In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 16/04/01254
File Number: ADF2016/16398
26 April 2016
Mr D Brewski
BY EMAIL: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Brewski
I refer to your request dated 15 April 2016 in which you have sought access to documents
held by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (the Department) under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
You have requested access to:
1. Current social media policy of the department, which covers departmental use
and/or private use by employees in an individual capacity, and
2. Any guidance material which is available for employees to make informed
decisions about their social media use.
This letter is to notify you of the decision that you are liable to pay a charge for the
processing of this request.
I am an officer authorised under s.23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to FOI
requests, including the decision to impose a charge.
As provided under s.29 of the FOI Act and the
Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations 1982 (the Regulations), I have undertaken a preliminary assessment of the
amount of charges you are liable to pay and have assessed that to be $18.30.
Preliminary Assessment of Charges
The Department has identified three documents which fall within the scope of your request.
I have assessed the work the Department would need to do to process your request, taking
into account time spent by the relevant area to conduct the search and retrieval of
documents, and have calculated the following breakdown of charges.
Search and Retrieval
1.22 hours @ $15 per hour
$ 18.30
Decision Making
1.5 hours (5 hours free of charge)
$ 0.00
Total
$ 18.30
6 Chan Street Belconnen ACT 2617
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PO Box 25 BELCONNEN ACT 2616 • Telephone: 02 6264 1111 • Fax: 02 6225 6970 • www.border.gov.au
Details of the Charge
It has taken 1.22 hours to search the file identified and retrieve the documents which fall
within the scope of your request. The three documents will require a decision to be made on
access, and it is estimated that this will take 1.5 hours (noting that the first 5 hours are free
of charge).
As the charge is less than $25.00 the full amount will be sought if the charge is imposed.
Please note that by paying the charge you are deemed to have accepted the charge.
Timeframe for your response and next steps
The FOI Act provides you with 30 days to respond, in writing, to this notice, which is
Thursday, 26 May 2016.
By this date you
must do one of the following:
• agree to pay the charge;
• contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed; or should be reduced or
not imposed; and explain your reasons; or
• you may withdraw your request.
If you seek to contend the assessment of charges the Department may make a decision on
whether a charge should be reduced or not imposed and
must take into account:
• whether payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause you financial
hardship
• whether giving access to the documents is in the general public interest or in
the interest of a substantial section of the public
This is not an exhaustive list and the Department may consider any other relevant matters.
Please note that if you do not provide a written response within the 30 day timeframe your
request will be taken to have been withdrawn (by you) under s.29(2) of the Act.
Payment
To indicate your agreement to pay the charge you are required to pay the deposit, or pay the
charge in full.
The payment will be refunded if the Department fails to make a decision on your request
within the statutory time limit. Payment can be made by cheque, money order, credit card or
electronic funds transfer.
Cheques
Please make the cheque payable to ‘Collector of Public Monies DIBP’; and send via post to:
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Immigration & Border Protection
PO Box 25
BELCONNEN ACT 2616
Credit card
If you wish to pay by credit card, please complete the attached credit card authorisation form
and either; send an electronic copy t
o xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx; or post the original to the FOI
Section at the above address.
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Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
If you wish to pay by EFT the Department’s bank account details are as follows:
Bank:
CBA
BSB:
062987
Account Number:
10016044
Account Name:
DIBP Official Administered Direct Credit Receipts Account
When making the transfer you need to quote the FA reference number of your request.
This is so your payment can be identified by our Finance area. Failure to do so may result in
payments not being identified as FOI related and could result in processing delays. Please
advise the FOI Section when you have made the payment made by EFT so that we can
contact the Finance area and they can issue a receipt.
You should also be aware that payments by EFT are not processed in real time. There is at
a minimum, a delay of one day between somebody paying money into the Department's
account and notification of the payment via our bank account statement.
Processing period suspended
The period for processing your request is suspended from the day that you are deemed to
have been ‘notified’ of the charge and resumes on:
• the day you indicate that you agree to pay the charge; or
• the day on which this agency makes a decision not to impose a charge.
Contact
If you have any enquiries concerning this matter, I can be contacted using the details
provided below.
Yours sincerely
Alison Smith
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section
Information Management Branch
Corporate Services Division
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Attachments
• Attachment A - Extract of relevant legislation
• Attachment B – CCAF form
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Attachment A
EXTRACT OF RELEVANT LEGISLATION
23 Decisions to be made by authorised persons
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a decision in respect of a request made to an agency
may be made, on behalf of the agency, by the responsible Minister or the
principal officer of the agency or, subject to the regulations, by an officer of the
agency acting within the scope of authority exercisable by him or her in
accordance with arrangements approved by the responsible Minister or the
principal officer of the agency.
(2) A decision in respect of a request made to a court, or made to a tribunal,
authority or body that is specified in Schedule 1, may be made on behalf of that
court, tribunal, authority or body by the principal officer of that court, tribunal,
authority or body or, subject to the regulations, by an officer of that court,
tribunal, authority or body acting within the scope of authority exercisable by him
or her in accordance with arrangements approved by the principal officer of that
court, tribunal, authority or body.
29 Charges
(1) Where, under the regulations, an agency or Minister decides that an applicant is
liable to pay a charge in respect of a request for access to a document, or the
provision of access to a document, the agency or Minister must give to the
applicant a written notice stating:
(a) that the applicant is liable to pay a charge; and
(b) the agency’s or Minister’s preliminary assessment of the amount of the
charge, and the basis on which the assessment is made; and
(c) that the applicant may contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed,
or should be reduced or not imposed; and
(d) the matters that the agency or Minister must take into account under
subsection (5) in deciding whether or not to reduce, or not impose, the
charge; and
(e) the amount of any deposit that the agency or Minister has determined,
under the regulations, that the applicant will be required to pay if the charge
is imposed; and
(f) that the applicant must, within the period of 30 days, or such further period
as the agency or Minister allows, after the notice was given, notify the
agency or Minister in writing:
(i) of the applicant’s agreement to pay the charge; or
(ii) if the applicant contends that the charge has been wrongly assessed,
or should be reduced or not imposed, or both—that the applicant so
contends, giving the applicant’s reasons for so contending; or
(iii) that the applicant withdraws the request for access to the document
concerned; and
(g) that if the applicant fails to give the agency or Minister such a notice within
that period or further period, the request for access to the document will be
taken to have been withdrawn.
(2) If the applicant fails to notify the agency or Minister in a manner mentioned in
paragraph (1)(f) within the period or further period mentioned in that paragraph,
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the applicant is to be taken to have withdrawn the request for access to the
document concerned.
(3) An agency or Minister must not impose a charge in respect of a request for
access to a document, or the provision of access to a document, until:
(a) the applicant has notified the agency or Minister in a manner mentioned in
paragraph (1)(f); or
(b) the end of the period or further period mentioned in that paragraph.
(4) Where the applicant has notified the agency or Minister, in a manner mentioned
in subparagraph (1)(f)(ii), that the applicant contends that the charge should be
reduced or not imposed, the agency or Minister may decide that the charge is to
be reduced or not to be imposed.
(5) Without limiting the matters the agency or Minister may take into account in
determining whether or not to reduce or not to impose the charge, the agency or
Minister must take into account:
(a) whether the payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause financial
hardship to the applicant, or to a person on whose behalf the application
was made; and
(b) whether the giving of access to the document in question is in the general
public interest or in the interest of a substantial section of the public.
(6) If the applicant has notified the agency or Minister in the manner mentioned in
subparagraph (1)(f)(ii), the agency or Minister must take all reasonable steps to
enable the applicant to be notified of the decision on the amount of charge
payable as soon as practicable but in any case no later than 30 days after the
day on which the applicant so notified the agency or Minister.
(7) If:
(a) that period of 30 days has elapsed since the day on which the agency or
Minister was so notified; and
(b) the applicant has not received notice of a decision on the amount of charge
payable;
the principal officer of the agency, or the Minister, as the case requires, is, for all
purposes of this Act, taken to have made, on the last day of the period, a
decision to the effect that the amount of charge payable is the amount equal to
the agency’s or Minister’s preliminary assessment of the amount of the charge
mentioned in paragraph (1)(b).
(8) If:
(a) the applicant makes a contention about a charge as mentioned in
subsection (4); and
(b) the agency or Minister makes a decision to reject the contention, in whole
or in part;
the agency or Minister, as the case requires, must give the applicant written
notice of the decision and of the reasons for the decision.
Note:
Section 25D of the
Acts Interpretation Act 1901 sets out rules about the contents of a
statement of reasons.
(9) A notice under subsection (8) must also state the name and designation of the
person making the decision and give the applicant appropriate information about:
(a) his or her rights with respect to review of the decision; and
(b) his or her rights to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner in
relation to the decision; and
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(c) the procedure for the exercise of those rights;
including (where applicable) particulars of the manner in which an application for
internal review (Part VI) and IC review (Part VII) may be made.
(10) Section 13 of the
Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 does not
apply to a decision referred to in subsection (8).
(11) A notice under subsection (8) is not required to contain any matter that is of such
a nature that its inclusion in a document of an agency would cause that
document to be an exempt document.
31 Decision to impose charge—extended period for processing request
Scope
(1) This section applies if:
(a) on a particular day (the
charge notice day) an applicant in relation to a
request receives a notice under subsection 29(1) or (6) to the effect that the
applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect of the request; and
(b) the notice is received before the end of the period (the
processing period)
applicable under paragraph 15(5)(b) in relation to the request (or that period
as extended).
Processing period to be calculated disregarding period when charge unpaid
(2) In working out the length of the processing period (or that period as extended) for
the purposes of paragraph 15(5)(b), disregard the number of days in the period
starting on the charge notice day and ending on the earliest occurring of the
following days:
(a) the day the applicant pays the amount of the charge (or a deposit on
account of the charge prescribed by the regulations), whether or not the
decision to impose the charge has been considered under section 29, or is
the subject of a review under this Act;
(b) if the amount of the charge is changed under section 29, or following a
review under this Act—the day the applicant pays the amount of the charge
(or a deposit on account of the charge prescribed by the regulations) as
changed following the review;
(c) if, under section 29, or following a review under this Act, a decision is made
with the effect that the charge is not imposed—the day the applicant is
notified of the decision.
Note:
A decision under section 29 relating to the imposition of a charge or the amount of a
charge may be the subject of an internal review (see Part VI), an IC review (see
Part VII) or review by the Tribunal (see Part VIIA).
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Credit Card Deduction Authorisation Form
The completed form should be returned either by mail or email (scan form with signature) to
the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to authorise deduction of the payment
indicated from your credit card.
Freedom of Information Section
or email: xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
PO Box 25
BELCONNEN ACT 2616
DEBTOR DETAILS
Name
Address
Contact Numbers
Mobile: Telephone:
Reference
FA
Amount Paid
CREDIT CARD DETAILS
Card number
Expiry date
Name on card
Authorised signature
Office Use Only:
Date
Amount Account Receipt No
Date
Amount Account Receipt No
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