4 March 2021
JM  (Right to know)
BY EMAIL: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
FOI Request:  FA 21/02/00997
File Number:
OBJ2021/6523
Dear JM
Freedom of Information (FOI) request - Access Decision
On 17 February 2021, the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) received a request for
access to a 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:
Regarding document SB-20-000408 (16 November 2020, FA 20/09/01171, FA 20/09/01173)
more specifically: Attachment A (Breakdown of Air and Sea arrivals... etc), I am requesting
under FOIA 1982 access to the original document "Attachment A".
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
•  the document relevant to your 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

6 Chan Street Belconnen ACT 2617
PO Box 25 Belconnen ACT 2616 • Telephone: 02 6264 1111 • Fax: 02 6225 6970 • www.homeaffairs.gov.au

4
Document in scope of request
The Department has identified one document as falling within the scope of your request.
This document was in the possession of the Department on 17 February 2021 when your
request was received.
5
Decision
The decision in  relation to the document in the possession of the Department which falls
within the scope of your request is as follows:
•  Release one document in part with deletions.
6
Reasons for Decision
Detailed reasons for my decision are set out below.
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that the exemption provision applies to that
information are set out below.
6.1  Section 47F of the FOI Act – Personal Privacy
Section 47F of the FOI Act provides that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure
under the  FOI  Act  would  involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information of
any person. ‘Personal information’ means information or an opinion about an identified
individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion
is true or not, and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not
(see s 4 of the FOI Act and s 6 of the Privacy Act 1988).
I  consider that disclosure of the information marked 's47F' in the document would disclose
personal information relating to third parties.
The  document contains figures less than five that refers to individual persons. It  is
departmental policy to  mask figures less than five in order to reduce the possibility that
specific persons in a given context could be identified.
I  consider that disclosure of the information marked ‘s47F’ in the document would disclose
personal information relating to third parties. Taking into consideration the context of  the
document, the information within the document would reasonably identify third parties and
would enable particular details about their personal circumstances to become apparent. I
am satisfied that the disclosure of the information within the documents would involve an
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about a number of individuals.
Based on the above considerations, I have therefore decided that the individual figures less
than five and the relevant totals from which the figures less than five could be calculated
should not be released, based on the application of section 47F of the FOI Act, as release
of this information would constitute an unreasonable disclosure of  information about
specific individuals.
The FOI Act states that, when deciding whether the disclosure of the personal information
would  be ‘unreasonable’, I must have regard to four factors set out in s.47F(2) of the
FOI Act. I  have therefore considered each of these factors below:

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•  the extent to which the information is well  known;
•  whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have
been) associated with the matters dealt with in the document;
•  the availability of the information from publicly available resources;
•  any other matters that I consider relevant.
The information relating to the third parties is not well  known and would only be known to
a limited group of people with a business need to know. As this information is only known
to a limited group of people, the individuals concerned are not generally known to be
associated with  the matters discussed in  the document. This information is not available
from publicly accessible sources.
I  do not consider that the information relating specifically to the third parties would be
relevant to the broader scope of your request, as you are seeking access to statistical data
rather than information which wholly relates to other individuals.
I  am  satisfied that the disclosure of the information within the document would involve an
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about a number of individuals.
I have decided that the information referred to above is conditionally exempt under section
47F 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 at paragraph below.
6.2  The public interest – section 11A of the FOI Act
As I  have decided that parts of the document 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 document would promote the objects of the FOI Act.
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•  the  subject matter of the document  does not seem to have a general
characteristic of public importance. The matter has a limited scope and, in my
view, would be of interest to a very narrow section of the public.
•  no insights into public expenditure wil  be provided through examination of the
document.
•  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 personal information which is  conditionally exempt under
section 47F of the FOI  Act could reasonably be expected to prejudice the
protection of those individuals' right to privacy.
•  The Department is committed to complying with its obligations under the
Privacy Act 1988, which sets out standards and obligations that regulate how
the Department must handle and manage personal information. It is  firmly in
the public interest that the Department uphold the rights of individuals to their
own privacy and meets its obligations under the Privacy Act. I  consider that
non-compliance with the Department’s statutory obligations concerning the
protection of personal information 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 documents 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.

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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.
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.

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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]

Dianna Smith
Authorised decision maker
Department of Home Affairs
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Document Outline