FOI Ref: 1707‐F1725
File No: 17/18938
28 July 2017
Dan West
By e‐mail to: foi+request‐3694‐xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr West
Re. Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your current request for access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the
FOI Act) to:
I would like to request all communications between (representatives of) the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and (representatives of) the government
and/or authorities of Nauru regarding tourist, business or research visa applications
made to the Nauruan authorities between April 2012 and July 2017. This includes all
formal and informal communications by any means of communication but excludes
documents concerning travel by Australian officials.
We have completed preliminary searches for documents relevant to your request.
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions on the charge
for processing your request. I have decided that you are liable to pay a charge. Based on
the number of relevant pages, processing time and time taken by the decision maker (once
appointed) to assess your request (noting that the first five hours are free of charge), our
preliminary assessment of the amount of that charge is $159.60.
Please note that at this stage in the FOI process, no decision has been made as to whether
the information you seek will be released or exempt under the FOI Act. My decision at this
stage relates only to the processing charges.
Under section 29 of the FOI Act, you now have 30 days within which to:
agree to pay the charge;
contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed, or should be reduced or not
imposed; or
withdraw your request.
R G Casey Building John McEwen Cres Barton 0221
Telephone: 02 6261 1111 Facsimile:02 6261 3111
Agree to Pay the Charge
Should you agree to pay the charge, in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Fees
& Charges) Regulations I require you to pay a deposit of 25 per cent of the total charge. I
have calculated the required deposit for your request to be $39.90. Once this amount has
been received the Department will continue to process your request.
If you choose to pay only the deposit amount at this stage, you will be required to pay the
remainder of the charge prior to the release of any documents.
Your payment method options are outlined in the
attachment.
Contend the Charge
Should you contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed, or should be reduced or
not imposed, you may apply for the Department to waive or reduce the charge. The
Department will take into account considerations including where:
the payment of the fee or a part of the fee would cause you financial hardship; or
the giving of access to documents relevant to your request is in the general public
interest or in the interest of a substantial section of the public.
A departmental decision maker will take into account any points you put forward, and will
make a decision on whether the charge should be imposed, and in what amount.
Withdrawal
Section 31 of the FOI Act provides that the 30‐day processing period to assess your request
is suspended until we receive your payment of the deposit for the processing charge, or we
decide not to impose a charge. Should you withdraw your request at this stage, no charge
will be imposed.
If we do not receive your response to this letter within 30 days of its receipt, I will consider
that you no longer wish to continue with your request, and I will deem it withdrawn.
Narrow Scope of Request
Finally, you may elect to narrow the scope of your request, which may reduce the
applicable charge. The narrowed request would be handled as a new FOI request for the
purposes of statutory timelines.
Should you have any queries, or wish to discuss revising the terms of your request, please
contact me by email to xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Helen Horsington
Director
Freedom of Information and Privacy Law Section
Corporate Legal Branch
Legal Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Please circle:
Payment of Charges: Deposit / In Full
Payment by: Credit Card / Direct Debit / Cheque or Money Order
For the sum of $____________ as detailed in the FOI Estimate of Charges letter dated
____________ (FOI ref: 1707‐F1725)
Credit Card
Name
_________________________________
Address
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
I authorise the National Cashier of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to debit my
VISA
MASTER CARD
-
-
-
Expiry:
_____/_____
Name appearing on card _________________________
Signature: _____________________________________
Direct Debit
Account Name:
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
BSB No.:
092‐009
Account No.:
110329
Please include your surname and ‘FOI Ref No: ‘1707‐F1725’ in the reference field.
Cheque/Money Order
Make payable to: ‘The National Cashier – DFAT’
Send to:
Director, FOI Section
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
R. G. Casey Building
John McEwen Crescent
Barton ACT 0221
