Departmental FOI Disclosure Log

1. How many applications for Redress has the Scheme received between the starting date for applications and 30 May 2019?

2. How many applications for Redress have been successfully completed and actioned by the Scheme since it began accepting applications?

3. What is the average time taken, across all successfully completed and actioned applications to date, from receipt of an application until its successful completion and actioning?

I am seeking access to the incoming government brief prepared for the social services minister following the 2019 federal election. I am only seek access to those parts of the brief that relate to welfare debt recovery, drug testing of welfare recipients, the cashless welfare card, welfare fraud prevention, and the ParentsNext program.

1. At 30 April 2019, the number of staff employed by the Department in Redress Policy and Legislation Branch and Redress Implementation Branch) to administer the National Redress Scheme.

2. Between 1 July 2018 and 30 April 2019, the amount spent on salaries (plus superannuation, allowances, etc) for staff employed by the Department in Redress Policy and Legislation Branch and Redress Implementation Branch to administer the National Redress Scheme.

3. Between 1 July 2018 and 30 April 2019, the direct costs associated with implementing the National Redress Scheme, including salaries, entitlements, contractors, travel, and consultancies for the Department.

Documents produced in the last 12 months containing information about trans-generational welfare dependence.

I am specifically looking for data and/or statistics about the extent and/or incidence of trans-generational welfare dependence and analysis and/or assessment about, but not limited to, its causes and possible policy responses.

Documents used by the Complaints team to respond to incoming correspondence from members of the public, including processing instructions, standard operating procedures or task cards.

1. The Departmental decision minutes prepared for the refusal of the transfer from Ethan Affordable Housing Ltd to Quantum Housing Group Pty Ltd;
2. The Departmental decision minutes prepared for the approval of the transfer from Ethan Affordable Housing Ltd to Questus Fund Management Ltd; and
3. Reports on NRAS applications to transfer prepared by Deloitte which are related to Ethan Affordable Housing Ltd.

Item 1. Any statistical information about the number of interviews being conducted via alternative mode as per clause 93.6 of the Disability Employment Services Grant Agreement effective 1 July 2018

Documents produced in the last 12 months containing information analysis and/or advice and/or briefings about whether (a) recipients of the Newstart Allowance are below the standard relative income poverty possible line and (b) whether the Newstart Allowance is capable of meeting rental, food, clothing and other living costs for recipients. Information about the extent of any shortfall is also within scope.

[Item 1] the department’s timeline(s) for finalising the 2018 tender and notifying successful and unsuccessful applicants;

[Item 4] any documents used by the Department to assess the tender applications (such as assessment criteria).

Documents showing the gender segregated breakdown of the number of people with disability working in Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs). I would like to find out how many people working in ADEs for the previous and current financial year are women.

A copy of the 2013 Urbis Pty Ltd’s reports used by DSS to evaluate the HIPPY program.

a copy of the "Post Implementation Review of No Jab, No Pay 2015 Budget measure"

..documents on the funding for The Yiriman Project 2017-18

1. The overall government funding for the Y4Y Youth Force Programme
2. The breakdown of where that funding is going: how much is going to White Lion and how much is going to any employer partners
3. If Deliveroo is in receipt of any government funding as part of the programme
4. If there are any other employers in the task or “gig economy” which are participating and if so how much funding they are in receipt of
5. How the overall spend is broken down: how much on training, equipment such as bicycles, etc
6. How long the training lasts and what participants specifically get trained on
7. How many participants have so far been taken on in the programme and from which cities
8. How many participants have worked with Deliveroo so far
9. How long participants stayed working with Deliveroo (on average)
10. What their average hourly earnings were while working with Deliveroo
11. A breakdown of any allowances, superannuation or other benefits participants received while working with Deliveroo
12. An explanation of what insurance (to cover personal injury and workers compensation) they have while working with Deliveroo
13. Any feedback or assessments which have been carried out on participants working for Deliveroo.

“…all documents held by the Department - other than documents already in the public domain - about the likely cost to providers of implementing the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Scheme.”

[Item 1] Procurement plans, work orders and inventory documents relating to the purchase of laptops for the department for the 2017-18 financial year.

[Item 2] Signed/Agreed support plans or Service Level Agreements with the vendors relating to Item 1

[Item 3] Options/advice papers provided to senior DSS executive about the purchase

Documents showing the amounts paid by salary and/or any additional payments/stipends/consultancy fees etc for each member of the Commission’s Independent Advisory Council on Redress.

Ministerial briefing documents, excluding drafts, prepared between 01 January 2015 and 23 November 2015 by the Department of Social Services with respect to: the abolition of belief-based exemptions, (both religious and conscientious); and, the narrowing of medical contraindication exemptions in Commonwealth legislation

A document showing:

The number of current age pensioners whose payment is determined under the asset test and who have an assessable amount for curtilage adjacent to their principal home on their record at 31 December 2017.

The number of age pensioners who have had their payment cancelled due to the application of the assets tests and at the time of cancellation had an assessable amount for curtilage on their record between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2017.

All documents on the file titled ‘briefing on the outcome of the Whole of Government Debt Strategy Review in September 2017 (EF17/35266)’

[Item 1] A copy of the summary checklist required for submission of requirements under the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS).

Documents in the last twelve months on the demand for the Carer Adjustment Payment and the granting of such assistance.

[Item 1] A copy of the impact assessment carried out by DSS and Business Information Services into the breach of DSS employee information identified in October, 2017 by Australian Signals Directorate.

All documents which relate to the decision of the Department of Social Services not to send a representative to the conference convened by AbilitySeer

All reports given to the Attorney-General, Attorney-General’s Department or Office of Legal Services Coordination regarding compliance with the Legal Services Directions, including but not limited to annual compliance certificates, for the period 1 July 2015 to present.

The gift register for the Department of Social Services for the previous five years.

Excluding staff names, contact details and signatures.

Item 1: A previous FOI request confirmed over 40 people are exempt from the cashless welfare card. What are the following demographics of those with current exemptions:

• Indigenous / Non Indigenous status
• Age
• Sex
• Payment type
• Housing status

Item 2: With over 40 people being granted exemption from the cashless welfare card trials, I would like to request the procedural guidelines for assessing this exemption.

Item 3: Please provide the procedure or guidelines used when assessing how rent assistance is paid to those who are subjected to the cashless welfare card, if rent assistance does form part of the 80/20 split please also provide evidence of rent assistance being included as a restrict-able payment within the allowing legislation or instrument.

Correspondence between the OAIC and the Department of Social Services pertaining to the exposure of DSS staffs' personal information by contractor Business Information Services.

The number of DV incident reports made available to Orima Research for their evaluation of the Cashless Debit Card Trials

National Rental Affordability Scheme documents relating to properties at 56, 58, 60, 62 1and 64 Church street Armadale (Strata Lots 5 to 1)

How many people currently reside in a postcode declared via instrument to be a trial area for the purposes of the cashless welfare card trails, collect a restrictable declared payment yet are not subjected to the welfare card.

Documents such as reports, ministerial/ executive briefings and attachments, Senate Estimates briefings, internal correspondence involving the Department Secretary such as emails, since 1 January 2017, relating to drug testing of welfare recipients.

The total cost of the cashless debit card trials in Ceduna and the East Kimberley from the beginning until 31 August 2017 and the total projected cost of the rollout of the cashless debit card in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay and the Goldfields.

The Method Report in relation to the Australian Priority Investment Approach to Welfare.

The number of people who will not receive the Energy Supplement as a result of its abolition for new recipients, by State and by electorate, by 2020 and the number of people currently in the workforce who will be affected by increasing the pension eligibility age to 70.

Documents that address the possibility of false positives in drug testing of welfare recipients

Documents regarding misuse of the cashless debit card in Ceduna, Kununurra and Wyndham regions.

The Debit Card Trial Services Agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and Indue Limited

Access, for the purpose of review and research, to the minutes and materials, including materials provided to [the Child Support National Stakeholder Engagement Forum (the Forum)] members and submissions made by Forum members, of the meetings in which the changes [in the Child Support and Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Budget And Other Measures) Bill 2010] were canvassed by the Forum.

Cost of implementing and managing the government’s trials of the Healthy Welfare Card (Ceduna and East Kimberley)

Correspondence in relation to the development, implementation and subsequent cancellation of the proposed trial of pre-commitment technology for poker machines.

24/04/2017 (original)

Number and type of individual complaints reported by Medibank Health Solutions about 1800RESPECT between 1 December 2014 and 31 January 2017

Costs of the cashless debit card trials in Ceduna and Kununurra.

Information upon which Schedule 5 of the Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill (Omnibus) 2017 was based.

Release certificates/correspondence certifying that release of information is necessary in the public interest under Section 208 of Social Security (Administration) Act 1991 between 01/01/2017 and 09/02/2017.

1800RESPECT Reports.

The most recent media Talking Points prepared by the Department.

Policy development documents for the evaluation and monitoring of the Try Test and Learn Fund.

… copies of material created that supports the Minister's claim that: We have found these pockets, and maybe that's being a bit generous, because they are very large pockets, of payment categories and rules that intersect in a way that mean you can earn as much through the welfare system, and I use the word 'earn' advisedly, you can earn as much as you do from working very hard. … created between July 1, 2016 and November 3, 2016. … [and] any documents related to the article Parental welfare pays more than work published in the Australian on October 28, 2016 and the article Myth busted: Stay-at-home parents don't get more than those who work published in the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald on October 29 and October 30, 2016.

23/12/2016
(Primary decision)

02/02/2017
(Internal review decision)

a) An up-to-date copy of the ‘NRAS Investigations Referrals and Scam Register’ (referred to at footnote 14, p24 of the Australian National Audit Office’s Report No, 23 2016-17) and
b) documents regarding the 32 referrals from DSS’s NRAS Branch to its Investigations Branch (referred to at paragraph 2.24, p24 of the Australian National Audit Office’s report No. 23 2016-17).