Are Australians in the Israeli Defence Force and Israelis migrating to Australia vetted for possible human rights abuses committed by them in the Occupied Palestinian Territories?
Gareth William Smith made this Freedom of Information request to Attorney-General's Department
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
This is a request under the 1982 Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act.
I seek access to all documents concerning:
* Statistics relating to Australians serving in the Israel Defence Force (IDF) over the last decade.
* Statistics relating to the migration of Israelis into Australia over the last decade.
* The process of vetting Australians in the IDF for possible human rights abuses committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
* The process of vetting Israelis, either migrating to or visiting Australia, for possible human rights abuses committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and
* Recruitment procedures for the IDF conducted within Australia.
Yours faithfully,
Gareth W R Smith
For Official Use Only
FOI17/014
17 January 2017
Mr Gareth William Smith
By email only: [1][FOI #2918 email]
Dear Mr Smith
Partial transfer of freedom of information requests to the Department of
Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP)
I refer to the request you have made to the Attorney‑General’s
Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act):
1. Statistics relating to Australians serving in the Israel Defence
Force (IDF) over the last decade.
2. Statistics relating to the migration of Israelis into Australia
over the last decade.
3. The process of vetting Australians in the IDF for possible human
rights abuses committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
4. The process of vetting Israelis, either migrating to or visiting
Australia, for possible human rights abuses committed in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories and
5. Recruitment procedures for the IDF conducted within Australia.
I am writing to tell you that I have transferred part of your requests to
the DIBP. Under subsection 16(1) of the FOI Act, I am able to transfer a
request if either:
· the requested document is not in the possession of my agency
but may be in the possession of another agency, or
· if the subject matter of the document is more closely connected
with the functions of another agency.
Accordingly, on 13 January 2017 I have transferred part of your request to
the DIBP whose functions are more closely connected to the subject area,
and who are in a better position than the Attorney‑General’s
Department to consider this request. The parts I have transferred to DIBP
are points 2 and 4 above. The Attorney-General’s Department will retain
points 1, 3 and 5.
We received your request set out above on 6 January 2017. The 30 day
statutory period for processing your requests commenced from the day after
that date. The DIBP will treat your requests as though it received them
the same day that we did. You should therefore expect decisions on your
request from the Attorney-General’s Department and DIBP on 5 February
2017. The period of 30 days may be extended if either department needs to
consult third parties or for other reasons. You will be advised if this
happens.
If you wish to contact the Attorney-General’s Department regarding your
request please email [2][email address] or if you would like to contact DIBP
please email [3][email address] .
Kind Regards
Courtney
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Strategy and Delivery
Division
Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
E: [4][AGD request email]
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 17/01/00801; ADF2017/7150
Dear Mr Smith
Please find attached the acknowledgement of receipt for your recent FOI
Request.
Request for an extension of time
Please be aware that the Department has seen a significant increase in the
number of FOI requests received by this agency. As a result there are
expected delays involved with the processing of FOI requests at the
present time. Generally, requests will be processed in the order that they
are received. The Department will endeavour to finalise your request as
quickly as possible.
For this reason the Department seeks your agreement under s.15AA of the
FOI Act to extend the timeframe for the processing of your request by 30
days.
It would assist the Department in managing its FOI caseload if you could
provide a response to this request by close of business, Wednesday, 25
January 2017.
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you wish to discuss.
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer
Freedom of Information Section
Information Management Branch | Corporate Services Division
Corporate Group
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
E: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Important Notice: The content of this email is intended only for use by
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Dear FOI,
I accept your need to extend the response time by 30 days. Please advise me of the new deadline.
Yours sincerely,
Gareth William Smith
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Smith
Thank you for granting an extension of time for us to process your request.
Please note all requests are being processed in date order of receipt notwithstanding whether or not an extension of time is being granted. The updated statutory due date to process your request will be Tuesday, 7 March 2017.
We will continue to progress your request.
Kind regards
FOI Officer
Freedom of Information Section
Information Management Branch | Corporate Services Division Corporate Group Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Email: [email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Smith,
Freedom of Information request FOI17 – request relating to the Israeli
Defence Force
Please find attached the decision in relation to your FOI application.
Kind regards,
Courtney
Courtney
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section
Strategy and Delivery Division | Attorney-General’s Department
T: (02) 6141 6666 | E: [1][AGD request email]
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Paddy Galvin left an annotation ()
why do FOI's appear to omit regular correspondence? I note they checked 'electronic data base'
Dear FOI Requests,
I would like you to clarify the nature of the documentation searched, did this include not only electronic but also paper correspondence?
Yours sincerely,
Gareth William Smith
Good morning Mr Smith
We refer to your request for access to documents dated 6 January 2017, which has been transferred in part to this Department.
You have specifically requested access to the following from this Department:
* Statistics relating to the migration of Israelis into Australia over the last decade.
* The process of vetting Israelis, either migrating to or visiting Australia, for possible human rights abuses committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
We have been advised by the relevant business area that migration programme statistics by citizenship are published and publicly available on the Department's website. They can be located at the following link:
http://www.border.gov.au/about/reports-p...
The information you have requested can be found in the link to Historical Migration Statistics under table 3.3.
Given that that information is publicly available, the Department does not intend to process your formal request under the FOI Act, and would appreciate it if you could confirm that that particular part of your request may be withdrawn.
With kind regards
Alison Smith
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section
Information Management Branch | Corporate Support Division
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
E| [email address]
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Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. DIBP respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.
Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this email.
Dear FOI,
You inform me that the data relating to the migration of Israelis into Australia over the last decade is publicly available at: http://www.border.gov.au/about/reports-p... 3.3). However, the hyperlinks do not function and so I cannot access that data. Please advise.
Yours sincerely,
Gareth William Smith
Jay left an annotation ()
Works fine for me, Gavin. Did you click on the link?
Looks like you copy and pasted only half the link in your reply to them.
Gareth William Smith left an annotation ()
Thanks for your comment, Jay. Yes, I did click on the links and, although they were blue, they were not active hyperlinks. Maybe this is a function of the Mac OS and Numbers program I am using.
Gareth William Smith left an annotation ()
Thanks Paddy for your useful references of Australians serving in the IDF. Much appreciated.
Jay left an annotation ()
Gareth - could be. You can also copy and paste the text and get the to the page with the data they provided you. I'll put it here for you:
http://www.border.gov.au/about/reports-p...
Go to this page and download the XLS file. Whether that answers your question is another question but there is certainly something there.
Good morning Mr Smith
I have tested the links again that I have provided to you and they are working correctly at my end. I am not sure they they would not be working for you. Are you receiving any error messages that I may be able to consider?
Many thanks.
With kind regards
Freedom of Information Section
Information Management Branch | Corporate Support Division
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
E| [email address]
Please consider the environment before printing this email
Paddy Galvin left an annotation ()
Maybe it's necessary to join up to find out?
The basis to join the IDF isn't citizenship. If the Government with up graded Passport requirements and heighten sense to monitor people travelling near/into contentious areas are unable to provide verifiable information, possible insight may be with recruitment down-under
http://www.idftraining.com.au/join-the-i...
Gareth William Smith left an annotation ()
The Attorney-General's Dept forward two of my questions to the Dept of Immigration & Border Protection. I am still awaiting their response.
I am also waiting for a response to my call for clarification from A & G about the documentation which they say yields nothing. Is this only electronic or does it include paper documents?
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 17/01/00801; ADF2017/7150
Dear Mr Smith,
I refer to your FOI request received from the Attorney-General’s
Department on 6 January 2017, seeking access to the following:
· [Part 1] Statistics relating to the migration of Israelis into
Australia over the last decade.(DIBP)
· [Part 2] The process of vetting Israelis, either migrating to or
visiting Australia, for possible human rights abuses committed in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories and (DIBP)
The Department has made a decision on this request. Please see attached
the signed decision letter.
This request has now been closed.
with regards,
Helen Simons
FOI Officer
Freedom of Information, Privacy & Records Branch
Corporate Services Division
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
E: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Important Notice: The content of this email is intended only for use by
the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you have received
this email by mistake, please advise the sender and delete the message and
attachments immediately. This email, including attachments, may contain
confidential, sensitive, legally privileged and/or copyright information.
Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information
by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.
DIBP respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.
Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this
email.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Gareth William Smith left an annotation ()
The Attorney-General's Department have sent two of my requests to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. I should have a response by February 5.