30 June 2020
Ravi
BY EMAIL: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
FOI Request:
FA 20/06/00144
File Number:
OBJ2020/18400
Dear Ravi
Freedom of Information (FOI) request - Access Decision
On 1 June 2020, the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) received a request for access
to documents 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 documents:
I saw this page on the Home Affairs website which mentions accredited sponsors:
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/employing-and-sponsoring-
someone/sponsoring-workers/becoming-a-sponsor/accredited-sponsor
1] I would like to know if it's possible to get a list of all such accredited sponsors as
on 1st June 2020 for Australia since it is publicly available for countries like NZ
(refer : https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/tools-
and-information/tools/accredited-employers-list ) Some companies such as a
Wallan are publicly sharing their 'Accredited Sponsor' status on Job Ads (refer :
http://nvcltd.applynow.net.au/jobs/NVC903-senior-veterinarian) which leads me to
assume that this information can be made publicly available.
2] Also, is it possible to get a list of Sponsors & no of visas supported by them for
approximately the last 3.5 years (1st January 2017 to 1st June 2020) who have
supported workers through the 186 (under Employer Nomination Scheme visa
(subclass 186) Direct Entry stream) and 482 (under Temporary Skil Shortage visa
(subclass 482) Medium-term stream) schemes for all occupations under ANZSCO
UNIT GROUP 2613 ?
.
6 Chan St Belconnen ACT 2617
PO Box 25 Belconnen ACT 2616 • Telephone: 02 6264 1111 • Fax: 02 6225 6970 • www.homeaffairs.gov.au
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 documents or to amend or annotate records.
3
Relevant material
In reaching my decision I referred to the following:
• the terms of your request
• the documents 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
documents to which you sought access
4
Documents in scope of request
In accordance with section 17 of the FOI Act, the Department has used its computer system
to produce two documents that contain information that falls within the scope of your
request. The data produced in the documents existed in the possession of the Department
on 1 June 2020 when your FOI request was received.
Attachment A is a schedule which describes the relevant documents and sets out my
decision in relation to each of them.
5
Decision
The decision in relation to the documents in the possession of the Department which fall
within the scope of your request is as follows:
• Release one document in full
• Release one document in part with deletions
6
Reasons for Decision
Detailed reasons for my decision are set out below.
Where the schedule of documents indicates an exemption claim has been applied to a
document or part of document, my findings of fact and reasons for deciding that the
exemption provision applies to that information are set out below.
6.1 Section 47G of the FOI Act – Business Affairs
Section 47G(1)(a) of the FOI Act permits conditional exemption of documents containing
business information where disclosure of that information would, or could reasonably be
expected to, unreasonably affect the organisation adversely in respect of its lawful
business, commercial or financial affairs.
I have considered that part of document number 2 contains information concerning the
business, commercial or financial affairs of organisations.
The information is in the nature of visa sponsorship data for organisations.
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In determining whether disclosure of the information within the documents would or could
reasonably be expected to adversely affect the lawful business, commercial or financial
affairs of an organisation, I have had regard to the following factors:
(a)
The extent to which the information is well known;
(b)
Whether the organisation or undertaking is known to be associated with the
matters dealt with in the documents;
(c)
The availability of the information from publicly accessible sources; and
(d)
Any other matters that the Department considers relevant.
The information contained within this document is not in the public domain, the
organisations concerned are not generally known to be associated with the matters referred
to in these documents, and the information is not available from publicly accessible
sources, such as the websites of the organisations. I am therefore satisfied that the
disclosure of the information would, or could reasonably be expected to, unreasonably
affect those organisations in respect of their lawful business, commercial or financial affairs.
I have decided that the part of the document referred to above is conditionally exempt under
section 47G of the FOI Act. Access to a conditionally exempt document must generally be
given unless it would be contrary to the public interest to do so. I have turned my mind to
whether disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest, and have
included my reasoning in that regard below.
6.2 The public interest – section 11A of the FOI Act
As I have decided that parts of the documents are conditionally exempt, I am now required
to consider whether access to the conditionally exempt information would be contrary to
the public interest (section 11A of the FOI Act).
A part of a document which is conditionally exempt must also meet the public interest test
in section 11A(5) before an exemption may be claimed in respect of that part.
In summary, the test is whether access to the conditionally exempt part of the document
would be, on balance, contrary to the public interest.
In applying this test, I have noted the objects of the FOI Act and the importance of the other
factors listed in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act, being whether access to the document would
do any of the following:
(a)
promote the objects of this Act (including all the matters set out in sections 3 and
3A);
(b)
inform debate on a matter of public importance;
(c)
promote effective oversight of public expenditure;
(d)
allow a person to access his or her own personal information.
Having regard to the above:
• I am satisfied that access to the documentswould promote the objects of the
FOI Act.
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• I consider that the subject matter of the document does have the character of
public importance and that there may be broad public interest in the
documents.
• I consider that no insights into public expenditure wil be provided through
examination of the document.
• I am satisfied that you do not require access to the document in order to
access your own personal information.
I have also considered the following factors that weigh against the release of the
conditionally exempt information in the document:
• disclosure of the part of the document that is conditionally exempt under
section 47G of the FOI Act could reasonably be expected to prejudice the
competitive commercial activities of third party organisations. I consider that
this would be contrary to the public interest and that this factor weighs strongly
against disclosure.
I have also had regard to section 11B(4) which sets out the factors which are irrelevant to
my decision, which are:
a) access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Commonwealth
Government, or cause a loss of confidence in the Commonwealth Government;
b) access to the document could result in any person misinterpreting or
misunderstanding the document;
c) the author of the document was (or is) of high seniority in the agency to which the
request for access to the document was made;
d) access to the document could result in confusion or unnecessary debate.
I have not taken into account any of those factors in this decision.
Upon balancing all of the above relevant public interest considerations, I have concluded
that the disclosure of the conditionally exempt information in the document would be
contrary to the public interest and it is therefore exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act.
7
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.
8
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.
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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.
9
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.
10 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.
Yours sincerely
[
Electronically signed]
Position no. 60094112
Authorised Decision Maker
Department of Home Affairs
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