7 October 2020
Ms. Regina Jefferies
BY EMAIL:  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 20/07/01368-R1
File Number: OBJ2020/25259
Dear Ms. Jefferies
Decision on Internal Review – Freedom of Information Act 1982
I refer to your correspondence dated 8 September 2020 in which you requested that the
Department of Home Affairs (the Department) review its decision on access to documents
dated 31 August 2020 under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
1
Scope of original request
The scope of your original request for access to documents under the FOI Act was as
follows:
I respectfully request under Freedom of Information:
Any historical Procedural Instructions, Policy Guidelines, Standard Operating
Procedures, or similar document related to screening protection claims made at
Australian airports, issued prior to 13 March 2013.
2
Original Decision on access dated 31 August 2020
The Department identified one document as falling within the scope of your original request.
This document was  in the possession of Department on 22 July  2020 when your FOI
request was received.
The original decision maker decided that:
• the documents that would fall within the scope of the request consists of reference
material that is publicly available;
• and that as a consequence, the FOI Act does not apply to these documents by the
operation of section 4(d) of the FOI Act.
3
Request for Internal Review
On 8 September 2020, you requested the Department to review its decision dated 31
August 2020. The terms of your review request were as follows:
1
Casselden Place 2 Lonsdale Street Melbourne VIC 3001
GPO Box 241 MELBOURNE VIC 3001 • xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx • www.homeaffairs.gov.au

I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Home Affairs's handling
of my FOI request 'Historical instructions - Entry Screening'.

I requested 'Any historical Procedural Instructions, Policy Guidelines, Standard
Operating Procedures, or similar document related to screening protection claims
made at Australian airports, issued prior to 13 March 2013.' In a response dated 31
August 2020, the Department apparently identified one document as falling within
the scope of the request, but decieded [sic] to exempt the document in full from
disclosure because the officer found that the documents 'form part of the
Procedures Advice Manual (PAM) titled "Detention Screening".'

However, a full search of the Procedures Advice Manual (PAM) in LEGENDcom
does not reveal any section entitled 'Detention Screening'. The FOI official's
reference to this so-called section does not include any number or chapter reference
and it is unclear to which documents the official refers. There is a section of the
PAM entitled 'Border screening detention' although it is unclear that this is the
section to which the official refers. Furthermore, the 'Border screening detention'
section also refers to prior policies entitled 'screening detention' and 'restrictive
detention'.

I respectfully request a review to pinpoint the document(s) to which the original
official referred, as well as whether there are in fact other pre-2013 documents
which are not publicly available.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet
at this address:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/historical_instructions_entry_sc.

4
Internal Review Decision
I  have decided to vary the original decision of the Department dated 31 August 2020 (‘the
original decision’) that the FOI Act does not apply to the documents by the operation of
section 4(b) of the FOI Act.
I have substituted a decision that the FOI  Act does not apply to the documents, by the
operation of section 12(1)(c) of the FOI Act.

5
Reasons for internal review decision: additional searches for documents
I  have considered the submissions made by you in relation to your reasons for requesting
an Internal Review.

These searches confirmed that information relevant to the scope of your request is
contained in the section ‘Unauthorised Arrival Entry Screening’ or ‘Border Applicants’,
contained in  the Department’s Procedural Advice Manual 3 (PAM 3) or Migration Series
Instructions (MSI).  Both  PAM3 and MSIs  are held  by the Department on its LEGEND
database,  an electronic database of current and historical migration and citizenship
legislation and policy documents. The Department has made the LEGEND  database
available to the public via LEGENDcom.

LEGENDcom  holds all versions of PAM3  and MSIs  from 1 September 1994 onwards.
Historical policy information is published in ‘stacks’ separated by date, the dates for each
stack aligning with the commencement dates for legislation. Taking into consideration that
you have sought policy information from before 13 March 2013, I searched the ‘stacks’ for
a sample of dates in the period 1 September 1994 to 13 March 2013.

2

Noting that there are differences in terminology and numbering between versions of PAM3
and other policy documents over time, I  was  able to locate the information to which you
seek access for the sample dates in the following ways:

•  for the period 15 February 2013 to 22 March 2013: in ‘Unauthorised Arrival Entry
Screening’ – section 76 (Annex: Guidelines) of the Protection Visa Procedures Advice
Manual, located at Policy: PAM3 Refugee and Humanitarian
•  for the period 30 October 2010 to 4 December 2010: in ‘Unauthorised Arrival Entry
Screening’ – section 6 of the Protection Visa Procedures Manual, located at Policy:
PAM3 Migration Regulations
•  for the period 19 September 2001 to 26 October 2001: in ‘Border Applicants’ = section
2.5 of the Protection Visa Procedures Manual, located at Procedures Advice Manual 3
•  for the period 12 December 1994 to 8 January 1995: in ‘Border Applicants’ – section 3
of MSI-52: Guidelines For Protection Visas, located at Migration Series Instructions.

Based on these searches, I  am  satisfied that the information to which  you seek access is
published on LEGENDcom for the period 1 September 1994 onwards.
6
Reasons for internal review Decision: whether FOI Act applies to documents

Subsection 12(1) of the FOI Act provides that the FOI Act does not apply to certain
documents as follows:

12 Part not to apply to certain documents
(1) A person is not entitled to obtain access under this Part to:
(c) a document that is available for purchase by the public in accordance with
arrangements made by an agency.

I am satisfied that the documents to which you seek access is held on LEGENDcom, which
is a paid subscription database of migration and citizenship legislation and policy
documents. As the documents are available to the public on payment of a subscription fee,
they are documents which are available for purchase by the public in  accordance with
arrangements made by the Department.

As such, I  consider that the FOI Act does not apply to the documents, by the operation of
section 12(1)(c) of the FOI Act.
7
Legislation
A copy of the FOI Act is available at https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00251.
If you are unable to access the legislation through this website, please contact our office for
a copy.
8
Your Review Rights
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.

3

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.

Position No. 11307
Authorised Decision Maker
Department of Home Affairs

4

Document Outline