13 July 2021
Ned
BY EMAIL: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 21/02/01000
File Number: OBJ2021/6528
Dear Ned,
Freedom of Information (FOI) request - Access Decision
On 14 February 2021, 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 fol owing documents:
1. Documents showing any advice and any directive(s) that has been
communicated to Posts regarding the general processing (i.e. non-case
specific) of 309 visas in the period 01/07/2020 to present.
2. The intranet page that outlines internal policies and procedures for assessing
and making a determination on 309 as wel as the individual PDF files
associated with each sub step.
3. A statistical breakdown from 01/01/2020 to current of the number of
applications in calendar days to decision for 309 visa by post and by decision
type (granted/rejected)
4. forecasting/planning for family visa subclass for the 19/20 20/21 21/22 FY
5. A statistical breakdown of 309 applications on hand since 01/07/2020 by
country of passport broken down into number of applications awaiting
processing at each regional processing office and how many applications are
yet to be appointed for processing. The purpose Is to il ustrate how applications
have been distributed global y based on specific regional processing issues.
2 Lonsdale Street Melbourne VIC 3000
PO Box 241 Melbourne VIC 3001 Telephone: 03 8682 2452 Fax: 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 document or to amend or annotate records.
3
Relevant material
In reaching my decision I referred to the fol owing:
the terms of your request
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 consulted with the relevant area of the business in relation to the
documents you have requested access to and finds two documents of relevance to
points 1, 3,4 and 5 of scope and no relevant document holdings to point 2 of scope.
The Department has considered whether is holds documents that may meet the scope
at point 2 of your request. Section 4 of the FOI Act provides that a document for the
purposes of the Act does not include:
(d) material maintained for reference purposes that is otherwise publicly available
The Department has undertaken reasonable searches in relation to the documents you
have requested access to at point 2 of your request. For the purposes of the FOI Act, as
the information you have requested is available publical y, the Department finds that is
does not hold any document.
4.1 Reasons for decision
Section 4 of the FOI Act provides that a document for the purpose of the FOI Act does
not include material maintained for reference purposes that is otherwise publical y
available.
In considering point 2 of scope I find that the documents that are in scope for this
request, being the Department’s internal policies for assessing and making a
determination on a Partner (Subclass 309/100) visa, are publicly available on
LEGENDcom, which is an electronic database of migration and citizenship legislation
and policy documents’, which forms part of the Procedures Advice Manual 3 (PAM3).
This is a document that is publicly-available via a number of State or Territory libraries
that subscribe to LEGENDcom via the “Library Deposit and Free Issue Scheme” (LDS).
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The Department provides information about the participating libraries and the LDS via
its website, which can be accessed at the below link:
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/tools/legendcom
As such, I am of the view that the objects of the FOI Act, in terms of providing the
Australian community access to this information, have been met.
I have further considered that the Department would be unable to guarantee the
currency of this document as changes to policy and procedure regularly occur and this
document would be provided at a particular point in time, therefore the document may
become significantly outdated within a short period of time. I have considered that this
could invite subsequent and potential y multiple requests for access to the same
document.
The information you have requested may be accessed freely at the above location
without any need to formal y request the information and wait for such a request to be
processed. Bypassing the FOI process and accessing the information in the public
domain wil significantly reduce delays in obtaining the same information and ensure that
the information is the most up-to-date.
5
Decision
The decision in relation to the documents relevant to points 1,3,4 and 5 of scope is as
fol ows:
Release one document in ful
The decision in relation to the documents in the possession of the Department which fal
within the scope of point 2 of your request is as fol ows:
Refuse access in ful
Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that the Department may refuse a request for
access to a document if al reasonable steps have been taken to find the document and
the Department is satisfied that the document does not exist. As such I am refusing
access to the document based on the application of section 24A(1)(b)(i ) of the FOI Act.
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.
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
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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 cal 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.
Signed electronical y
Glen
Position number 60081621
Authorised Decision Maker | Freedom of Information Section
FOI and Records Management Branch
Data Division | Strategy and Law Enforcement Group
Department of Home Affairs
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