Suspension of the DVA/UniSA MATES program
Dear Department of Veterans' Affairs,
According to the Hansard transcript (p.13) of Deputy Secretary Kefford’s testimony before the FADaT Senate Estimates Committee on Wednesday 15 November 2023 Deputy Secretary Kefford, in response to a question from the Chair of the Committee, said “that the department suspended” the DVA/UniSA MATES program “in August”.
However a letter from the University of South Australia to Secretary Frame dated 17 August 2023 released under FOI states “the University will not have any option but to suspend the [MATES] program”, indicating that it was the University of South Australia and not the Department which suspended the MATES program.
I therefore request copy of any correspondence the Department has access to, between the University of South Australia and the Department, which suspends and/or is about the suspension of the MATES program.
Because with both the University and the Department claiming it was them that suspended the program, but only the University having evidence that it had done so, this discrepancy needs clarity.
As more than just me would be interested in this answer please ensure that documents provided to Right to Know are accessible by everyone and not just me.
The telephone numbers, signatures and contact information in these documents can be treated as irrelevant as well as the last names of individuals not senior executives of the University/Department.
Yours faithfully,
Jenny
Thank you for your email. Please accept this automatic reply as
confirmation the Information Access Unit (IAU) has received your email.
Please note the IAU is currently experiencing a high volume of requests.
We are working as quickly as possible to process your request. We
appreciate your patience.
Dear Jenny,
The Department of Veterans' Affairs (the department) has received your
request for access to information under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act). I note you have requested access to the following:
'...According to the Hansard transcript (p.13) of Deputy Secretary
Kefford's testimony before the FADaT Senate Estimates Committee on
Wednesday 15 November 2023 Deputy Secretary Kefford, in response to a
question from the Chair of the Committee, said "that the department
suspended" the DVA/UniSA MATES program "in August".
However a letter from the University of South Australia to Secretary Frame
dated 17 August 2023 released under FOI states "the University will not
have any option but to suspend the [MATES] program", indicating that it
was the University of South Australia and not the Department which
suspended the MATES program.
I therefore request copy of any correspondence the Department has access
to, between the University of South Australia and the Department, which
suspends and/or is about the suspension of the MATES program.
Because with both the University and the Department claiming it was them
that suspended the program, but only the University having evidence that
it had done so, this discrepancy needs clarity.
As more than just me would be interested in this answer please ensure that
documents provided to Right to Know are accessible by everyone and not
just me.
The telephone numbers, signatures and contact information in these
documents can be treated as irrelevant as well as the last names of
individuals not senior executives of the University/Department...'
Your request was received by the department on 9 December 2023 and the
ordinary 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced
from the day after that date.
Extension of Time
Due to an increase in the number of information access applications
currently being received by the department, we are asking your agreement
to an extension of time for a further 30 days to process this request
under section 15AA of the FOI Act. This would mean that your request is
due on 7 February 2024.
If we are in a position to make a decision on your request earlier than
this date, we will endeavour to do so.
The statutory period may also be extended if we need to consult third
parties or for other reasons permitted under the FOI Act. We will advise
you if this happens.
Please reply by return email if you agree to this extension of time. If
you do agree we will notify the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (OAIC) of your agreement under section 15AA of the FOI Act.
Charges
The Department will notify you within 14 days of an estimate of the
charges that will apply to your request for non-personal information
before we process any requested documents or impose a final charge.
Your address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address that we can send
notices to. You have advised your contact address is
[1][FOI #10957 email] . Unless you tell us
otherwise, we will send all notices and correspondence to this address.
Disclosure log
Information released under the FOI Act may be published on a disclosure
log on our website, subject to certain exceptions. These exceptions
include where publication of personal, business, professional or
commercial information would be unreasonable.
Further assistance
If you have any questions about your request, please email
[2][DVA request email]
Yours sincerely
Kevin| Information Access Officer
Position 62373493
Information Access Unit
Ministerial, International & Stakeholder Relations Branch
Ministerial, Communication & Engagement Division
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372)
[3][DVA request email]
[4]www.dva.gov.au
[5]cid:image008.jpg@01D8EA24.8F7FA8A0
[6]cid:image009.jpg@01D8EA24.8F7FA8A0
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #10957 email]
2. mailto:[DVA request email]
3. mailto:[DVA request email]
4. http://www.dva.gov.au/
Dear INFORMATION.ACCESS,
From your correspondence I understand you are seeking agreement to an extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act for a further 30 days to respond to this FOI because you claim that the department has received an increase in the number of information access applications.
As you have not provided any further details as to the alleged increase it makes it difficult to assess your request. As the department also did not provide in relation to a separate request any information about the alleged increase in information access applications compared to that it would normally receive this claim is vague and unsubstantiated.
You have also indicated that you may seek further time to be applied using other provisions of the FOI Act that would make any request under the section 15AA ‘double dipping’.
Can you please provide sufficient information specific to your request for an extension of time to allow for it to be considered including whether any other extension of time provisions are intended to be utilised.
Yours sincerely,
Jenny
Thank you for your email. Please accept this automatic reply as
confirmation the Information Access Unit (IAU) has received your email.
Please note the IAU is currently experiencing a high volume of requests.
We are working as quickly as possible to process your request. We
appreciate your patience.
Good afternoon Jenny
We are requesting the extension noting that DVA will be on stand down from December 22nd with staff expected to return on the 2nd of January. Your request was received on 9 December 2023 and is due on 8 January 2024 and the concern is related to the loss of time to process over that stand down period.
We ask for 30 days as this is the maximum amount we can request under s15AA of the FOI Act however what you are willing to allow by way of extension under s15AA is completely up to you.
Kind regards
Joshua | A/g Assistant Director
Position Number: 62336362
Information Access Unit
Ministerial, International & Stakeholder Relations Branch
Ministerial, Communication & Engagement Division
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372)
[DVA request email]
www.dva.gov.au
Dear INFORMATION.ACCESS,
If the reason why you are seeking a 30 day extension of time is because of the loss of what otherwise would be six business days due to reduced staffing, why did the Department give another alleged reason in the first instance that no longer seems to be pressed?
Can you confirm that the Department won’t double dip - such as applying another extension of time? Because if you have a third party consultation most of that time is just waiting for a response from a third party, so any additional extension of time would be ‘double dipping’.
I took a look at the Guidelines and it says agencies should identify early if it needs to consult so it looks like making almost immediate section 15AA request where the agency has flagged it might consult is probably inappropriate at this time.
If you need further time to determine if you need to make any additional consultations I suggest asking me about your section 15AA request on 20 December, when you will know if you are consulting or not, and if you confirm no other extension of time is applied, I would be willing at that time to give you a six business day extension of time on that confirmation on 20 December so there is no net loss of time.
Yours sincerely,
Jenny
Thank you for your email. Please accept this automatic reply as
confirmation the Information Access Unit (IAU) has received your email.
Please note the IAU is currently experiencing a high volume of requests.
We are working as quickly as possible to process your request. We
appreciate your patience.
Dear Department of Veterans' Affairs,
I asked on 12 December if you could advise by 20 December whether any other extension of time would be made.
I have not received a response.
You should know by now if a consultation is required.
As I said on 12 December I would be willing to provide any time lost over Xmas if you can confirm there will be no double dipping but as you haven’t responded this doesn’t help.
I guess you can make your request again after New Years given this decision isn’t due until 8 January as it doesn’t really matter if a 15AA extension is given even a day or two before decision.
Yours faithfully,
Jenny
Dear Jenny,
We refer to your request made on 9 December 2023 to the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs (Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(Cth) (FOI Act), seeking access to the following:
“...According to the Hansard transcript (p.13) of Deputy Secretary
Kefford’s testimony before the FADaT Senate Estimates Committee on
Wednesday 15 November 2023 Deputy Secretary Kefford, in response to a
question from the Chair of the Committee, said “that the department
suspended” the DVA/UniSA MATES program “in August”.
However a letter from the University of South Australia to Secretary Frame
dated 17 August 2023 released under FOI states “the University will not
have any option but to suspend the [MATES] program”, indicating that it
was the University of South Australia and not the Department which
suspended the MATES program.
I therefore request copy of any correspondence the Department has access
to, between the University of South Australia and the Department, which
suspends and/or is about the suspension of the MATES program.
Because with both the University and the Department claiming it was them
that suspended the program, but only the University having evidence that
it had done so, this discrepancy needs clarity.
As more than just me would be interested in this answer please ensure that
documents provided to Right to Know are accessible by everyone and not
just me.
The telephone numbers, signatures and contact information in these
documents can be treated as irrelevant as well as the last names of
individuals not senior executives of the University/Department...”
The purpose of this email is to inform you that, after a preliminary
consideration of the documents likely to be relevant to the scope of your
request, I have determined that there is a third party who may reasonably
wish to contend that information contained in the documents is exempt
under section 47 (commercially valuable information)/section 47G (business
affairs)/ section 47F (personal information) of the FOI Act.
We are required to consult with this third party under section 27 and
section 27A of the FOI Act.
In accordance with section 15(6) of the FOI Act, the consultation
requirement extends the statutory time period to provide a decision on the
request by 30 days.
This means a decision on your request is now due on 7 February 2024.
Kind regards,
Jesse | Information Access Officer
Position Number : 62371652
Information Access Unit
Ministerial, Parliamentary & Stakeholder Engagement Branch
Engagement, Communications and Ministerial Division
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
1800 838 372
[1][email address]
[2]www.dva.gov.au
[3]cid:image002.png@01D7B6E3.69D49590[4]cid:image003.png@01D7B6E3.69D49590[5]cid:image004.png@01D7B6E3.69D49590[6]cid:image005.png@01D7B6E3.69D49590
[7]cid:image005.jpg@01D8E9DA.F8F2BE70
[8]cid:image006.jpg@01D8E9DA.F8F2BE70
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/
3. https://www.facebook.com/DVAAus
4. https://twitter.com/DVAAus
5. https://au.linkedin.com/company/australi...
6. https://www.youtube.com/DVATVAus
Dear Jenny,
Thank you for your Information Access request.
Your request has now been finalised. Please refer to the attached
documentation and contact me back using the details below if I can be of
any further assistance.
Kind regards,
Jesse | Information Access Officer
Position Number : 62371652
Information Access Unit
Ministerial, Parliamentary & Stakeholder Engagement Branch
Engagement, Communications and Ministerial Division
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
1800 838 372
[1][email address]
[2]www.dva.gov.au
[3]cid:image002.png@01D7B6E3.69D49590[4]cid:image003.png@01D7B6E3.69D49590[5]cid:image004.png@01D7B6E3.69D49590[6]cid:image005.png@01D7B6E3.69D49590
[7]cid:image005.jpg@01D8E9DA.F8F2BE70
[8]cid:image006.jpg@01D8E9DA.F8F2BE70
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dva.gov.au/
3. https://www.facebook.com/DVAAus
4. https://twitter.com/DVAAus
5. https://au.linkedin.com/company/australi...
6. https://www.youtube.com/DVATVAus
Dear INFORMATION.ACCESS,
While not all documents in scope have been provided, and I question the extent of the exemptions, the primary question was who really did suspend the MATES program has now been answered so I’m going to mark this as partially satisfied.
It remains an unanswered question as to why the Department misrepresented to the Parliament that it had suspended the MATES program, when this was untrue. As the University of South Australia clearly states in its letter of 14 December 2023 to the Department, complaining of Mr Andrew Kefford’s testimony before the Senate Committee, they are aggrieved by this misrepresentation as well as the claim that that the program was merely “paused”.
When the University of South Australia suspended the MATES program by service of letter of notice on 17 August 2023 on the Secretary personally, the Department has provided no evidence it had any intention of doing so at that time.
When the Department has claimed it, not the University, “paused” or “temporarily suspended” the MATES program (depending on what Department document you read, with “paused” used in external communications but “temporarily suspended” used in some internal communications) on 25 August 2023 (according to a timeline of key dates provided to the Minister on 18 October 2023) or 28 August 2023 (according to a letter of the Secretary dated 12 September 2023), this was clearly in reaction to the University of South Australia’s unilateral decision to suspend the MATES program on 17 August 2023 after it decided that the Department had critically misled it as to consents the Department claimed it had.
While I can see that misrepresenting that the Department, and not the University, was the one to “pause”/“suspend” the MATES program was an attempt to put the Department in a better light, it was ethically inappropriate and has damaged the relationship between the University and the Department significantly, and caused the Parliament to be knowingly mislead by the Department.
This is not conduct that should be occurring, but I appreciate that it is now confirmed that the MATES program was suspended and remains suspended by the University, since 17 August 2023.
Yours sincerely,
Jenny
Dear Department of Veterans' Affairs,
On 14 February 2024 Secretary Frame testified before the FADaTLC (Senate Estimates):
“Between the end of April and August [2023], I commissioned a range of work and advice to seek further assurances and more information about the [MATES] program.” (Page 110 of the transcript)
I apply for copy of these documents (whether held electronically or in discrete form) of Secretary Frame she refers to in that statement, including any responses she received in response to those commissioned works and advice sought.
As the MATES program has been the subject of multiple media reports regarding breaches of privacy and failures to obtain consent, there is a public interest in this information so please make sure these documents are accessible to everyone when responding.
Yours faithfully,
Jenny
Dear Jenny,
The Department of Veterans' Affairs (the department) has received your
request for access to information under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act). I note you have requested access to the following:
'...On 14 February 2024 Secretary Frame testified before the FADaTLC
(Senate Estimates):
"Between the end of April and August [2023], I commissioned a range of
work and advice to seek further assurances and more information about the
[MATES] program." (Page 110 of the transcript)
I apply for copy of these documents (whether held electronically or in
discrete form) of Secretary Frame she refers to in that statement,
including any responses she received in response to those commissioned
works and advice sought.
As the MATES program has been the subject of multiple media reports
regarding breaches of privacy and failures to obtain consent, there is a
public interest in this information so please make sure these documents
are accessible to everyone when responding...'
Your request was received by the department on 5 March 2024 and the
ordinary 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced
from the day after that date.
If we are in a position to make a decision on your request earlier than
this date, we will endeavour to do so.
The statutory period may also be extended if we need to consult third
parties or for other reasons permitted under the FOI Act. We will advise
you if this happens.
Charges
If the Department considers that a charge will apply to your request, you
will be notified within 14 days of an estimate of the charges that will
apply to your request for non-personal information before we process any
requested documents or impose a final charge.
Your address
The FOI Act requires that you provide us with an address that we can send
notices to. You have advised your contact address is
[1][FOI #10957 email] . Unless you tell us
otherwise, we will send all notices and correspondence to this address.
Disclosure log
Information released under the FOI Act may be published on a disclosure
log on our website, subject to certain exceptions. These exceptions
include where publication of personal, business, professional or
commercial information would be unreasonable.
Further assistance
If you have any questions about your request, please email
[2][DVA request email]
Yours sincerely
Kevin| Information Access Officer
Position 62373493
Information Access Unit
Ministerial, International & Stakeholder Relations Branch
Ministerial, Communication & Engagement Division
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372)
[3][DVA request email]
[4]www.dva.gov.au
[5]cid:image008.jpg@01D8EA24.8F7FA8A0
[6]cid:image009.jpg@01D8EA24.8F7FA8A0
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #10957 email]
2. mailto:[DVA request email]
3. mailto:[DVA request email]
4. http://www.dva.gov.au/
Dear INFORMATION.ACCESS,
Yet another FOI which has received a deemed refusal.
Is there a reason DVA are intentionally causing all these deemed refusals so as to prevent internal review?
Is this just rudeness on your part, or something more sinister? Seems the latter given not one FOI of mine has received anything but a deemed refusal this year, and no decisions have been given even though some are many months old now.
These multiple failures by DVA to give decisions in the times specified by the FOI Act is a deliberate and intentional strategy it now is demonstrated. Is flouting your statutory obligations just how DVA operates? The Royal Commission was long overdue it seems.
Yours sincerely,
Jenny