Enhanced Screening
Operational Guidelines
July 2013
Purpose
This document provides operational guidance for the Enhanced Screening process.
This document is to be used by interviewing officers, senior officers and the
administration staff that support the Enhanced Screening process. This document
has been developed to support the Enhanced Screening Policy Guidelines.
Screening outcomes for enhanced screening
All non-citizens who arrive in Australia without a valid visa and seek Australia’s
protection are subject to screening. Screening is used to determine whether a
person should be allowed to remain in Australia in order to have their claims
considered or whether they can be removed from Australia under the relevant
provision of the
Migration Act 1958.
Screening, including Enhanced screening, is not a protection assessment process.
There are two outcomes for screening:
• Screened-in – the protection claims warrant further assessment
through a protection status determination, as they may engage
Australia’s protection obligations. The non-citizen may remain in
Australia pending further decisions as to how they wil be
processed.
• Screened-out – the protection claims do not require an
assessment of Australia’s protection obligations. The non-citizen
is on a removal pathway.
Roles and responsibilities
Interviewing officers
The role of interviewing officers while on deployment for the purpose of the
enhanced screening includes:
• Conducting the enhanced screening interview;
• Recording and transcribing the enhanced screening interview;
• Forming a view of whether the person has/has not made claims that raise
any fear of harm whether for a Refugees Convention reason or otherwise.
And if the person has made claims that raise a fear of harm, forming a view:
o That those claims appear to be plausible and to have substance; or
o That those claims appear not to be plausible and/or not to have
substance.
• Completing where applicable the Protection File Note; and
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• Forwarding all relevant documents to the Enhanced Screening Operations
(ESO) Unit.
Senior Officers
A senior officer can be a Local Senior Officer (LSO) at the detention location or an
Enhanced Screening Officer located in the National or State Offices.
Local Senior Officer (LSO)/Team Leader
The role of LSO while on deployment for the purpose of the enhanced screening
includes the fol owing:
• Prior to referral to the ESO Unit, the LSO will check all Protection File Notes to
ensure:
o The interview transcript has been provided and is available for
referral;
o The interview transcript is complete including al relevant questions
filled in;
o The transcript records time, date and relevant names, including
interviewee and interpreter;
o The appropriate fields in this form have been completed;
o A summary of interview and the view of the interviewing officer has
been recorded;
o The summary is consistent with the interview transcript; and
o They provide other comments as relevant.
• Where required, when reviewing the interview transcript and the draft
protection file note, the LSO will confirm that a case is a local screen out or
refer the case for consideration by the ESO unit;
• Support interviewing officers;
• Engage with key stakeholders at the detention facility;
• Send al case files such as interview transcripts, protection file notes etc to
the ESO Unit for record keeping or consideration by the Senior Officers.
Enhanced Screening Officers
The role of Enhanced Screening Officers located in the National or State Offices
includes:
• Providing support to the LSO;
• Reviewing all cases referred for consideration to determine:
o That a person has made claims that appear to be plausible and to
have substance therefore removal is not appropriate at this time; or
o That a person has made claims that appear not to be plausible and/or
not to have substance therefore removal of this person would be
consistent with Australia’s
non refoulement obligations.
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Please refer to the Enhanced Screening Policy Guidelines for guidance on the process
if the interviewing officer and Senior Officer do not form the same view.
Assistant Team Leader
The role of Assistant Team Leader while on deployment for the purpose of the
enhanced screening includes the fol owing:
• Scheduling interviews and providing this schedule to GM UMA Protection
Admin;
• Liaising with Detention Operations, Interpreter Liaison, and Serco to prepare
an interview schedule for each day;
• Ensuring interpreters are booked;
• Engaging with key stakeholders at the detention facility;
• Liaise with the independent observer in the context of interviewing minors;
and
• and
• Organising logistical aspects whilst on deployment such cars etc.
Support and administration staff
The role of the administration and support staff includes the fol owing:
• Providing support to LSOs and enhanced senior officers;
• Record keeping and administration; and
• Completing the 198AE exemption submission.
Key Stakeholders
There are a number of stakeholders that the Local Senior Officer and Assistant Team
Leader wil need to engage with while on deployment. This includes: detention
operations; interpreter liaison; case management; and independent observers in the
context of minors. The Local Senior Officer and Assistant Team Leader should engage
with these different stakeholders at the start of their deployment. Any operational
or logistical elements should be negotiated at the start of the deployment with these
stakeholders.
Interview
Each interviewing officer is expected on average to complete five or six interviews a
day, depending on the length of the interviews. Because each individual’s case is
different the length and nature of the interview wil vary.
Interviews must be attended by two experienced officers with relevant background
and training in protection decision making and interviewing techniques. One officer
transcribes the interview and the other conducts the interview. If agreed with by the
Team Leader before an interview commences, the person who transcribes the
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interview may also wish to assist with conducting the interview, so long as the
interview transcript is still transcribed verbatim.
The interview is to be digitally recorded (unless declined by the person being
interviewed). Interviewing officers must take notes of the interview. These notes
can either be electronical y recorded in the interview template or hand written.
Digital recording and notes from the interview should be TRIMmed. For guidance on
this refer to Record Keeping.
People smuggling information
Whilst it is not the focus of the enhanced screening interview, interview transcripts
may sometimes contain intelligence/information concerning people smuggling
activities.
s. 47E(d)
Summary of interview
At the end of the interview transcript the interviewing officer must include a
summary of the interview and the claims raised (if any). This summary should
contain:
• A brief biography: this should include the person’s age, ethnicity and
region/district the person is from;
• A summary of the claim/s (if any): this should usual y be in the form of a
timeline and should include dates, locations and the key elements of the
claim;
• Any additional information that is relevant to the person’s case for example if
the interviewing officer is of the opinion that the person is vulnerable or if
the person has travelled to Australia previously. Or any other key pieces of
information that the interviewing officer would like to highlight to the LSO or
SO; and
• The interviewing officer’s view, having regard to the information provided by
the person during the interview and any relevant country information, that:
o The person has not made claims that raise any fear of harm whether
for a Refugees Convention reason or otherwise; or
o The person has made claims that raise a fear of harm and:
o those claims appear to be plausible and to have substance; or
o those claims appear not to be plausible and/or not to have
substance.
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Essentially this summary of the interview will indicate whether a person is a:
• Local Screen Out; or
• Referral to ESO Screening Operations for screening considerations by a Senior
Officer(s).
Local Screen Out
If the view of the interviewing officer is that an individual has raised no issues that
could engage Australia’s protection obligations, the case should be referred to the
LSO for a second opinion and quality check of the recommendation with reference to
the transcript and file note.
Should the LSO agree with the view of enhanced screening officer that the person
has not raised claims or issues relevant to Australia’s
non refoulement obligations,
the screening outcome can be finalised (subject to the relevant QC framework that is
in place at the time) and the person notified accordingly. This is referred to as a local
screen out.
Should the LSO disagree with the view of the enhanced screening officer, the LSO
can:
• either in consultation with the interviewing officer or not, determine
that the person should be re-interviewed (to clarify particular aspects
of the claims if required); or
• refer the case (file note and interview transcript) to the ESO unit (via
the Enhanced Screening Operations mailbox for further consideration
with the recommendation that the person has raised claims that
could reasonably engage Australia’s
non refoulement obligations and
further consideration of those claims by the ESO Unit is required.
Referral to Enhanced Senior Officer for consideration
If the interviewing officer is of the opinion that the person has raised protection-
related claims, the case is to be referred to the ESO Unit for further consideration.
When referring a case to the ESO Unit, interviewing officers will:
• Be of the opinion that the person has raised protection-related claims that
are implausible or lacking in substance and the recommendation is that
removal of the person is consistent with Australia’s
non refoulement
obligations; or
• Be of the opinion that the person has raised specific and plausible claims that
could reasonably engage Australia’s
non refoulement obligations and the
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recommendation is to screen the person in pending further decisions as to
how the claims wil be processed.
The LSO is to review and provide feedback for quality assurance purposes prior to
referral and when referring a case, the LSO should include the interview transcript,
the interviewing officer’s view and any other relevant information, such as feedback
given on the interview.
When referring the case to the ESO Unit, the LSO should provide any other
information that may be relevant to a person’s case.
Minors
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is the guardian of certain
unaccompanied minors, that is, those minors to whom the
Immigration
Guardianship of Children Act 1946 (IGOC Act)
applies. DIAC maintains a duty of care
to both ‘IGOC’ and ‘non-IGOC’ minors and IGOC status does not impact on the level
of care and support provided. All minors are treated with sensitivity.
Minors can be part of the enhanced screening process as:
• a member of a family unit of a person who has made a claim/s; or
• a member of a family unit but with their own claim/s (or where the entire
family unit is minors); or
• an individual with their own claim/s (e.g. an unaccompanied minor).
A minor/child is a person under the age of 18. Minors, including unaccompanied
minors, may be subject to enhanced screening. Guidance around relevant personal
characteristics that should be considered when determining if a person is suitable for
enhanced screening can be found at Appendix A in the Enhanced Screening Policy
Guidelines.
Minors who are part of family unit are not interviewed unless they specifically
request to be interviewed. Where an unaccompanied minor is being considered for
enhanced screening, please notify your team leader prior to interviewing the
unaccompanied minor.
When dealing with minors the ‘best interests of the child’ must be considered. It is
Departmental policy that unaccompanied minors are afforded priority processing.
Where possible, minors should be interviewed by an officer who has background or
experience in children’s cases.
Where a minor is being interviewed there are contractual arrangements in place to
ensure there must be an independent observer present at the interview. The
independent observer ensures that the treatment of unaccompanied minors during
the interview is fair, appropriate and reasonable. Where appropriate, the
interviewing officer may al ow the independent observer to help the minor explain
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their claims but at the same time ensure that the minor is able to speak for
themselves and is given the opportunity to present their claims in their own words.
If the officer determines, during the course of the interview, that the minor is not
comfortable because of the presence or support of the independent observer, the
interviewing officer may ask the independent observer to leave the interview and if
appropriate another independent observer may be al owed to enter with the
agreement of the minor.
Access to legal advice
In accordance with section 256 of the
Migration Act 1958, reasonable facilities, for
any individual in immigration detention, to access legal advice will be provided
should the individual request this.
The department should provide clients with a phone, an interpreter and a phone
book (for the relevant state/region). For particularly young minors, if dealing with
minors, additional support may be required.
If a client has asked to speak to a particular migration agent and/or legal
representative, the department should provide the business hours telephone
number for that person.
If a migration agent and/or legal representative contacts the department and states
they represent a client, the department must ensure that the client has completed
the 956 Form (Advice by a migration agent/exempt person of providing immigration
assistance) or that the client has written advice (in any form), authorising the
department to communicate with a third person. If the department has this
evidence, the department should then reasonably facilitate access to this third
person.
Notification
Enhanced screening is undertaken to inform a decision about whether to remove an
unlawful non-citizen under section 198 (2) of the Migration Act 1958. Therefore the
requirements for notification and the operational responsibility for notification will
general y be established by the Removal Policy section. Screening outcomes are
updated in ICSE by GM UMA Protection Admin and then communicated by email to
Case Management and Removals. The IGOC delegated guardian should be advised of
the screening outcome for minors, for information only.
198AE Submission to the Minister for exemption
Section 198AD of the
Migration Act 1958 requires all Unauthorised Maritime Arrivals
(UMA) who are in detention to be taken to a Regional Processing Country as soon as
reasonably practicable, subject to certain exceptions. This provision applies to all
Unauthorised Maritime Arrivals who enter Australia on or after 13 August 2012.
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The power to remove an unlawful non-citizen from Australia is contained in section
198 of the
Migration Act 1958. The department is unable to facilitate a removal of an
affected UMA while section 198AD applies.
Section 198AE of the
Migration Act 1958 provides the Minister with a non-
compellable, non-delegable power to determine in writing that section 198AD does
not apply to one or more UMA, if he/she thinks it is in the public interest to do so.
Therefore, any person who has been screened out and thus where removal would be
consistent with Australia’s
non refoulment obligations needs to be exempted in
writing by the Minister so that section 198AD does not apply to that UMA.
This exemption is to occur in the form of a s198AE submission. This submission is to
be completed by UMA Screening Operations.
Record Keeping
TRIM
All Enhanced Screening File Notes and related files, such as emails sent to the ESO
Unit, notification emails, interview transcripts and Enhanced Screening Protection
File Notes, are to be stored in TRIM.
Documents that need to be TRIMmed include:
1. Interview Transcript;
2. If applicable, follow up interview transcript;
3. Final signed Protection File Note;
4. Digit recording of the interview (if applicable);
5. Enhanced screening referral for second SO opinion;
6. Notification email sent to Detention Operations and case management to
advise of screening outcomes of a Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel
7. Recording
8. If relevant, any other additional claims or information that was raised by the
person fol owing the enhanced screening interview; and
9. Any other relevant information to the person or their claims.
TRIM Naming Conventions
The fol owing naming conventions should be used when TRIMming documents:
• Enhanced screening interview transcript: Boat ID (no spaces) – Enhanced
screening interview transcript – Date (DD/MM/YYYY)
o E.g. ABC001 – Enhanced screening interview transcript – 01/12/2012
• Enhanced screening fol ow up interview transcript:
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o E.g. ABC001 – Enhanced screening fol ow up interview transcript –
01/12/2012
• Protection File Note: Boat ID (no spaces) – Protection File Note – Date
(DD/MM/YYY) – Screen in/Screen out
o E.g. of a person who has been screened in: ABC001 – Protection File
Note – 01/12/2012 – Screen in
o E.g. of a person who has been screened out: ABC001 – Protection File
Note – 01/12/2012 – Screen Out
• Digital recording of interview: Boat ID (no spaces) – Enhanced screening
interview recording – Date (DD/MM/YYYY)
o E.g. ABC001 – Enhanced screening interview recording – 01/12/2012
• Referral email sent from SO to another SO for opinion: Boat ID (no spaces) –
Enhanced screening second opinion referral – Email
o E.g. ABC001 – Enhanced screening referral for second SO opinion –
Email
• Notification email with screening outcomes – SIEV name and number –
Enhanced screening outcomes – Date of when email sent (DD/MM/YYYY)
o E.g. ABC SIEV123 – Enhanced screening outcomes – 01/12/2012
• Additional claims or information: Boat ID (no spaces) – Enhanced screening
additional claims or information raised – Date (DD/MM/YYYY)
o E.g. ABC001 – Enhanced screening additional claims or information
raised – 01/12/2012
If there is other information that is relevant to the person and the enhanced
screening process, it should be filed using similar naming conventions to that
provided above. This includes:
• Person’s boat ID;
• That they are part of enhanced screening;
• The type of document/information being TRIMmed; and
• The significant date of the document/information (e.g. when the information
was provided to/from the person).
When TRIMming documents please ensure there are no spaces between the letters
and numbers of the boat ID.
ICSE
Screening outcomes are updated in ICSE by GM UMA Protection Admin. The
outcome of both Business As Usual and enhanced screening is recorded in ICSE
under ‘UNA screening assessment’ found within the enforcement event. The notes
to this event confirm if the screening outcome was under enhanced screening and
includes a TRIM reference (it is left blank if they were subject to Business As Usual
screening). If officers are unsure which process the client underwent, email UMA
Screening Operations to confirm.
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For clients identified as available for removal, any subsequent exemption by the
Minister under s198AE should also be recorded in ICSE as a Ministerial Intervention
permission request.
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