Dear Department of Health,

I request emails between the Department of Health and:
Meta (including Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp) on the topics of phone addiction or social media addiction.

Below are some constraints that hopefully narrow the scope.

Time frame 2022-01-01 till 2023-02-19
Please exclude drafts (and duplicates)
I'm happy to have all email addresses redacted except for the domain name. eg. @facebook.com
I'm happy to have names of anyone from the public service who's pay grade is lower than SES1 redacted and for the 3rd parties anyone, unless they are a director, vice president, some sort of executive officer eg. CFO.
I'm not against any other reasonable redactions just wanted to be upfront.

Please *exclude* emails that are to/from anyone who has the pay grade of:
APS1 through APS6, unless someone outside of that pay grade band is included.

For example emails:
To: APS1, APS2 would be excluded
However To: APS1, EL1 would be included.

I am not looking for emails that have been sent solely within the Australia government, only emails that include one of the above companies.

Yours faithfully,

Rex Banner

FOI, Department of Health

2 Attachments

Good morning Mr Banner

Acknowledgement of receipt of Freedom of Information request

I refer to your request received by the Department of Health and Aged Care
(the department) for access to documents under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (FOI Act). You have requested access to:

 

I request emails between the Department of Health and:

Meta (including Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp) on the topics of phone
addiction or social media addiction.

Below are some constraints that hopefully narrow the scope.

Time frame 2022-01-01 till 2023-02-19

Please exclude drafts (and duplicates)

I'm happy to have all email addresses redacted except for the domain name.
eg. @facebook.com I'm happy to have names of anyone from the public
service who's pay grade is lower than SES1 redacted and for the 3rd
parties anyone, unless they are a director, vice president, some sort of
executive officer eg. CFO.

I'm not against any other reasonable redactions just wanted to be upfront.

Please *exclude* emails that are to/from anyone who has the pay grade of:

APS1 through APS6, unless someone outside of that pay grade band is
included.

For example emails:

To: APS1, APS2 would be excluded

However To: APS1, EL1 would be included.

I am not looking for emails that have been sent solely within the
Australia government, only emails that include one of the above companies.

The reference number for your request is FOI-4242. Please ensure that you
quote this number in future correspondence with us concerning this
request.

Clarification

Regarding the highlighted part of your scope above, the department
interprets this to mean that you wish to exclude staff APS6 and below (or
equivalent) but include staff of Executive level 1 or above (or
equivalent).

 

If this is not correct, I would appreciate your response by COB Friday 24
February 2023.

Timeframes

Your request was received on 19 February 2023. The statutory timeframe
for processing your request is 30 calendar days and you should expect to
be notified of a decision from the department on or before 22 March 2023.
The period of 30 days may be extended if the department needs to consult
third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.

Other information

The department may impose a charge for the work involved in providing
access to the documents.  If this request attracts a charge you will be
notified in writing.

Unless you advise otherwise:

·       any draft and duplicate documents will be excluded from the scope
of your request, and

·       any public service employee names below Senior Executive Service
level and direct telephone numbers of all staff will be excluded from the
scope of your request under s22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act.

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log
[1]www.health.gov.au/resources/foi-disclosure-log, subject to certain
exceptions. (For example, personal information will not be published where
this would be unreasonable.)

You can contact the FOI team via email at [2][email address] or by phone
on 02 6289 1666, should you have any questions.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tegan

FOI Officer – Freedom of Information Section

Legal Advice and Legislation

Legal and Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group

Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care

T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [3][email address]

PO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health and Aged Care acknowledges the traditional owners
of country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to
elders both past and present

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Rex Banner <[FOI #9960 email]>
Sent: Sunday, 19 February 2023 8:54 PM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Phone and Social Media Addiction
Emails

 

REMINDER: Think before you click! This email originated from outside our
organisation. Only click links or open attachments if you recognise the
sender and know the content is safe.

Dear Department of Health,

 

I request emails between the Department of Health and:

Meta (including Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp) on the topics of phone
addiction or social media addiction.

 

Below are some constraints that hopefully narrow the scope.

 

Time frame 2022-01-01 till 2023-02-19

Please exclude drafts (and duplicates)

I'm happy to have all email addresses redacted except for the domain name.
eg. @facebook.com I'm happy to have names of anyone from the public
service who's pay grade is lower than SES1 redacted and for the 3rd
parties anyone, unless they are a director, vice president, some sort of
executive officer eg. CFO.

I'm not against any other reasonable redactions just wanted to be upfront.

 

Please *exclude* emails that are to/from anyone who has the pay grade of:

APS1 through APS6, unless someone outside of that pay grade band is
included.

 

For example emails:

To: APS1, APS2 would be excluded

However To: APS1, EL1 would be included.

 

I am not looking for emails that have been sent solely within the
Australia government, only emails that include one of the above companies.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Rex Banner

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[4][FOI #9960 email]

 

Is [5][Health request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Health? If so, please contact us using this
form:

[6]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

 

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:

[7]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

 

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

 

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Important: This transmission is intended only for the use of the
addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. 
If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or
dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.  If you
receive this transmission in error please notify the author immediately
and delete all copies of this transmission."

References

Visible links
1. http://www.health.gov.au/resources/foi-d...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[FOI #9960 email]
5. mailto:[Health request email]
6. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
7. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

hide quoted sections

Dear FOI,

> Regarding the highlighted part of your scope above, the department
> interprets this to mean that you wish to exclude staff APS6 and below (or
> equivalent) but include staff of Executive level 1 or above (or
> equivalent).

Correct.

Yours sincerely,

Rex Banner

FOI, Department of Health

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Banner

We refer to your FOI request received on 19 February 2023.

Please find attached a decision on access.

If you have any queries in relation to this decision, please contact the FOI Section on the details below.

Kind regards

Tegan
FOI Officer – Freedom of Information Section
Legal Advice and Legislation

Legal and Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group
Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care
T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [email address]
PO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
The Department of Health and Aged Care acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to elders both past and present

-----Original Message-----
From: Rex Banner <[FOI #9960 email]>
Sent: Sunday, 19 February 2023 8:54 PM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: TRIM: Freedom of Information request - Phone and Social Media Addiction Emails

REMINDER: Think before you click! This email originated from outside our organisation. Only click links or open attachments if you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Department of Health,

I request emails between the Department of Health and:
Meta (including Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp) on the topics of phone addiction or social media addiction.

Below are some constraints that hopefully narrow the scope.

Time frame 2022-01-01 till 2023-02-19
Please exclude drafts (and duplicates)
I'm happy to have all email addresses redacted except for the domain name. eg. @facebook.com I'm happy to have names of anyone from the public service who's pay grade is lower than SES1 redacted and for the 3rd parties anyone, unless they are a director, vice president, some sort of executive officer eg. CFO.
I'm not against any other reasonable redactions just wanted to be upfront.

Please *exclude* emails that are to/from anyone who has the pay grade of:
APS1 through APS6, unless someone outside of that pay grade band is included.

For example emails:
To: APS1, APS2 would be excluded
However To: APS1, EL1 would be included.

I am not looking for emails that have been sent solely within the Australia government, only emails that include one of the above companies.

Yours faithfully,

Rex Banner

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #9960 email]

Is [Health request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Department of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Important: This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you receive this transmission in error please notify the author immediately and delete all copies of this transmission."

hide quoted sections

Rex Banner left an annotation ()

"My decision is to refuse this request in accordance with subsection 24A(1) of the FOI
Act, on the basis that the department does not hold the documents requested. "