Appendices

Part four

Appendix 6: Freedom of information

Freedom of information (FOI) requests are administered by FaHCSIA in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Supplementary material may be used to support the handling of FOI requests. This includes FOI Guidelines that are available from: www.pmc.gov.au.

Table 4.19 | FaHCSIA—freedom of information: Number of requests 2007–08
Requests carried over from 2006–07	Requests received 2006–07	Requests finalised in 2007–08 (including withdrawn)	Requests transferred to other agency	2007–08 requests outstanding
12	36	39	2	7

Procedures for gaining access to documents are outlined in Part 3 of this report.

Functional statement

This functional statement is published to meet the requirements of section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

Functions

The broad functions of the Department are described in the departmental overview of this report. The portfolio legislation is listed in the Administrative Arrangements Order and set out in Appendix 7. The Administrative Arrangements Order is available at: www.pmc.gov.au.

Arrangements for 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
Child Support National Stakeholder Engagement Group
Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Homelessness
Commonwealth–State Ministers’ Conference on the Status of Women
Community and Disability Services Ministers’ Conference
Community 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, Community and Disability Services Ministers’ Councils
Housing Ministers’ Advisory Committee
Housing Ministers’ Conference
Indigenous Land Corporation
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 Youth Leadership Group
Northern Territory Emergence Response Review Board
Northern Territory Emergence Response Review Expert Group
Northern Territory Emergence Response Taskforce
Repatriation Reference Committee
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
Stronger Families and Communities Partnerships
Torres Strait Islander Regional Authority.

Table 4.20 | FaHCSIA freedom of information contact officers and details
FaHCSIA office	FOI Coordinator contact details
FaHCSIA National Office	FOI Coordinator PO Box 7576 Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610 Phone: (02) 6244 7421 Fax: (02) 6244 7955
NSW State Office	FOI Contact Officer GPO Box 9820 Sydney NSW 2001 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (02) 8255 1060
Victorian State Office	FOI Contact Officer PO Box 9820 Melbourne VIC 3001 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (03) 8626 1217
Queensland State Office	FOI Contact Officer GPO Box 2018 Townsville QLD 4810 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (07) 4772 4436
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
Australian Capital Territory Office	FOI Contact Officer GPO Box 7576 Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (02) 02 6244 7955
Northern Territory Office	FOI Contact Officer GPO Box 9820 Darwin NT 0801 Phone: 1300 653 227 Fax: (08) 8936 6399

Table 4.21 | 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 relating 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, legal advice given and other related legal documents documents relating to new and amending legislation, including 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; and the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services, the Hon Bill Shorten, MP.

Access to documents

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

The Department holds publicly available documents, which are either 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: www.naa.gov.au.

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

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