26 February 2019
Hamza
BY EMAIL: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
FOI Request:
FA 19/02/00310
File Number:
OBJ2019/6006
Dear Hamza
I refer to your request dated 2 February 2019 in which you have sought access to documents
held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department ) under the
Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
You have requested access to:
1)
number of visa grants and visa refusal under stream 189 and 190, July
2014 – December
2)
processing time, relating to the below occupations: 1 July 2014 to
December 2018
accountant (general) 221111
management accountant 221112
taxation accountant 221113
external auditor 221213 and
internal auditor 221214.
This letter is to notify you that a preliminary assessment has been made that you are liable to
pay a charge for the processing of this request.
As provided under section 29 of the FOI Act and the
Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations 1982 (the Regulations), my preliminary assessment of the amount of charges you
are liable to pay is $15.00.
Preliminary assessment of charges
The Department has identified one document which falls within the scope of your request.
6 Chan
1
Street Belconnen ACT 2617
PO Box 25 Belconnen ACT 2616 Telephone: 02 6264 1111 Fax: 02 6225 6970 www.homeaffairs.gov.au
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 hour @ $15 per hour
$ 15.00
Decision Making - 1 hour (5 hours free of charge)
$ 0.00
Total
$ 15.00
Details of the Charge
It has taken 1 hour to search the file identified and retrieve the document which falls within the
scope of your request. The document will require a decision to be made on access, and it is
estimated that this will take 1 hour (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,
28 March 2019.
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 section 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 Department has a number of payment options available, including an online payment
facility for credit/debit cards; automated telephone payment system and BPay. You may also
pay the charge by cheque or money order.
Electronic funds transfer/credit card payment
If you wish to pay the charges using a credit card, the online payment facility, telephone
payment system or BPay, please advise the FOI Section, and a tax invoice will be provided to
you which will include full details of how the payment can be made.
2
Payment by cheque/money order
If you wish to pay by cheque or money order, please make the cheque/money order payable
to ‘
Collector of Public Monies Home Affairs’; and send via post to:
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Home Affairs
PO Box 25 Belconnen ACT 2616
If the Department fails to make a decision on your request within the statutory time limit, the
payment will be refunded.
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.
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.
Contact
If you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please contact the FOI Section at
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
FOI Section
Department of Home Affairs
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