18 December 2025
John
BY EMAIL: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
FOI Request:
FA 25/10/00455
File Number:
FA25/10/00455
Dear John,
Freedom of Information (FOI) request – Decision
On 4 October 2025, 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 documents:
I seek access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to the following documents:
1. The current delegation instruments made under s.65 of the Migration Act 1958 that
authorise decision-making on visa applications.
2. The current document (such as a policy, manual, or extract) that describes whether locally
engaged staff (LES) working at Australian Embassies, High Commissions, or Consulates-
General overseas are authorised delegates under s.65 of the Migration Act 1958.
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.
6 Chan Street Belconnen ACT 2617
PO Box 25 Belconnen ACT 2616 •
www.homeaffairs.gov.au
3
Relevant material
In reaching my decision I referred to the following:
• the terms of your request
• the documents 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)
• consultation responses from third parties consulted in accordance with the FOI Act
• advice from Departmental officers with responsibility for matters relating to the documents
to which you sought access
4
Documents in scope of request
The Department has identified two documents as falling within the scope of your request. These
documents were in the possession of the Department on 4 October 2025 when your request was
received.
5
Decision
The decision in relation to the documents in the possession of the Department which fall within the
scope of your request is as follows:
• Release two documents in part with deletions
6
Reasons for Decision
Detailed reasons for my decision are set out below.
6.1 Section 22 of the FOI Act – irrelevant to request
Section 22 of the FOI Act provides that if giving access to a document would disclose information
that would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request, it is possible for the Department to
prepare an edited copy of the document, modified by deletions, ensuring that the edited copy would
not disclose any information that would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request.
On 7 October 2025, the Department advised you that its policy is to exclude the personal details of
officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES), as well as the mobile and work telephone
numbers of SES staff and non-public facing email addresses, contained in documents that fall within
scope of an FOI request.
I have also decided that other parts of documents marked ‘s22(1)(a)(ii)’ would disclose information
that could reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to your request. I have prepared an edited copy of
the documents, with the irrelevant material deleted pursuant to section 22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act.
The remainder of the documents have been released to you as they are relevant to your request.
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.
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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 will 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 Office 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.
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 Office 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]
Susan
Position number 60156398
Authorised Decision Maker
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Document Outline
