I agree to exclude personal affairs information of employees of the Department and any other
agencies involved. However this should not exclude position designations and domain
names. E.g. @department.gov.au
I also agree to exclude the personal affairs information of any individuals involved.
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 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)
• advice from Departmental officers with responsibility for matters relating to the documents
to which you sought access
• advice from other Commonwealth Departments
4 Documents in scope of request
The Department has identified eight documents as falling within the scope of your request. These
documents were in the possession of the Department on 22 October 2025 when your request was
received.
Attachment A is a schedule which describes the relevant documents and sets out my decision in
relation to each of them.
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:
• Exempt eight documents in full from disclosure.
6 Reasons for Decision
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that the exemption provision applies to that information
are set out below.
6.1 Section 37 of the FOI Act - Documents Affecting Enforcement of Law and Protection of
Public Safety
Section 37(1)(a) of the FOI Act provides that a document is exempt from disclosure if its disclosure
would, or could reasonably be expected to prejudice the conduct of an investigation or a breach, or
possible breach, of the law, or prejudice the enforcement or proper administration of the law in a
particular instance.
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I consider that the release of the documents marked
‘s. 37(1)(a)’ would prejudice the conduct of an
investigation of a breach, or possible breach, of the law, or a failure, or possible failure, to comply
with a law relating to taxation or prejudice the enforcement or proper administration of the law in a
particular instance.
The documents identified indicate possible breaches of Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation
and have been created for the purposes of, and during the course of, an ongoing and incomplete
investigation. Release of this information would jeopardise the investigation which may or may not
result in criminal proceedings in a Court of Law.
I have decided that this information is exempt from disclosure under Section 37(1)(a) of the FOI Act.
6.2 Section 47E of the FOI Act – Operations of Agencies
Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act provides that documents are conditionally exempt if disclosure would,
or could reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient
conduct of the operations of an agency.
I consider that the disclosure of the documents marked ‘
s. 47E(d)’ would, or could reasonably be
expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations
of the Department.
Managing the security and integrity of Australia's borders is integral to the operations of the
Department. Any prejudice to the effectiveness of the operational methods and procedures used in
undertaking that role would result in a substantial adverse effect on the operations of the Department.
Any disclosure resulting in the prejudice of the effectiveness of the Department’s operational
methods and procedures would result in the need for this Department, and potentially its law
enforcement partners, to change those methods and/or procedures to avoid jeopardising their future
effectiveness.
I have decided that the documents are conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) 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 below.
6.3 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 documents marked
's. 47F(1)' would disclose personal information
relating to third parties. The information within the documents would reasonably identify a person,
either through names, positions or descriptions of their role or employment circumstance.
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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 documents. 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 documents in relation to an investigation
regarding alleged fraud conducted out of immigration detention facilities, rather than information
which wholly relates to other individuals.
I am satisfied that the disclosure of the information within the documents 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 below.
6.4 The public interest – section 11A of the FOI Act
As I have decided that the documents 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).
Documents which are 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 documents 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 documents 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.
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Having regard to the above I am satisfied that:
•
Access to the documents would promote the objects of the FOI Act.
•
The subject matter of the documents may have a general characteristic of public
importance.
•
No insights into public expenditure will be provided through examination of the
documents.
•
You do not require access to the documents 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 documents:
•
Disclosure of the documents that are conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of the
FOI Act could reasonably be expected to prejudice law enforcement functions and, as a
result, the ability of the Department to protect Australia's borders. I consider there to be
a strong public interest in ensuring that the ability of the Department to conduct its law
enforcement functions is not compromised or prejudiced in any way. I consider that this
would be contrary to the public interest and that this factor weighs strongly against
disclosure.
•
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.
•
While you may be aware of the personal information relating to some of these third
parties, their information is not well known to the public generally. These documents are
not available from publicly accessible sources. I have had regard to the fact that
disclosure of information under the FOI Act must be considered to be a disclosure to the
world at large and not just to you as the applicant.
•
I am satisfied that if the Department were to release personal information 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.
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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 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.
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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.
Yours sincerely,
Position No. 60220706
Authorised Decision Maker
Department of Home Affairs
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