On 24 August 2025 you contacted the Department and provided the following revised scope:
I would like to rephrase my FOI request as I think I was not clear on my original request.
I am requesting any policies, guidelines, internal manuals, instructions, or decision-making
documents that clarify how periods of employment are assessed in cases where:
• An applicant is living in Australia on a substantive visa;
• The applicant is employed by an Australian employer;
• The applicant is paid in Australian dollars, receives superannuation, and pays Australian
taxation;
• The applicant performs occasional periods of remote work from overseas for the same
Australian employer.
I am seeking clarification on whether such periods of remote overseas work are classified as
Australian skil ed employment or overseas skil ed employment for the purpose of calculating
points under visas such as the Subclass 189 (Skil ed Independent) and Subclass 190
(Skil ed Nominated).
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 Of ice 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 documents
to which you sought access
4
Documents in scope of request
The document relevant to your request can be accessed through LEGENDcom by subscription.
LEGENDcom is an electronic database of all migration and citizenship legislation and policy
documents. These are available to the public on a subscription basis, at:
https:/ immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/helpsupport/tools/legendcom.
LEGENDcom is also available to the public for free through the following libraries that subscribe to
LEGENDcom:
• State Library of New South Wales
• State Library of Queensland
• State Library Victoria
Alternatively, you can access Australian Government publications through the Australian
Government's Transparency Portal and the National Library of Australia's catalogue or trove.
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The following web link have been provided by the relevant business area in relation to your
request:
https:/ legend.border.gov.au/migration/2021-2024/2025/01-08-
2025/policy/Pages/ document00003/level%20100252.aspx
5
Decision
My decision in relation to your request is to refuse access to the document you have requested on
the basis that it is available on LEGENDcom.
6
Reasons for decision
Section 12(1)(b) of the FOI Act provides that a person is not entitled to access a document that is
open to public access, as part of a public register or otherwise, in accordance with another
enactment, where that access is subject to a fee or other charge.
As the documents you have requested access to are available on LEGENDcom, I consider that
you are not entitled to access the document 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
If you disagree with this decision, you have the right to apply for either an internal review or an
Information Commissioner review of the decision.
Internal Review
If you want the Department to review this decision, you must make your internal review request
within 30 days of being notified of this decision.
When making your internal review request, please provide the Department with the reasons why you
consider this decision should be changed.
You can send your internal review request to:
Email: xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
The internal review wil be carried out by an officer who is more senior than the original decision
maker. The Department must make its decision on the review within 30 days of receiving your
request for internal review.
Information Commissioner Review
If you want the Australian Information Commissioner to review this decision, you must make your
request to the Of ice of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) within 60 days of being
notified of this decision.
You can apply for an Information Commissioner review using the Information Commissioner review
application form on the OAIC website.
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You can find more information about Information Commissioner reviews on the OAIC website.
9
Making a complaint
You may make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner if you have concerns about
how the Department has handled your request under the FOI Act. This is a separate process to the
process of requesting a review of the decision as indicated above.
You can make an FOI complaint to the Of ice of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
at: FOI Complaint Form on the OAIC website.
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.
Yours sincerely,
[Electronically signed]
Lyn
Position No. 60186967
Authorised Decision Maker
Department of Home Af airs
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