,
Thank you for your correspondence providing more information relating to the documents you are seeking.
Based on the information you have provided below, I understand your request to be for:
"Written records of internal discussion (memo, email, etc) where a blueprint status was changed to “This procedure is under review. An Operational Message about this content exists”, for the two most recent operational blueprints where this change has occurred with documentation to support them."
Please confirm whether this is the correct scope of the documents you are seeking by replying to this email with ‘I agree’.
If you have any questions, please email [email address].
Yours sincerely
Patricia
Information Access Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land now called Australia. We pay our respect to all Elders, past, present and emerging of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
Please note: This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately and permanently delete this email.
Dear OpenWelfare
Freedom of Information Request - Extension of Time
The FOI team is actively reviewing the relevant documents within the scope
of your FOI request LEX 68161. However, as we are still undertaking
consultations, we are unlikely to be in a position to provide you with a
decision on your request by the end of the statutory period (4 July 2022).
We are therefore seeking your agreement to extend the processing time by
an additional 14 days. This would mean the due date for the request would
be 18 July 2022. If we are able to provide you with a decision sooner, we
will do so.
If you agree to this additional time we would appreciate if you could
reply to this email with ‘I agree’ no later than Friday 24 June 2022.
If no response is received, we may seek an extension from the Information
Commissioner.
Yours sincerely,
Patricia
Freedom of Information Team
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]cid:image001.jpg@01D886FC.C263CA70
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land now
called Australia. We pay our respect to all Elders, past, present and
emerging of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
Please note: This email and any attachments may contain information
subject to legal professional privilege or information that is otherwise
sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this
email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication.
If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender
immediately and permanently delete this email
References
Visible links
Dear Patricia,
Your inclusion of the phrase “ If we are able to provide you with a decision sooner, we will do so.”
Means I will agree to the extension and take you at your word. I do realise the consultation adds delay but it’s been good so far.
I agree.
Yours sincerely,
OpenWelfare
Dear OpenWelfare
Please find attached correspondence from Services Australia dated 29 June
2022 in relation to your request for access under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.
Yours sincerely
Patricia
Freedom of Information Team
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]cid:image003.jpg@01D6B8DA.4DF87C40
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land now
called Australia. We pay our respect to all Elders, past, present and
emerging of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
Please note: This email and any attachments may contain information
subject to legal professional privilege or information that is otherwise
sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this
email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication.
If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender
immediately and permanently delete this email
References
Visible links
Dear Patricia,
We had such a good start back and forth, and now you try to eke blood from a stone.
This project has no funding, I am contesting the charges entirely that they should not be imposed at all. Unfortunately I don't have the energy right not for lengthy argument so I'll just start and finish with the description of the operational blueprint from your page:
"The Operational Blueprint explains how we deliver services. It also holds reference material to support staff delivering those services. It contains all service delivery operating procedures in simple, clear language that can be accessed and understood by staff, customers and stakeholders. It allows for greater transparency and consistency when making service delivery decisions."
Key words by CUSTOMERS AND STAKEHOLDERS. If the public can't figure out what your 'operational messages' are then how are you meeting your goals. it's the public right to know.
As of right now, the message "under review" explains jack and squat.
I would not reccomend denying this request for all of our sanity and if you are thinking of doing so consulting your management first.
Please stop wasting time.
Yours sincerely,
OpenWelfare
Dear OpenWelfare
Thank you for your email.
Services Australia will proceed with your request to reconsider imposing a charge for access to documents. A reconsideration of charges decision is required to be provided to you within 30 days after the date of your request for reconsideration. You can therefore expect a decision by Tuesday 2 August 2022. If we are able to provide you with a decision sooner, we will do so.
Yours sincerely
Patricia
Freedom of Information Team
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land now called Australia. We pay our respect to all Elders, past, present and emerging of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
Please note: This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately and permanently delete this email
Dear OpenWelfare
Please find attached correspondence from Services Australia dated 2 August
2022 in relation to your request for access under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.
Yours sincerely
Leanne, FOI Officer
Information Access Branch
LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION
[1]B3997F7F
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands we live on. I pay my
respects to all Elders, past and present, of all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander nations.
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.
References
Visible links
Dear Leanne,
Thankyou for explaining more what an Operational Message functionally means, the administratively released explanation suffices and is likely clearer and more succinct than any internal document.
You can close this request.
Note: I did correct my faulty math on the second correspondence, that wasn't actually picked up by the first person, but it's not important. Cheers for the updated figures though. :)
Yours sincerely,
OpenWelfare
OpenWelfare left an annotation ()
I'm marking partially successful as it would be nice to have the documents, but I don't have the fight in me for this particular detail that they haven't given a good overview of.