Appendices

Part four

Appendix 7: Freedom of Information

Freedom of Information (FOI) requests are administered by FaHCSIA in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Supplementary material, such as the FOI Guidelines, published by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet on its website, is used to support the handling of FOI requests where necessary.

Table 4.20 FaHCSIA-Freedom of Information: number of requests 2008-09
Requests carried over from 2007-08	Requests received 2008-09	Requests finalised in 2008-09 (including withdrawn)	Requests transferred to other agency	Requests outstanding 2008-09
6	32	25	2	11

Procedures for gaining access to documents are outlined in Part 3 of this report. See page 282 for details.

Functional Statement

This Functional Statement is published to meet the requirements of section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982. The statement lists bodies which assist the Department in its policy-making functions or administration of its schemes and enactments.

Functions

The broad functions of the Department are described in the departmental overview of this report. Portfolio legislation is listed in the Administrative Arrangements Order and set out in Appendix 8. The Administrative Arrangements Order is available at www.pmc.gov.au.

Arrangements of outside participation in policy development

Bodies or persons outside the Commonwealth administration may participate in the formulation of policy by the Department or in the administration of its enactments or schemes. These bodies include:

Aboriginals Benefit Account Advisory Committee
Australian Families and Children's Council
Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited
Carer Adjustment Advisory Panel
Child Support National Stakeholder Engagement Group
Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Homelessness
Commonwealth-State Territories and New Zealand Ministers' Conference on the Status of Women
Community and Disability Services Ministers' Conference
Community and Disability Services Ministers' Advisory Council
Consultative Forum for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fund
Disability Investment Group
Disability Standards Review Panel
Emergency Relief State Advisory Committees
Health, Ageing, Community and Disability Services Ministers' Councils
Housing Ministers' Advisory Committee
Housing Ministers' Conference
Ministerial Council for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs
Ministerial Council on Gambling
National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children
National Housing Supply Council
National People with Disabilities and Carer Council
National Policy Commission on Indigenous Housing
Repatriation Reference Committee
Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) National Coordination and Development Committee
Standing Committee of Commonwealth, States, Territories and New Zealand Women's Advisers
Standing Committee of Officials for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs

Table 4.21 FaHCSIA Freedom of Information contact officers and details
Office	Address
FaHCSIA National Office	FOI Coordinator Box 7576 Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610 Phone: (02) 6244 7421 or (02) 6244 1449 Fax: (02) 6244 7955
New South Wales State Office	FOI Contact Officer GPO Box 9820 Sydney NSW 2001 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (02) 8255 7799
Victorian State Office	FOI Contact Officer GPO Box 9820 Melbourne VIC 3001 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (03) 8626 1220
Queensland State Office	FOI Contact Officer GPO Box 9820 Brisbane QLD 4001 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (07) 3004 4780
South Australian State Office	FOI Contact Officer GPO Box 9820 Adelaide SA 5001 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (08) 8400 2199
Western Australian State Office	FOI Contact Officer GPO Box 9820 Perth WA 6848 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (08) 9229 1566
Tasmanian State Office	FOI Contact Officer GPO Box 9820 Hobart TAS 7001 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (03) 6211 9304
Northern Territory Office	FOI Contact Officer GPO Box 9820 Darwin NT 0801 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (08) 8936 6357

Table 4.22 FaHCSIA Freedom of Information: Categories of documents held by the Department
ministerial, interdepartmental and general correspondence briefing papers, and submissions prepared for the Minister* Cabinet documents, Cabinet submissions and associated briefs documents in relation to questions in Parliament and related replies documents prepared for the Executive Council records of speeches, public addresses, discussion papers and other statements made by the Minister* media releases by the Minister* or the Department papers and records relating to internal administration, including working drafts, statistical records, facsimiles, as well as records relating to human and financial resource management policy documents requests for legal advice, including advice given and other related legal documents documents relating to new and amending legislation, drafting instructions and draft legislation documents relating to program administration papers relating to meetings (agenda, minutes and reports) research and investigation papers tender documents funding agreements, contracts and Deeds of Standing Offers.

* Where the term Minister appears in the list, it includes a reference to the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon. Jenny Macklin, MP; the Minister for Housing and Minister for the Status of Women, the Hon. Tanya Plibersek, MP; the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services and Parliamentary Secretary for Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction, the Hon. Bill Shorten, MP; and the Parliamentary Secretary for the Voluntary Sector, the Hon. Ursula Stephens.

Access to documents

Forms and leaflets relating to FaHCSIA payments delivered by Centrelink are freely available from Centrelink or the Family Assistance Office.

The Department holds publicly available documents, which are either provided free of charge upon request or available for purchase. The Department, in accordance with the provisions of section 9 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982, has lodged a statement with the National Archives of Australia, listing the documents that are available from the Department. The statement is available at National Archives of Australia website (www.naa.gov.au).

Enquiries and requests to obtain access to publicly available FaHCSIA documents should be directed to 1800 050 009 (free call).

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