Departmental FOI Disclosure Log

In relation to the Department’s contract with the Boston Consulting Group as amended on 18 August 2020 (CN3676568-A2), the Department has told Senate Estimates that Boston Consulting Group provided:

• Two reports for the DES mid-term review: the draft and final review reports; and b.
• One report for the ESAt review.

In relation to the ESAt review, I note that on 28 October at Senate Estimates, official Catherine Rule stated that the report was “not secret”.

In relation to the mid-term review, I note the secretary of the department told Estimates on 29 October it “wasn’t a report to government”.

I request:

• the three reports listed above
• a copy of the relevant Request for Tender
• a copy of any briefing to the Departmental Secretary seeking views or clearance of the Request for Tender
• a copy of any industry briefings in relation to the tender, if one exists
• a copy of any briefings related to the first variation of the tender, which was valued at $880,000 and was for “further research”

Please provide us with a copy of:  

1. the tender and/or contract between:
   1. the former Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; and
   2. Security & Technology Services (Norwest) Pty Ltd (also known as “Security and Technology Service (WA)”), which was for the period 22 October 2012 to 25 January 2013 and has a Contract Notice ID of CN917001 (as published on www.tenders.gov.au); and 
2. all correspondence (meaning emails, letters, facsimiles, memoranda, and file notes of telephone conversations and meetings): 
   1. relating to the tender and/or contract located in accordance with subparagraph 5(a) above; and  
   2. in respect of which Mr Gregory Ireland is a sender or recipient of, or is referred to therein, (that is, where both (i) and (ii) above are satisfied).  
       

Any documents, specifically ministerial/executive briefing notes, advice and email attachments as well as correspondence mentioning, discussing or deliberating over changes in considerations for Home Based Work applications since the APSC circular was issued in November 2020.

Please limit this search to documents or correspondence between the Minister for Families and Social Services, Senator Anne Ruston, or staff within their office or staff acting on their behalf and the Social Services secretary, Kathryn Campbell, or staff acting on behalf of the secretary as well as senior executive level staff within the Department of Social Services.

Additionally, I request documents reflecting the number of Home Based Work applications submitted by employees since 1 November 2020, including details on how many have been approved, rejected or are still being processed.

I request details on the processing times and reasons given by the department for Home Back Work rejections. I also request details on how many applicants have appealed department decisions where a Home Based Work application was rejected and how many of those were later approved upon appeal.

The range of all the above search requests should be limited to documents created since 1 November 2020 and 25 February 2021 (today's date).

Documents held by you and your office relating to the decision to introduce Independent functional assessments to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) announced on 28 August 2020 in response to the review of the NDIS Act by David Tune AO PSM. Specifically, my request encompasses:

• Correspondence between David Tune AO PSM and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), Department of Social Services or Minister Robert’s office mentioning Independent Assessments.
• Documents determining the impact of Independent Assessments on scheme sustainability.

FOI 2021-064

… seek information regarding the "Disability Employment Services Privacy Consent Form V1.3"… In particular I seek the following information either in the "Deed", internal Departmental documents and or in any guidelines / directives to JobActive/DES providers for the period of the current Deed 1/7/2018 until the present.

1. Where it is listed as mandatory and or optional to complete this form
2. Any reference to clients refusing to complete the form
3. Any reference to clients amending the form in any way e.g alterations or via writing general comments

I also seek a copy/copies of any previous Disability Employment Services Privacy Consent Forms for the period 1St July 2018 until the introduction of Version 3.1 (9/03/2020)

…any document/s, policy, procedure, guidance note etc, either paper or electronic, that outlines, clarifies etc:

1. The criteria for a person to obtain support pursuant to the ICSS
2. All types of support available pursuant to the ICSS
3. Financial amount / quantification of support available in respect or a carer and/or care recipient, including how this is determined / allocated
4. The assessment checklist / criteria that assessors use when determining whether someone is eligible for support pursuant to the ICSS, including how the assessors determine what support/s will be allocated, and how much support/s will be allocated
5. The objection / appeal process, if a person is unhappy with a decision pursuant to the ICSS, for example, a decision on what, and how much, support that will be made available 
6. Any information, guidelines, policies, procedures, guidance notes etc on how the ICSS would apply, and how support packages would be allocated, in the following situations:
   1. A person provides care to multiple recipients in the same household (for example, if a parent supports their disabled child that lives with them, and also supports their spouse with mental health issues in the same household) 
   2. A person provides support to care recipients at 2 different addresses / household (for example, if a parent supports their disabled child that lives with them, and also supports their elderly parent that lives elsewhere) 
   3. A person that requires care themselves is also a carer (for example, a parent with mental health issues cares for a disabled child)
   4. Multiple persons (carers) from different addresses / households provide support to a care recipient living elsewhere  (for example, if siblings that live in their own household / address share the care of an elderly parent that lives by themselves elsewhere in their own household)

How support pursuant to the ICSS is impacted if the care recipient is also eligible for supports elsewhere, eg Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) or MyAged Care Commonwealth Home Support Program or Home Care package
 

Tender documentation (including the approach to market, contract specification requirements and the final contract) in relation to the contract with N2N Communications for $878,735 commencing on 26 August 2020 (Austender Contract Notice CN3710563)

I request please DSS document No. EF20/7543

I request please DSS document No. EF20/13299

‘… all documents held by the Department of Social Services that relate to the use of "income averaging" by DSS, Services Australia, the Department of Human Services, or Centrelink, to finalise welfare debts in either the 1990s or the 1980s. To be clear, I am not seeking documents created in the 1990s or 1980s. I am seeking documents which relate to inquiries that the department has recently about the use of income-averaging dating back to the 1990s or 1980s. The documents could likely include correspondence between departmental staff relating to requests for investigations into the potential use of income averaging dating back to the 1990s, or 1980s, and the subsequent findings of these investigations in whatever form they may take. As a result, please confine my request to documents that were created after 1 July 2019.’

“…all correspondence, by email, text message or WhatsApp, between the Minister and the Minister's office and APM including its chief executive Michael Anghie sent this year.

I am also after all correspondence (email, text message or WhatsApp) between Minister Ruston and Minister Roberts about the JobActive fee change”

I request a list of all entities which received work from the Department under the National Indigenous Procurement Policy in the 2019-20 financial year.

“I kindly request a copy of the document/s, paper or electronic, that outline:

1. any conditions, requirements etc. that ACN must adhere to in relation to the grant, for example, how the grant monies are to be spent, and general governance conditions that ACN must meet in order to continue to be eligible for the grant monies,
2. any conditions, requirements etc. that stipulate what the grant is permitted to be used for”

FOI Request 2021-002 Documents

...the funding agreement for the years 2017-2020 and 2020-2022 for the DDS- NDIS Appeals between the Department of Social Services and Side by Side Advocacy Inc