3 November 2023
Mr O Smith
BY EMAIL: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
FOI Request:
FA 23/10/01249
File Number:
FA23/10/01249
Dear Mr Smith
Freedom of Information (FOI) request – Access Decision
On 23 October 2023, the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) received a request for
access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your request for access under the
FOI Act.
1
Scope of request
You have requested access to the following:
Under the FOI Act, I am seeking the document in PDR Number: MS23-001027 produced
by the University of Queensland as its initial findings into the Community Refugee
Integration and Settlement Pilot.
Any personal information can be redacted to expedite this process.
2
Authority to make decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions in respect of
requests to access documents or to amend or annotate records.
3
Relevant material
In reaching my decision I referred to the following:
the terms of your request
the FOI Act
Guidelines published by the Office of the Information Commissioner under section 93A
of the FOI Act (the FOI Guidelines)
advice from Departmental officers with responsibility for matters relating to the to which
you sought access
808 Bourke Street Melbourne 3001
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx www.homeaffairs.gov.au
4
Documents in scope of request
The Department has identified one document as falling within the scope of your request. This
document was in the possession of the Department on 23 October 2023 when your request was
received.
Attachment A is a schedule which describes the relevant document and sets out my decision in
relation to it.
5
Decision
The decision in relation to the document in the possession of the Department which falls within
the scope of your request is as follows:
Release one document in part with deletions
6
Reasons for Decision
Detailed reasons for my decision are set out below.
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that the exemption provision applies to that
information are set out below.
6.1 Section 47F of the FOI Act – Personal Privacy
Section 47F of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure
under the FOI Act would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information of any
person. ‘Personal information’ means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or
an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and
whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not (see section 4 of the FOI
Act and section 6 of the
Privacy Act 1988).
I consider that disclosure of the information marked 's47F' in the document would disclose
personal information relating to third parties. The information within the document would
reasonably identify a person, either through names, positions or descriptions of their role or
employment circumstance.
The FOI Act states that, when deciding whether the disclosure of the personal information would
be ‘unreasonable’, I must have regard to the following four factors set out in s.47F(2) of the
FOI Act:
the extent to which the information is well known;
whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have been)
associated with the matters dealt with in the document;
the availability of the information from publicly available resources;
any other matters that I consider relevant.
I have considered each of these factors below.
The information relating to the third parties is not well known and would only be known to a limited
group of people with a business need to know. As this information is only known to a limited
group of people, the individual(s) concerned is/are not generally known to be associated with the
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matters discussed in the document. This information is not available from publicly accessible
sources.
I do not consider that the information relating specifically to the third parties would be relevant to
the broader scope of your request, as you are seeking access to the Community Refugee
Integration and Settlement Pilot rather than information which wholly relates to other individuals.
I am satisfied that the disclosure of the information within the document would involve an
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about a number of individuals.
I have decided that the information referred to above is conditionally exempt under section 47F
of the FOI Act. Access to a conditionally exempt document must generally be given unless it
would be contrary to the public interest to do so. I have turned my mind to whether disclosure of
the information would be contrary to the public interest, and have included my reasoning in that
regard at paragraph 6.2 below.
6.2 The public interest – section 11A of the FOI Act
As I have decided that parts of the document are conditionally exempt, I am now required to
consider whether access to the conditionally exempt information would be contrary to the public
interest (section 11A of the FOI Act).
A part of a document which is conditionally exempt must also meet the public interest test in
section 11A(5) before an exemption may be claimed in respect of that part.
In summary, the test is whether access to the conditionally exempt part of the document would
be, on balance, contrary to the public interest.
In applying this test, I have noted the objects of the FOI Act and the importance of the other
factors listed in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act, being whether access to the document would do
any of the following:
(a)
promote the objects of this Act (including all the matters set out in sections 3 and
3A)
(b)
inform debate on a matter of public importance
(c)
promote effective oversight of public expenditure
(d)
allow a person to access his or her own personal information.
Having regard to the above I am satisfied that:
Access to the document would promote the objects of the FOI Act.
The subject matter of the document does not seem to have a general characteristic
of public importance. The matter has a limited scope and, in my view, would be of
interest to a very narrow section of the public.
No insights into public expenditure will be provided through examination of the
document.
You do not require access to the document in order to access your own personal
information.
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I have also considered the following factors that weigh against the release of the conditionally
exempt information in the document:
Disclosure of the personal information which is conditionally exempt under
section
47F of the FOI Act could reasonably be expected to prejudice the protection of those
individuals' right to privacy.
The Department is committed to complying with its obligations under the
Privacy Act
1988, which sets out standards and obligations that regulate how the Department
must handle and manage personal information. It is firmly in the public interest that
the Department uphold the rights of individuals to their own privacy and meets its
obligations under the Privacy Act. I consider that non-compliance with the
Department’s statutory obligations concerning the protection of personal information
would be contrary to the public interest and that this factor weighs strongly against
disclosure.
I have also had regard to section 11B(4) which sets out the factors which are irrelevant to my
decision, which are:
a)
access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Commonwealth
Government, or cause a loss of confidence in the Commonwealth Government
b)
access to the document could result in any person misinterpreting or
misunderstanding the document
c)
the author of the document was (or is) of high seniority in the agency to which the
request for access to the document was made
d)
access to the document could result in confusion or unnecessary debate.
I have not taken into account any of those factors in this decision.
Upon balancing all of the above relevant public interest considerations, I have concluded that the
disclosure of the conditionally exempt information in the documents would be contrary to the
public interest and it is therefore exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act.
7
Legislation
A copy of the FOI Act is available at https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A02562. If you
are unable to access the legislation through this website, please contact our office for a copy.
8
Your Review Rights
Internal review
If you disagree with this decision, you have the right to apply for an internal review by the
Department of this decision. Any request for internal review must be provided to the Department
within 30 days of you being notified of the decision. Where possible please attach reasons why
you believe a review of the decision is necessary. The internal review will be carried out by an
officer other than the original decision maker and the Department must make a review decision
within 30 days.
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Applications for review should be sent to:
By email to: xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
OR
By mail to:
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Home Affairs
PO Box 25
BELCONNEN ACT 2617
Information Commissioner review
You may apply directly to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for an
Information Commissioner review of this decision. You must apply in writing within 60 days of
this notice. For further information about review rights and how to submit a request for a review
to the OAIC, please see https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/your-freedom-of-
information-rights/freedom-of-information-reviews/information-commissioner-review.
9
Making a complaint
You may complain to the Information Commissioner about action taken by the Department in
relation to your request.
Your enquiries to the Information Commissioner can be directed to:
Phone 1300 363 992 (local call charge)
Email xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
There is no particular form required to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner. The
request should be in writing and should set out the grounds on which it is considered that the
action taken in relation to the request should be investigated and identify the Department of Home
Affairs as the relevant agency.
10
Contacting the FOI Section
Should you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the FOI Section at
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Position number 60092198
Authorised Decision Maker
Department of Home Affairs
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