8 June 2022
Mr Ray Mehta
BY EMAIL:  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
FOI Request:
FA 22/06/00139
File Number:
OBJ2022/13754
Dear Mr Mehta
I refer to your request dated 31 May 2022 in which you have sought access to documents held
by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
You have requested access to:
Subclass 600 Visas Granted and in Processing
Kindly release the below data.
- The number of Australian visitor visas granted for New Delhi processing office.
- Number of visitor visa applications on hand at New Delhi processing office.
Please provide monthly data.
Date range of request: From January 2022 til  the date of this request.
This letter is to notify you that a preliminary assessment has been made that you are liable to
pay a charge for the processing of this request.
As provided under section 29 of the FOI Act and the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations 1982 (the Regulations), my preliminary assessment of the amount of charges you
are liable to pay is $22.50.
Preliminary assessment of charges
Under section 17 of the FOI Act, the Department has used its computer system to produce
one document that contains information relevant to the terms of you request.
I have assessed the work the Department would need to do to process your request, taking
into account time spent by the relevant area to conduct the search and retrieval of documents
and produce the document, and have calculated the following breakdown of charges.
Search and Retrieval – one hour and 30 minutes @ $15 per hour
$ 22.50
Decision Making – one hour (first 5 hours free of charge)
$ 0.00
Total
$ 22.50
Deposit payable
$0.00

6 Chan Street B 1
el  connen ACT 2617
PO Box 25 Belconnen ACT 2616 • Telephone: 02 6264 1111 • www.homeaffairs.gov.au

Details of the Charge
It has taken one hour and 30 minutes to search for, retrieve and produce the document which
falls within the scope of your request. The document,  consisting of one page,  will require
a decision to be made on access and it is estimated that this wil  take one hour (noting that
the first five hours are free of charge).
As the charge is less than $25.00, the full amount wil  be sought if the charge is imposed.
Please note that by paying the charge you are deemed to have accepted the charge.
Timeframe for your response and next steps
The FOI Act provides you with 30 days to respond, in writing, to this notice. The due date for
your response is Friday, 8 July 2022.
By this date you must do one of the following:
•
agree to pay the charge;
•
contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed; or should be reduced or not
imposed; and explain your reasons; or
•
you may withdraw your request.
Once you have paid, please advise the FOI Section at foi@homeaf airs.gov.au immediately
to avoid delays in the processing of your request.
Please note that if you do not provide a written response within the 30 day timeframe your
request wil  be taken to have been withdrawn (by you) under section 29(2) of the Act.
Contesting Charges
If you seek to contend the assessment of charges the Department may make a decision on
whether a charge should be reduced or not imposed and must take into account:
•
whether payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause you financial hardship
•
whether giving access to the documents is in the general public interest or in the
interest of a substantial section of the public
This is not an exhaustive list and the Department may consider any other relevant matters.
Please set out your reasons and evidence in support of your reasons as clearly as possible.
If you believe that payment of the charge would cause you financial hardship, please provide
sufficient details of your financial circumstances to enable the decision maker to make a wel
informed decision.
Payment
To indicate your agreement to pay the charge you are required to pay the deposit, or pay the
charge in full.
The Department has a number of payment options available, including an online payment
facility for credit/debit cards; automated telephone payment system and BPay. You may also
pay the charge by cheque or money order.

2

Electronic funds transfer/credit card payment
If you wish to pay the charges using a credit card, the online payment facility, telephone
payment system or BPay, please advise the FOI Section, and a tax invoice wil  be provided to
you which wil  include full details of how the payment can be made.
Payment by cheque/money order
If you wish to pay by cheque or money order, please make the cheque/money order payable
to ‘Collector of Public Monies Home Affairs’; and send via post to:
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Home Affairs
PO Box 25 Belconnen ACT 2616
If the Department fails to make a decision on your request within the statutory time limit,
the payment wil  be refunded.
Processing period suspended
The period for processing your request is suspended from the day that you are deemed to
have been ‘notified’ of the charge and resumes on:
•
the day you indicate that you agree to pay the charge; or
•
the day on which this agency makes a decision not to impose a charge.
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.
Contact
If you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please contact the  FOI Section at
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely

[Signed electronically]

Guy
Position no. 60103474
FOI Of icer | Freedom of Information Section
FOI and Records Management Branch
Data Division | Strategy and National Resilience Group
Department of Home Affairs

3

Document Outline