Freedom of Information:The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) gives you a general right of access to information held by Centrelink and other Commonwealth agencies. Under Freedom of Information you have a legal right to see documents Centrelink holds about you and get copies of those documents. You can also see most manuals, rules and guidelines that Centrelink uses to make decisions about the various legislation it administers such as the Social Security Act 1991 and the Student Assistance Act 1973. Want to find out more?
Rules and guidelinesCentrelink manuals and instructions are generally available under the FOI Act without a written request. Where copies are requested, there is no charge for the first 25 pages. After that, there is a charge of 10 cents per page. You can access Relevant Legislation for payments from Centrelink including the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 and Family Assistance (Administration) Act 1999 on this website or they can be purchased from Australian Government Info shops in all capital cities. Access to personal records:A request to get access to personal records should be in writing. You can use the Centrelink form 'I want to access or change documents' which is available at any Centrelink Customer Service Centre. A letter or a statement over the counter, mailed or faxed to any Centrelink Customer Service Centre is also acceptable. Centrelink will contact you within 30 days of receiving from when the request is received. Your Centrelink Customer Service Centre has a FOI contact officer who can help you with your request. There are certain documents that can be released to you without making a written request such as forms and documents you supplied to Centrelink eg. Medical Certificates, Proof of Identity, letters and statements signed by you and Employment Separation Certificates. Other documents that may be available to you informally include debt calculations, payment history, copies of letters and advices sent to you and certain computer printouts. Facilities for Access to DocumentsCentrelink Customer Service Centres have facilities to view documents accessed under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Agency publications may also be viewed at these locations. You can get information on these facilities from the FOI Contact Officer in each Centrelink Customer Service Centre, the FOI Action Officer in each Area Office or from the Business Manager, Privacy and Information Access Team, in National Support Office. You can make general enquiries about FOI to the FOI Contact Officer in any Centrelink Customer Service Centre. If you get, or did get, a payment from Centrelink, you do not have to pay to see your own documents, unless you have accessed the same documents in the previous three months. You do not have to pay to have a decision to refuse access to the documents reviewed. For other people, requests for access are liable to a $30 application fee and processing charges. Requests for a review are liable to a $40 application fee and processing charges. Correction of personal recordsSection 48 of the FOI Act states that a person can request that a document be amended or annotated, if they have lawfully obtained access to a document of an agency (whether under the FOI Act or not), and it contains personal information that:
Enquiries about corrections of personal records can be made to the FOI Contact Officer in any Centrelink Customer Service Centre. Commonwealth OmbudsmanThe Ombudsman's primary focus is to help ensure transparency and fairness in the way citizens are treated by government agencies and to improve public administration generally. The Ombudsman Act 1976 gives the Ombudsman wide powers to question officials and other people, inspect documents and enter Commonwealth premises during the course of an investigation. In most cases, cooperative working arrangements with agencies mean that these powers do not need to be formally exercised. However, some agencies prefer that the Ombudsman uses formal powers because of the protections (for example, against defamation) which the powers provide to officers who are required to make a statement. Investigating officers try to resolve less serious complaints as quickly as possible by telephoning the agency to obtain information and discuss the issues involved. Complaints involving complex issues are handled on a more formal basis. Investigators normally write to the agency and set out the complaint. If necessary, the Ombudsman uses powers under the Ombudsman Act 1976 to have people interviewed on oath, or to require an agency to produce files, records or other documents. The Ombudsman must inform you of the outcome of an investigation, or of the reasons why a complaint has not been investigated or an investigation has not been completed. The Ombudsman is also required to consider whether the actions of the department or authority concerned were unreasonable, illegal, discriminatory or otherwise wrong. Where such a finding is made the Ombudsman must report accordingly to the agency concerned and may recommend any remedial action. If adequate action is not taken as a result of those recommendations then the Ombudsman can report to the Prime Minister or the Parliament. You can make a complaint to the Ombudsman by phone, in person, or in writing to any Ombudsman's office in each capital city. For the Ombudsman's phone number, look in the local phone directory under 'Ombudsman'. Complaints are investigated free of charge and in private. You are free to phone the Ombudsman at any time, but Centrelink appreciates the opportunity to try and resolve any problems or difficulties you may experience. You can do this by telephoning the Customer Relations Line on Freecall™ 1800 050 004. For further information, visit the Commonwealth Ombudsman's website.
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