Operational Blueprints relating to Section 24

The request was partially successful.

Centrelink Customer

Dear Services Australia,

I request a copy of operational blueprints relating to Section 24, such as:
110-19111307
106-07120080

Yours faithfully,
Centrelink Customer

FREEDOMOFINFORMATION, Services Australia

Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).

 

This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.

 

Charges

The Agency 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 to provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. We will send correspondence and notices to your email address.
Please advise us as soon as possible if you wish correspondence to be sent
to another address or if your email 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 staff details

The Agency 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 FOI Act.

            

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FREEDOMOFINFORMATION, Services Australia

2 Attachments

Dear Centrelink Customer,

 

Please find attached a letter relating to your request for access to
documents held by Services Australia, under the Freedom of Information Act
1982.

 

If you are unable to open the attachment please contact me by replying to
this email.

 

Kind Regards,

 

 

Elizabeth

Freedom of Information Practitioner

Freedom of Information and Ombudsman Branch

LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION

[1]cid:image003.jpg@01D6C26A.B2D8C180

Email: [2][email address]

 

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.

 

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2. mailto:[email address]

FREEDOMOFINFORMATION, Services Australia

1 Attachment

Dear Centrelink Customer

 

I refer to your request to Services Australia (the Agency) on 5 March 2023
for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act).

 

Request for an Extension of Time

 

The FOI team is actively engaging with the relevant business areas and
reviewing documents within the scope of your FOI request. However, due to
the nature of the information contained within the relevant documents, the
Agency requires additional time to review the documents and consult with
relevant business areas.

 

This means that the Agency will not be in a position to provide you with a
decision by the current due date of 4 April 2023.

 

We are therefore respectfully seeking your agreement to extend the
processing time by an additional 14 days under section 15AA of the FOI
Act. This would mean a decision would be due by 18 April 2023. If we are
able to provide you with a decision sooner, we will do so.

 

For your action

 

I would be grateful if you could respond to this email by close of
business Monday 27 March 2023 to advise whether you agree to the extension
of time.

 

If no response is received, we may seek an extension from the Information
Commissioner.

 

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we process your request.

 

 

Kind regards,
Cherie

Freedom of Information

LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION

[1]cid:image002.jpg@01D6BC07.2D63B370

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.

 

 

 

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Centrelink Customer

Dear FREEDOMOFINFORMATION / Cherie,

Thank you for you email.

In deciding whether the requested extension of time is reasonable, it would be helpful to know the approximate word count of the documents, and to know the specific concern relating to the nature of the information.

That said, I will glady agree to the requested extension of time if the relevant business area agrees to take into consideration the following public interest factors favouring disclosure:
1) These operational instructions are relevant to particularly vulnerable Centrelink customers who are experiencing financial hardship and are vulnerable for one or more other reasons as well, such as situations of domestic violence, partner detained, newly arrived residents, etc.
2) It is crucial that these vulnerable Centrelink customers understand the eligibility criteria and the assessment process as this will enable them to direct the attention of Centrelink officers to the relevant operational instructions in situations where Centrelink officers have an incorrect or incomplete understanding of these instructions.
3) Consider that Centrelink customers requesting or inquiring about Section 24 will generally first interact with a Centrelink officer at random. This Centrelink officer may not be knowledgeable about the Section 24 discretion other than that it is very strict and rarely applied. There is, therefore, a real risk that Centrelink customers are given incomplete or incorrect advice regarding their potential eligibility.
4) Disclosing these operational instructions is crucial to ensuring that these particularly vulnerable Centrelink customers are able to detect deficiencies in the decision-making process and request the appropriate corrective steps be undertaken so that fair and transparent decisions are made which are consistent with the objectives of the act.
5) Consider that virtually all other operational instructions relating to eligibility and rate of payments have been disclosed (e.g. 108-01000000, 108-01010000, 108-01020000, 108-02000000, 108-02010000, 108-02020000, 108-02040000, 108-03000000, 108-03010000, 108-03020000, 108-04000000 etc. etc.), presumably due to the importance of transparency relating to payment related instructions so that fair and consistent decisions are made efficiently and to enable Centrelink customers to detect deficiencies in the decision making process.

Yours faithfully,
Centrelink Customer

FREEDOMOFINFORMATION, Services Australia

Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).

 

This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.

 

Charges

The Agency 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 to provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. We will send correspondence and notices to your email address.
Please advise us as soon as possible if you wish correspondence to be sent
to another address or if your email 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 staff details

The Agency 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 FOI Act.

            

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FREEDOMOFINFORMATION, Services Australia

1 Attachment

Dear Centrelink Customer,

 

Thank you for your response. We are seeking additional time to consult
with the relevant business area to better understand the material within
the documents in order to make an informed decision under the FOI Act. As
the subject matter experts, we consider the business area’s comments but
the decision on release lies with the FOI delegate.

 

I note your submissions and these will be considered by the FOI decision
maker. 

 

Please respond by COB today if possible to confirm if you agree to the
extension of time. Thank you.

 

Kind regards,
Cherie

Freedom of Information

LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION

[1]cid:image002.jpg@01D6BC07.2D63B370

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.

 

 

 

 

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Centrelink Customer

Dear FREEDOMOFINFORMATION / Cherie,

Thank you for the clarification.

Yes, I agree to the extension of time, provided that the public interest factors favouring disclosure are considered by the decision maker, and that if you are able to provide a decision sooner that you will do so.

Also for consideration, from what I can tell, all instructions in the category "Income, assets and rates of payment" have been released under FOI in full:
https://operational.servicesaustralia.go...
I ask that you consider that section 24 determinations are related to this category as income and assets affect section 24 determinations, which in turn affects the rate of payment.

Yours faithfully,
Centrelink Customer

Centrelink Customer

Dear FREEDOMOFINFORMATION / Cherie,

Could you please provide an update as today is the revised due date?

I also wanted to remind you that I agreed to the extension of time on the condition that public interest factors favouring disclosure would be considered by the decision maker. These factors include, but are not limited to, the ones I expressly stated in my message on March 27, 2023.

Yours sincerely,
Centrelink Customer

FREEDOMOFINFORMATION, Services Australia

Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).

 

This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.

 

Charges

The Agency 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 to provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. We will send correspondence and notices to your email address.
Please advise us as soon as possible if you wish correspondence to be sent
to another address or if your email 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 staff details

The Agency 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 FOI Act.

            

show quoted sections

FREEDOMOFINFORMATION, Services Australia

3 Attachments

Dear Sir / Madam

 

Please find attached the decision letter and documents relating to your
request for access to documents held by Services Australia, under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982.

 

If you are unable to open the attachments please contact me by replying to
this email.

 

Kind Regards,

 

 

Elizabeth

Freedom of Information Practitioner

Freedom of Information and Ombudsman Branch

LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION

[1]cid:image003.jpg@01D6C26A.B2D8C180

Email: [2][email address]

 

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.

 

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2. mailto:[email address]

Centrelink Customer

Dear FREEDOMOFINFORMATION,

Thank you for your decision and for releasing most of the requested material. Please consider my requests below.

Incomplete Headings:

First, a minor point: there are some incomplete headings in the document (ending with "Read more..."). Could you please provide those? I am content to receive this in a separate document if it is the only additional material you choose to provide.

Request for Review:

Second, I am requesting a review of your decision regarding the exempted sections on pages 29-30.

While I understand your concerns and support efforts to protect processes against circumvention, I believe that these omitted sections are particularly relevant for release under public interest, as they appear to relate to processes for ensuring procedural fairness. This can be inferred from the fact that these omitted sections are preceded by "each case must be based on its own merit..." and followed by "...This determination is a process of weighing all the facts."

It seems only fair that honest individuals can review these processes to ascertain whether they have been assessed in accordance with procedural fairness. Given that section 24 applies to the most vulnerable customers, it is even more crucial that they are empowered to identify and challenge flaws in section 24 decisions affecting them.

In considering the release of this section, please take into account:

1) Difficulty in circumventing evidentiary requirements: The eligibility and assessment processes of section 24 require detailed evidence, making it difficult for individuals to manipulate the system even with more detailed knowledge of the assessment process. The fundamental eligibility criteria, such as assessment of financial hardship, are already disclosed. Moreover, the most dishonest customers could circumvent the entire process simply by not disclosing their partnered status. Therefore, it is unclear how publishing a section related to procedural fairness would meaningfully aid dishonest customers. On the contrary, any additional emphasis on the consideration of their entire circumstances may serve to discourage them.

2) Public interest and procedural fairness: Honest customers are most affected by the lack of disclosure, as they need to understand the process to provide necessary and relevant information to substantiate their claims and to identify and challenge decision-making errors, oversights, or procedural fairness issues. Disclosing the assessment process promotes transparency and procedural fairness in keeping with the objectives of the Act.

3) Efficient service provision and reduced burden on the agency: By disclosing the assessment process, customers can self-assess their eligibility, potentially reducing the workload on the agency by decreasing the number of submitted cases and/or increasing the decision-readiness of such cases, streamlining the process.

4) Reducing incorrect decisions and appeals: Disclosure enables customers to better present their cases, reducing the likelihood of incorrect decisions and subsequent appeals, alleviating the burden on the review system.
5) Please explore alternative options for release, such as:
• Redacting only the most sensitive parts while preserving the overall understanding of the assessment process.
• The agency could add a separate, exempt section that provides guidance on potential misuse detection.

I hope you agree to release additional parts of pages 29-30 to help ensure that honest customers have access to the information they need to understand and navigate the assessment process while still safeguarding the agency's ability to detect and prevent misuse.

Yours sincerely,
Centrelink Customer

Centrelink Customer

Dear FREEDOMOFINFORMATION,

could you please expand the scope of my review request to include the following:
• Material requested in my review request dated 21 April 2023
• The section: Partner visas and section 24 - Page 7
• Item/Scenario 12 in Table 1 - Page 34
• The three sections on Page 53 and the section at the top of page 54

Please also review the public interest factors I mentioned in my review request 21 April 2023, so that a balance is struck between helping ensure that vulnerable customers have access to the information they need to understand and navigate the assessment process while still safeguarding the agency's ability to detect and prevent circumvention of the process.

Yours sincerely,
Centrelink Customer

FREEDOMOFINFORMATION, Services Australia

Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).

 

This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.

 

Charges

The Agency 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 to provide us with an address which we can send
notices to. We will send correspondence and notices to your email address.
Please advise us as soon as possible if you wish correspondence to be sent
to another address or if your email 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 staff details

The Agency 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 FOI Act.

            

show quoted sections

FOI.LEGAL.TEAM, Services Australia

2 Attachments

Dear Centrelink Customer

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your Freedom of
Information request.   

Regards,

Amanda, Authorised FOI Decision Maker

FOI and Ombudsman Branch

LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION

[1]cid:image002.png@01D924F1.A0BB7BA0

 

 

 

 

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Centrelink Customer

Dear FOI TEAM,

Thank you for undertaking this review.

I forgot to add one final part to the review request, please consider if the information at the bottom of
page 8 can be released, or be released in part.

Yours sincerely,

Centrelink Customer

Centrelink Customer

Dear FOI TEAM,

Could you kindly confirm whether my request from 3 May 2023 can be included in the review?
(request that information at the bottom of page 8 be released, or be released in part)

I apologise for requesting an addition to the review, due to health issues I fiid it difficult to process a large amount of information at once and had to go over the released information numerous times to identify all sections of interest that had been redacted. I am confident that I have now identified all relevant sections for the review and I thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,
Centrelink Customer

FOI.LEGAL.TEAM, Services Australia

3 Attachments

 

Good afternoon,

           

Please find attached the decision letter relating to your request for
internal review of the decision made for access to documents held by
Services Australia, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

 

If you have any questions regarding this matter or are unable to open the
attachment please contact me by replying to this email.

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Amanda, Authorised FOI Decision Maker

FOI and Ombudsman Branch

LEGAL SERVICES DIVISION

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