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27 April 2024 
Anderson 
BY EMAIL:  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
In reply please quote: 
FOI Request: 
FA 24/03/01618 
File Number: 
FA24/03/01618   
Dear Anderson 
Freedom of Information (FOI) request – Access Decision 
On 13 February 2024, the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) received a request for 
access to document 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 fol owing document: 
I am writing to request the most recent list of temporary activities sponsors for visa 
sponsorship in Australia as of February 2024. Could you please provide this 
information or direct me to where I can find it? 
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 document or to amend or annotate records. 
3 
Relevant material  
In reaching my decision I referred to the following:  
•  the terms of your request 
•  the document relevant to the 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 
document to which you sought access 
 
 
PO Box 25 Belconnen ACT 2616 · xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx  · www.homeaffairs.gov.au 
 
 

 
4 
Document in scope of request 
In accordance with section 17 of the FOI Act, the Department has used its computer system to 
produce one document that contains information that falls within the scope of your request. The 
data produced in the document existed in the possession of the Department on 13 February 2024 
when your FOI request was received.  
5 
Decision 
The decision in relation to the document in the possession of the Department which fall within 
the scope of your request is as fol ows: 
•  Exempt one document in full from disclosure 
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 may disclose 
business names which could reasonably identify a person, such as sole traders who use their 
own name as the business name.  
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 individuals concerned are not generally known to be associated with the 
matters discussed in the document. This information is not available from publicly accessible 
sources.  
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I am satisfied that the disclosure of the information within the documents would involve an 
unreasonable disclosure of business names which could disclose 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 the document would be 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 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 wil  be provided through examination of the 
document. 
•  You do not require access to the document in order to access your own personal 
information. 
I have also considered the following factors that weigh against the release of the conditionally 
exempt information in the document: 
•  Disclosure of personal information which is conditionally exempt under section 47F 
of the FOI Act could reasonably be expected to prejudice the protection of third 
parties’ right to privacy. It is firmly in the public interest that the Department uphold 
the rights of individuals to their own privacy, and this factor weighs strongly against 
disclosure.  
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•  I am satisfied that if the Department were to release business names without that 
person’s express consent to do so, it would seriously undermine public confidence in 
the Department’s ability to receive, retain and manage personal information. I 
consider such a loss of confidence to be against the public interest, and 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 
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. 
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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.  
 
Electronically signed 
  
Lucksika  
Position number 60016902 
Freedom of Information 
Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch | Legal Group 
Department of Home Affairs 
E: xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
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