Alcohol and drug testing for Customs officers

Red made this Freedom of Information request to Australian Border Force

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was successful.

Dear Australian Customs and Border Protection Service,

Under FOI I request copies of documentation pertaining to the introduction of alcohol and drug testing for Customs officers, including - but not limited to - discussions between Customs and other parties about the drafting of the Customs (Drug and Alcohol Testing) Regulation 2013, correspondence about the development of internal policies and procedures related to alcohol and drug testing, copies of the finalised policy and procedure documents, reports on any such testing undertaken already (minus personal details, but including such information as date of test, state in which test was conducted, results, etc.), documents related to any staff or union consultation on the matter and their feedback, etc.

Please provide these documents to me electronically.

Should there be any suggestion of charges for this request I would ask that they be waived as I believe there is a genuine public interest in this matter.

Yours faithfully,

Red

FOI Coordinator,

Thank you for your email. This is an automated response to advise you
that your email has been received by the Australian Customs and Border
Protection Service's FOI Coordinator.

If you wish to lodge a request for access to documents under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), please ensure that your request is in
writing, states that it is an application for the purposes of the FOI
Act and provides sufficient detail describing the documents you wish to
access. The FOI Coordinator will acknowledge your request within 14
days.

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FOI Coordinator,

Dear Red

I refer to your email dated 8 March 2013 in which you have sought access to documents relating to the introduction of alcohol and drug testing for Customs and Border Protection officers under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

Your application was received on 8 March 2013, and the statutory period for processing your request will commence from that date.

I hope to be able to advise you of our decision on your request in the near future.

Where documents are released to you in response to your request, Customs and Border Protection may be required to publish these documents on its website within 10 working days in accordance with section 11C of the FOI Act. Publication will not be required where the documents contain personal or business affairs information.

Should you have any queries regarding the progress of your request, please contact [email address].

FOI Coordinator | Operations & Information Law Section
Legal Services Branch
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service

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FOI Coordinator,

1 Attachment

Dear Red

Please find attached correspondence from the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service for your reference.

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email address].

Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
Please consider the environment before printing this email
This email may contain legal advice that is subject to legal professional privilege. Care should be taken to avoid unintended waiver of that privilege. Customs and Border Protection Legal Services Branch should be consulted prior to any decision to disclose the existence or content of any advice contained in this email to a third party

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Dear FOI Coordinator,

I acknowledge receipt of the correspondence dated 21 March 2013 from the acting NM Integrity Implementation.

In light of the information contained therein I wish to make a revised request, as follows:

Under FOI please provide me with copies of (i) the Customs (Drug & Alcohol Testing) regulation 2013; (ii) copies of approved policy and procedure documents developed by Customs related to alcohol and drug testing; and (iii) reports on any such testing undertaken already (minus personal details, but including such information as date of test, state in which test was conducted, results, etc.)

I have removed the various components of my initial request that would have been likely to divert the resources of the agency from its other operations. I trust therefore that you can provide the items requested above.

Yours sincerely,

Red

FOI Coordinator,

Thank you for your email. This is an automated response to advise you
that your email has been received by the Australian Customs and Border
Protection Service's FOI Coordinator.

If you wish to lodge a request for access to documents under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), please ensure that your request is in
writing, states that it is an application for the purposes of the FOI
Act and provides sufficient detail describing the documents you wish to
access. The FOI Coordinator will acknowledge your request within 14
days.

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FOI Coordinator,

Good afternoon Red

Re: Request for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act)

Thank you for your email dated 26 March 2013 in which you have revised the scope of your FOI request to include the following documents:

1. "the Customs (Drug & Alcohol Testing) regulation 2013;
2. copies of approved policy and procedure documents developed by Customs related to alcohol and drug testing; and
3. reports on any such testing undertaken already (minus personal details, but including such information as date of test, state in which test was conducted, results, etc)."

Please note that item 1 of your request (a copy of the Customs (Drug and Alcohol Testing) Regulation 2013) is a publicly available document. For your reference, the Regulation can be found on the ComLaw website at http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2013L0....

Based on the revised scope in items 2 and 3, Customs and Border Protection will commence processing your request (as the practical refusal reason has been removed).

Customs and Border Protection will advise you of a decision on access as soon as possible.

Should you require any further information at this time, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email address].

Kind regards

FOI Coordinator
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
E: [email address]
Please consider the environment before printing this email This email may contain legal advice that is subject to legal professional privilege. Care should be taken to avoid unintended waiver of that privilege. Customs and Border Protection Legal Services Branch should be consulted prior to any decision to disclose the existence or content of any advice contained in this email to a third party

Dear FOI Coordinator,

I acknowledge receipt of the correspondence dated 21 March 2013
from the acting NM Integrity Implementation.

In light of the information contained therein I wish to make a
revised request, as follows:

Under FOI please provide me with copies of (i) the Customs (Drug &
Alcohol Testing) regulation 2013; (ii) copies of approved policy
and procedure documents developed by Customs related to alcohol and
drug testing; and (iii) reports on any such testing undertaken
already (minus personal details, but including such information as
date of test, state in which test was conducted, results, etc.)

I have removed the various components of my initial request that
would have been likely to divert the resources of the agency from
its other operations. I trust therefore that you can provide the
items requested above.

Yours sincerely,

Red

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Dear FOI Coordinator,

Thank you for your reference to the Comlaw site. I have visited the link you provided and have been able to download not only a copy of the Regulations but also the Explanatory Statement.

Regarding items 2 and 3 of my request, are you able to advise how much longer it might take for you to make a decision about my FOI request for the documents referenced therein?

Yours sincerely,

Red

FOI Coordinator,

Thank you for your email. This is an automated response to advise you
that your email has been received by the Australian Customs and Border
Protection Service's FOI Coordinator.

If you wish to lodge a request for access to documents under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), please ensure that your request is in
writing, states that it is an application for the purposes of the FOI
Act and provides sufficient detail describing the documents you wish to
access. The FOI Coordinator will acknowledge your request within 14
days.

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FOI Coordinator,

Good afternoon Red

Thank you for your email.

The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service is in the process of finalising your request for access to documents under the FOI Act. We hope to be able to issue a decision on access and the relevant documents to you early next week.

My apologies for the delay in this matter.

Should you require any further information at this time, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email address].

Kind regards

FOI Coordinator
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
E: [email address]
Please consider the environment before printing this email This
email may contain legal advice that is subject to legal
professional privilege. Care should be taken to avoid unintended
waiver of that privilege. Customs and Border Protection Legal
Services Branch should be consulted prior to any decision to
disclose the existence or content of any advice contained in this
email to a third party

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FOI Coordinator,

2 Attachments

Good morning Red

 

Request for access to documents - Freedom of Information Act 1982

 

Please find attached a Notice of Decision from the Australian Customs and
Border Protection Service for your information.

 

The documents referred to in this decision are also attached for your
reference.

 

With kind regards

FOI Coordinator

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service

 

 

 

 

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