PIA 57785 Copilot - MS Teams and transcription use cases
Dear Services Australia,
I am writing to request access to a document under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).
The document I seek is the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) titled:
"Copilot - MS Teams and transcription use cases"
Reference Number: 57785
I request that access be provided in electronic format.
Pursuant to section 29(5) of the FOI Act, I request a waiver of any applicable charges on the grounds that providing access to this document is in the general public interest.
Services Australia collects very sensitive personal, financial, and health information for a vast majority of Australians. The use of generative AI tools like Microsoft Copilot to process or transcribe internal communications raises significant questions about data security, privacy risks, and the potential for inadvertent disclosure of citizen information.
Disclosure of this PIA is essential for public understanding and scrutiny of the agency's risk assessment processes. It allows the public to see how Services Australia is identifying and mitigating the privacy risks associated with foreign AI technology and the public's very sensitive personal information, thereby promoting accountability.
Yours faithfully,
Steven Roddis
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team of Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides general FOI
information .
We are currently experiencing a higher than usual volume of requests,
which has resulted in some delays in our review and response process. We
are seeking your agreement to extend the processing time by an additional
30 days. If you agree to this additional time, we would appreciate it if
you could reply to this email with “I agree to a 30 day extension of time”
at your earliest opportunity.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency uses administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') to
release certain types of documents outside the FOI Act. We will advise you
if the documents you seek are suitable for release to you under the
arrangements. If you consent to receiving documents under the
arrangements, please reply to this email with “I agree to receive
documents via the arrangements where appropriate”.
Personal information of Agency staff
As part of the FOI process, we seek your consent to remove any information
that may identify junior staff. Please reply to this email with “I agree
to exclude staff details”.
Once you consent to remove this information, it will be irrelevant under
Section 22 of the FOI Act.
How we will send documents to you
We will use this email address to send you documents. We will advise you
if we are unable to send documents to you via email due to their size.
How long do I have to wait?
Unless your request has been extended, we are required to notify you
within 30 days.
Requesting a formal external review of a FOI deemed refusal decision
After the due date has past and you did not receive a decision, the
request becomes a ‘deemed refusal decision’. You may request the
Information Commissioner to review the ‘deemed refusal decision’. For
further information, see [1]Apply for an Information Commissioner review |
OAIC (or visit [2]www.oaic.gov.au).
References
Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
2. http://www.oaic.gov.au/
Dear Services Australia,
Thank you for your email acknowledging my request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
I am writing to decline your request for a 30-day extension to the statutory processing period.
The reason cited, 'a higher than usual volume of requests,' is a matter of the agency's internal resourcing. The FOI Act provides a statutory timeframe to ensure the public receives timely access to information, which is a cornerstone of government transparency and accountability. In my opinion, routinely seeking extensions due to workload pressures works against the spirit and objects of the Act and can incentivise the under-resourcing of essential functions like FOI processing.
The automated nature of your email also suggests that my specific request has not yet been reviewed. I therefore expect a decision to be provided within the original statutory timeframe.
Regarding the other points in your email:
Administrative Release: I agree to receive documents via administrative arrangements where appropriate, provided this does not prejudice my rights under the FOI Act.
Personal Information of Staff: I agree to the exclusion of names and identifying details of junior (non-SES) staff, except where the identity of a specific individual is directly relevant and material to the substance of my request.
Yours faithfully,
Steven Roddis