29 June 2020
JS
BY EMAIL: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
FOI Request:
FA 19/12/00430
File Number:
OBJ2019/61396
Dear JS
Freedom of Information (FOI) request - Access Decision
On 3 December 2019, the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) received a request for
access to document under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your request for access under the
FOI Act.
1
Scope of request
You have requested access to the following document:
Under FOI I seek access to a document that sets out the following information for
each entry in the Disclosure log from 1 Jan 2018 to date of this request for access:
(a) Date document(s) provided to FOI Applicant
(b) Reference No
(c) Title
(d) Date information about each release was published in the disclosure log as
required by law.
In relation to parts (a), (b), and (c) of your request, this information can be located on the
disclosure logs that are published to the Department’s website.
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 document or to amend or annotate records.
3
Relevant material
In reaching my decision I referred to the following:
• the terms of your request
6 Chan Street Belconnen ACT 2617
PO Box 25 Belconnen ACT 2616 • Telephone: 02 6264 1111 • Fax: 02 6225 6970
• www.homeaffairs.gov.au
• the document 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
document to which you sought access
4
Document in scope of request
The Department has identified 53 documents as falling within the scope of your request.
These documents were in the possession of the Department on 3 December 2019 when
your request was received.
5
Decision
The decision in relation to the documents in the possession of the Department which fall
within the scope of your request is to release relevant information in 53 documents in full.
5.1 Section 22 of the FOI Act – irrelevant to request
Section 22 of the FOI Act provides that if giving access to a document would disclose
information that would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request, it is possible for
the Department to prepare an edited copy of the document, modified by deletions, ensuring
that the edited copy would not disclose any information that would reasonably be regarded
as irrelevant to the request.
On 9 December 2019, the Department advised you that its policy is to exclude the personal
details of officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES), as well as the mobile and work
telephone numbers of SES staff, contained in documents that fall within scope of an FOI
request.
Parts of the documents contain information which consists of footers which have
automatically been added to those documents when they were printed from the
Department’s system. That information provides an online address for the Department’s
computer systems and does not form part of your file and records held by the Department
about you. I consider this information to be irrelevant to your FOI request.
I have decided that parts of document marked ‘s22(1)(a)(i )’ would disclose information that
could reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to your request. I have prepared an edited copy
of the document, with the irrelevant material deleted pursuant to section 22(1)(a)(ii) of the
FOI Act.
The remainder of the document has been released to you as it is relevant to your request.
6
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.
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7
Your Review Rights
Internal Review
If you disagree with this decision, you have the right to apply for an internal review by the
Department of this decision. Any request for internal review must be provided to the
Department within 30 days of you being notified of the decision. Where possible please
attach reasons why you believe a review of the decision is necessary. The internal review
wil be carried out by an officer other than the original decision maker and the Department
must make a review decision within 30 days.
Applications for review should be sent to:
By email to:
xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
OR
By mail to:
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Home Affairs
PO Box 25
BELCONNEN ACT 2617
Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
You may apply directly to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for
a review of this decision. You must apply in writing within 60 days of this notice. For further
information about review rights and how to submit a request for a review to the OAIC,
please see Fact Sheet 12 "Freedom of information – Your review rights", available online
at https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-review-process.
8
Making a Complaint
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner about action taken by the
Department in relation to your request.
Your enquiries to the Australian Information Commissioner can be directed to:
Phone 1300 363 992 (local call charge)
Email
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
There is no particular form required to make a complaint to the Australian Information
Commissioner. The request should be in writing and should set out the grounds on which
it is considered that the action taken in relation to the request should be investigated and
identify the Department of Home Affairs as the relevant agency.
9
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.
Matt Finlayson
Authorised Decision Maker
Department of Home Affairs
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Document Outline
