FOIREQ22/00228 021
1 June 2022
s 22
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Human Rights Law Program, ASRC
PO Box 2381
FOOTSCRAY VIC 3011
AUSTRALIA
Email: s 22
In reply please quote:
s 22
Dear s 22
,
Freedom of Information request – Revised decision
s 22
, (the applicant) has authorised you to receive correspondence about their
Freedom of Information request on their behalf. Correspondence wil not be sent directly to
the applicant. In this letter references to 'you' and ‘your’ relate to the applicant.
This letter refers to your request received on 23 March 2022 seeking access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the following documents held by the
Department of Home Affairs (the Department):
s 22
The Department has interpreted your scope as:
s 22
FOIREQ22/00228 022
Deemed refused decision
A ‘deemed refusal’ has occurred as the time for making a decision has expired on 22 April
2022 and you have not been given a notice of decision.
You have made an application for review of the deemed refusal decision with the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The OAIC has notified the Department that the
Information Commissioner wil review the deemed refusal decision.
Revocation of deemed refused decision
Section 55G of the FOI Act allows for a revocation or variation of access refusal decision during
a review by the Information Commissioner (IC):
55G
Procedure in IC review—revocation or variation of access refusal decision
(1) An agency or Minister may vary (or set aside and substitute) an access
refusal decision (the original decision) in relation to a request or an application
under section 48 at any time during an IC review of the access refusal decision if the
variation or substitution (the revised decision) would have an effect of:
(a) giving access to a document in accordance with the request; or
(b) relieving the IC review applicant from liability to pay a charge; or
(c) requiring a record of personal information to be amended or
annotated in accordance with the application.
Note: When making the revised decision, a consultation requirement under
section 26A (documents affecting Commonwealth-State relations etc.), 27 (business
documents) or 27A (documents affecting personal privacy) may apply.
(2) If an agency or Minister varies (or sets aside and substitutes) an access
refusal decision under subsection (1):
(a) the agency or Minister must, in writing, notify the Information
Commissioner as soon as practicable after the agency or Minister makes the
variation or substitution; and
(b) the Information Commissioner must deal with the IC review
application for review of the original decision as if it were an IC review application for
the review of the varied or substituted decision, subject otherwise to this Part.
I have now set aside the deemed refused decision and substitute it with a revised decision
under section s55G(1)(a) of the FOI Act as set out below.
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 documents or to amend or annotate Departmental records.
FOIREQ22/00228 023
Information considered
In reaching my decision, I have considered the following:
• the
Freedom of Information Act 1982;
• the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to
documents held by government;
• the terms of your request;
• Departmental documents, (identified below);
Revised decision
The Department has identified the documents that fall within the scope of your request.
My decision is to exempt in part the documents in the possession of the Department, which
fall within the scope of your request. The reasons for my decision are set out in
Attachment A.
The Schedule of Documents that falls within the scope of your request is at
Attachment B.
Read together the Decision Record and Schedule sets out the decision on access and where
appropriate refers to various sections of the FOI Act
How to make a complaint about the handling of this FOI request
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner if you have concerns about
how the Department has handled your request under the FOI Act. Information about how to
submit a complaint is available at www.oaic.gov.au .
Contacting the FOI Section
If you wish to discuss this matter, I can be contacted using the details provided below.
Yours sincerely
Iris
Position no. 60120965
Freedom of Information
FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division
Strategy and National Resilience Group
Department of Home Affairs
Email: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Attachments
• Attachment A – Decision Record
• Attachment B – Schedule of Documents
• Documents released to you under the FOI Act
FOIREQ22/00228 024
Attachment A – DECISION RECORD
Client Details
s 22
Documents in scope
1. Departmental file s 22
Information considered
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions in respect of
requests to access documents or to amend or annotate departmental records. In reaching my
decision, I have considered the following:
• The
Freedom of Information Act 1982;
• Departmental files and/or documents (identified above);
• The Australian Information Commissioner’s guidelines relating to access to
documents held by government;
• The terms of your request.
Reasons for decision
I have considered the files within the scope of your request and applied exemptions in part or
in full to documents as detailed in the Schedule of Documents. You should read the schedule
in conjunction with the exemptions below.
22 Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted (extract)
Scope
(1)
This section applies if:
(a)
an agency or Minister decides:
(i) to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or
(ii) that to give access to a document would disclose information that
would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access;
and
(b)
it is possible for the agency or Minister to prepare a copy (an edited copy) of
the document, modified by deletions, ensuring that:
(i) access to the edited copy would be required to be given under
section 11A (access to documents on request); and
(ii) the edited copy would not disclose any information that would
reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request; and
(c)
it is reasonably practicable for the agency or Minister to prepare the edited
copy, having regard to:
(i) the nature and extent of the modification; and
(ii) the resources available to modify the document; and
(d)
it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the applicant)
that the applicant would decline access to the edited copy.
A number of documents contain information that is exempt under one or more sections of the
FOI Act. I am able to provide you with an edited copy of those documents under section
22(1)(b). You can identify those documents in the Schedule of Documents with the words
‘Exempt in part’ or ‘Refused in part’ in the decision column.
FOIREQ22/00228 025
In your acknowledgement letter, you were advised of the Department’s policy to consider
irrelevant to the scope of your request the personal details of staff engaged in some roles.
This includes their names, direct email addresses and also the mobile and direct work
telephone numbers of these staff. This material has therefore been removed under s 22
(1)(a)(i ) of the FOI Act from the documents that form the scope of your request.
You wil see these exemptions in the documents released to you as they wil be clearly
identified with ‘s 22 (1)(a)(i )’ however they wil not be individually noted in the Schedule of
Documents.
I have decided that parts of the documents would disclose information that could reasonably
be regarded as irrelevant to your request under section 22(1)(a)(i ) of the FOI Act. You can
identify those documents in the Schedule of Documents with the words as ‘irrelevant material
deleted’ in the decision column.
The materials in question relate to third parties. Your request is for information about yourself
and you do not require information about any other person.
I have therefore determined the materials which do not relate to you to be irrelevant to your
request and have deleted them under section 22(1)(a)(i ) of the FOI Act.
s 22
FOIREQ22/00228 026
s 22
s
FOIREQ22/00228 027
s 22
Yours sincerely
Iris
Position no. 60120965
Freedom of Information
FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division
Strategy and National Resilience Group
Department of Home Affairs
Email: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
FOIREQ22/00228 028
Attachment B - SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS
s 22
1. Departmental File:s 22
s 22
- 2 -
FOIREQ22/00228 054
(c) requiring a record of personal information to be amended or annotated in accordance
with the application.
Note: When making the revised decision, a consultation requirement under
section 26A (documents affecting Commonwealth-State relations etc.), 27 (business
documents) or 27A (documents affecting personal privacy) may apply.
(2) If an agency or Minister varies (or sets aside and substitutes) an access refusal
decision under subsection (1):
(a) the agency or Minister must, in writing, notify the Information Commissioner as soon
as practicable after the agency or Minister makes the variation or substitution; and
(b) the Information Commissioner must deal with the IC review application for review of
the original decision as if it were an IC review application for the review of the varied
or substituted decision, subject otherwise to this Part.
I have now set aside the deemed refused decision and substitute it with a revised decision
under section s55G(1)(a) of the FOI Act as set out below.
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 documents or to amend or annotate Departmental records.
Information considered
In reaching my decision, I have considered the following:
the
Freedom of Information Act 1982;
the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to
documents held by government;
the terms of your request;
Departmental documents, (identified below);
Revised decision
The Department has identified the documents that fall within the scope of your request.
My decision is to exempt in part the documents in the possession of the Department, which
fall within the scope of your request. The reasons for my decision are set out in
Attachment A.
The Schedule of Documents that falls within the scope of your request is at
Attachment B. Read together the Decision Record and Schedule sets out the decision on access and where
appropriate refers to various sections of the FOI Act
How to make a complaint about the handling of this FOI request
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner if you have concerns about
how the Department has handled your request under the FOI Act. Information about how to
submit a complaint is available at www.oaic.gov.au .
Contacting the FOI Section If you wish to discuss this matter, I can be contacted using the details provided below.
Yours sincerely
Maureen
Position Number: 11278
FOI Case Officer
FOI and Records Management Branch I Data Division
Strategy and National Resilience Group
Department of Home Affairs
E: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
- 3 -
Attachments
FOIREQ22/00228 055
Attachment A – Decision Record
Attachment B – Schedule of Documents
Documents released to you under the FOI Act
- 4 -
Attachment A – DECISION RECORD
FOIREQ22/00228 056
Client Details
s 22
Documents in scope
Departmental file s 22
Information considered
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions in respect of
requests to access documents or to amend or annotate departmental records. In reaching
my decision, I have considered the following:
The
Freedom of Information Act 1982;
Departmental files and/or documents (identified above);
The Australian Information Commissioner’s guidelines relating to access to
documents held by government;
The terms of your request.
Reasons for decision
I have considered the files within the scope of your request and applied exemptions in part or
in full to documents as detailed in the Schedule of Documents. You should read the schedule
in conjunction with the exemptions below.
22 Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted (extract)
Scope
(1)This section applies if:
(a)an agency or Minister decides:
(i)to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or
(ii)that to give access to a document would disclose information that would
reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access; and
(b)it is possible for the agency or Minister to prepare a copy (an edited copy) of the
document, modified by deletions, ensuring that:
(i)access to the edited copy would be required to be given under section 11A
(access to documents on request); and
(ii)the edited copy would not disclose any information that would reasonably be
regarded as irrelevant to the request; and
(c)it is reasonably practicable for the agency or Minister to prepare the edited copy,
having regard to:
(i)the nature and extent of the modification; and
(ii)the resources available to modify the document; and
(d)it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the applicant) that the
applicant would decline access to the edited copy.
A number of documents contain information that is exempt under one or more sections of the
FOI Act. I am able to provide you with an edited copy of those documents under section
22(1)(b). You can identify those documents in the Schedule of Documents with the words
‘Exempt in part’ or ‘Refused in part’ in the decision column.
In your acknowledgement letter, you were advised of the Department’s policy to consider
irrelevant to the scope of your request the personal details of staff engaged in some roles.
This includes their names, direct email addresses and also the mobile and direct work
telephone numbers of these staff. This material has therefore been removed under s 22
(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act from the documents that form the scope of your request.
- 5 -
FOIREQ22/00228 057
s 22
- 6 -
FOIREQ22/00228 058
s 22
Maureen
Position Number: 11278
FOI Case Officer
26 May 2022
- 7 -
FOIREQ22/00228 059
Attachment B - SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS
s 22
Departmental file s 22
s 22
FOIREQ22/00228 060
20 May 2022
s 22
Sent via email: s 22
In reply please quote:
s 22
Dear s 22
Freedom of Information request – Revised decision
s 22
(the applicant) has authorised you to receive, on their behalf,
correspondence about their Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Correspondence will not
be sent directly to the applicant. In this letter, references to 'you' relate to the applicant.
This letter refers to an access request received by the Department of Home Affairs (‘the
Department’) under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) on 8 March 2022,
seeking access to:
s 22
Deemed refused decision
A ‘deemed refusal’ has occurred as the time for making a decision has expired on 7 April
2022 and you have not been given a notice of decision.
You have made an application for review of the deemed refusal decision with the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The OAIC has notified the Department that
the Information Commissioner will review the deemed refusal decision.
Revocation of deemed refused decision
Section 55G of the FOI Act allows for a revocation or variation of access refusal decision during
a review by the Information Commissioner (IC):
55G Procedure in IC review—revocation or variation of access refusal decision
(1) An agency or Minister may vary (or set aside and substitute) an access refusal
decision (the original decision) in relation to a request or an application under
FOIREQ22/00228 062
22 Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted (extract)
Scope
(1) This section applies if:
(a) an agency or Minister decides:
(i) to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or
(ii) that to give access to a document would disclose information that
would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access;
and
(b) it is possible for the agency or Minister to prepare a copy (an edited copy) of the
document, modified by deletions, ensuring that:
(i) access to the edited copy would be required to be given under
section 11A (access to documents on request); and
(ii) the edited copy would not disclose any information that would
reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request; and
(c) it is reasonably practicable for the agency or Minister to prepare the edited copy,
having regard to:
(i) the nature and extent of the modification; and
(ii) the resources available to modify the document; and
(d) it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the applicant) that the
applicant would decline access to the edited copy.
Section 22(2) of the FOI Act provides that, where an agency reaches the view that a
document contains exempt information or material that is irrelevant to the request and it is
possible for the agency to prepare an edited copy of the document with the irrelevant or
exempt material deleted, then the agency must prepare such a copy.
This edited copy must be provided to the applicant. Further, the decision maker must advise
the applicant in writing that the edited copy of the document has been prepared and of the
reason(s) for each of the deletions in the document (s.22(3) of the FOI Act).
Exempt material is deleted pursuant to s.22(1)(a)(i) and irrelevant material is deleted
pursuant to s.22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act.
The schedule identifies documents where material has either been deleted as exempt
information under the FOI Act; or deleted as irrelevant to the scope of the request.
How to make a complaint about the handling of this FOI request
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner if you have concerns about
how the Department has handled your request under the FOI Act. Information about how to
submit a complaint is available at www.oaic.gov.au .
FOIREQ22/00228 063
Contacting the FOI Section If you wish to discuss this matter, I can be contacted using the details provided below.
Yours sincerely
John
Position number: 6004 6997
FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Victoria
E: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Attachments
•
Documents released to you under the FOI Act
FOIREQ22/00228 064
14 June 2022
s 22
Email:s 22
In reply please quote:
s 22
Dear s 22
Freedom of Information (FOI) request - Revised decision
s 22
(the applicant) has authorised you to receive, on their behalf,
correspondence about their Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Correspondence wil not
be sent directly to the applicant. In this letter, references to 'you' relate to the applicant.
This letter refers to an access request received by the Department of Home Affairs (‘the
Department’) under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) on 7 March 2022,
seeking access to
s 22
Deemed refused decision
A ‘deemed refusal’ has occurred as the time for making a decision has expired on [due date]
and you have not been given a notice of decision.
You have made an application for review of the deemed refusal decision with the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The OAIC has notified the Department that
the Information Commissioner wil review the deemed refusal decision.
Revocation of deemed refused decision
Section 55G of the FOI Act allows for a revocation or variat
FOIREQ22/00228 065 ion of access refusal decision during
a review by the Information Commissioner (IC):
55G
Procedure in IC review—revocation or variation of access refusal decision
(1) An agency or Minister may vary (or set aside and substitute) an access refusal
decision (the original decision) in relation to a request or an application under
section 48 at any time during an IC review of the access refusal decision if the
variation or substitution (the revised decision) would have an effect of:
(a) giving access to a document in accordance with the request; or
(b) relieving the IC review applicant from liability to pay a charge; or
(c) requiring a record of personal information to be amended or annotated in accordance
with the application.
Note: When making the revised decision, a consultation requirement under
section 26A (documents affecting Commonwealth-State relations etc.), 27 (business
documents) or 27A (documents affecting personal privacy) may apply.
(2) If an agency or Minister varies (or sets aside and substitutes) an access refusal
decision under subsection (1):
(a) the agency or Minister must, in writing, notify the Information Commissioner as soon
as practicable after the agency or Minister makes the variation or substitution; and
(b) the Information Commissioner must deal with the IC review application for review of
the original decision as if it were an IC review application for the review of the varied
or substituted decision, subject otherwise to this Part.
I have now set aside the deemed refused decision and substitute it with a revised decision
under section s55G(1)(a) of the FOI Act as set out below.
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 documents or to amend or annotate Departmental records.
Information considered
In reaching my decision, I have considered the following:
• the
Freedom of Information Act 1982;
• the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to
documents held by government;
• the terms of your request;
• Departmental documents, (identified below);
Revised decision
The Department has identified the documents that fall within the scope of your request.
My decision is to exempt in part the documents in the possession of the Department, which
fall within the scope of your request. The reasons for my decision are set out in
Attachment A.
The Schedule of Documents that falls within the scope of your request is at
Attachment B.
Read together the Decision Record and Schedule sets out the decision on access and where
appropriate refers to various sections of the FOI Act
How to make a complaint about the handling of this FOI request
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner if you have concerns about
how the Department has handled your request under the FOI Act. Information about how to
submit a complaint is available at www.oaic.gov.au .
Contacting the FOI Section
FOIREQ22/00228 066
If you wish to discuss this matter, I can be contacted using the details provided below.
Yours sincerely
Rubi
Position number 60016889
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Home Affairs
Email : xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Attachments
•
Attachment A – Decision Record
•
Attachment B – Schedule of Documents
•
Documents released to you under the FOI Act
copy, having regard to:
FOIREQ22/00228 068
(i)
the nature and extent of the modification; and
(ii)
the resources available to modify the document; and
(c) it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the applicant) that
the applicant would decline access to the edited copy.
A number of documents contain information that is exempt under one or more sections of the
FOI Act. I am able to provide you with an edited copy of those documents under section
22(1)(b).
In your acknowledgement letter, you were advised of the Department’s policy to consider
irrelevant to the scope of your request the personal details of staff engaged in some roles.
This includes their names, direct email addresses and also the mobile and direct work
telephone numbers of these staff. This material has therefore been removed under s 22
(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act from the documents that form the scope of your request.
s 22
s 22
FOIREQ22/00228 069
s 22
Rubi
Position number 60016889
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Home Affairs
Email : xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
FOIREQ22/00228 070
Attachment B – Schedule of Documents
Client Details
s 22
Departmental Files 22
s 22
FOIREQ22/00228 112
25 May 2022
s 22
Sent by email:s 22
In reply please quote:
s 22
Dear s 22
Freedom of Information request – Revised decision
s 22
(the applicant) has authorised you to receive, on their behalf, correspondence
about their Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Correspondence wil not be sent directly to
the applicant. In this letter, references to 'you' relate to the applicant.
This letter refers to an access request received by the Department of Home Affairs (‘the
Department’) under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) on 15 January 2021
seeking access to:
s 22
On 3 May 2022 the OAIC advised the Department that you had requested the Information
Commissioner review the Department’s decision. In making your review request to the
OAIC, you stated:
s 22
In response to the Information Commissioner review, the Department has now made
a revised decision on your request under section 55G of the FOI Act. The purpose of
this letter is to provide you with the Department’s revised decision.
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 documents or to amend or annotate Departmental records.
FOIREQ22/00228 113
Information considered
In reaching my decision, I have considered the following:
• the
Freedom of Information Act 1982;
• the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to
documents held by government;
• the terms of your request;
• Departmental documents, (identified below).
Revised decision
The Department has now made a revised decision under section 55G(1)(a).
55G Procedure in IC review—revocation or variation of access refusal decision
(1) An agency or Minister may vary (or set aside and substitute) an access refusal
decision (the original decision) in relation to a request or an application under
section 48 at any time during an IC review of the access refusal decision if the
variation or substitution (the revised decision) would have an effect of:
(a) giving access to a document in accordance with the request; or
(b) relieving the IC review applicant from liability to pay a charge; or
(c) requiring a record of personal information to be amended or annotated in
accordance with the application.
Note: When making the revised decision, a consultation requirement under section
26A (documents affecting Commonwealth-State relations etc.), 26AA
(documents affecting Norfolk Island intergovernmental relations), 27 (business
documents) or 27A (documents affecting personal privacy) may apply.
(2) If an agency or Minister varies (or sets aside and substitutes) an access refusal
decision under subsection (1):
(a) the agency or Minister must, in writing, notify the Information Commissioner
as soon as practicable after the agency or Minister makes the variation or
substitution; and
(b) the Information Commissioner must deal with the IC review application for
review of the original decision as if it were an IC review application for the
review of the varied or substituted decision, subject otherwise to this Part.
The Department’s revised decision covers only the further documents that were identified as
part of this review. The Department has determined the following documents as falling within
the scope of your review request:
s 22
How to make a complaint about the handling of this FOI request
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner if you have concerns about
how the Department has handled your request under the FOI Act. Information about how to
submit a complaint is available at www.oaic.gov.au .
FOIREQ22/00228 114
Contacting the FOI Section
If you wish to discuss this matter, I can be contacted using the details provided below.
Yours sincerely
Nicole
Position No. 60095088
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section
Department of Home Affairs
Email: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Attachments
• Attachment A – Decision Record
• Attachment B – Schedule of Documents
• Documents released to you under the FOI Act
FOIREQ22/00228 115
Attachment A – Decision Record
Client Details
s 22
Scope of Request
s 22
Departmental records within scope
s 22
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 documents or to amend or annotate Departmental records.
Information considered
In reaching my decision, I have considered the following:
• the
Freedom of Information Act 1982;
• the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to
documents held by government;
• the terms of your request;
• Departmental documents, (identified above).
Reasons for decision
I have considered the documents within the scope of your request and applied exemptions in
part as detailed in the Schedule of Documents. You should read the schedule in conjunction
with the reasons for exemption below.
22 Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted (extract)
Scope
(1) This section applies if:
(a) an agency or Minister decides:
FOIREQ22/00228 116
(i) to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or
(ii) that to give access to a document would disclose information that
would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access;
and
(b) it is possible for the agency or Minister to prepare a copy (an edited copy)
of the document, modified by deletions, ensuring that:
(i) access to the edited copy would be required to be given under
section 11A (access to documents on request); and
(ii) the edited copy would not disclose any information that would
reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request; and
(c) it is reasonably practicable for the agency or Minister to prepare the edited
copy, having regard to:
(i) the nature and extent of the modification; and
(ii) the resources available to modify the document; and
(d) it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the applicant)
that the applicant would decline access to the edited copy.
Section 22(2) of the FOI Act provides that, where an agency reaches the view that a
document contains exempt information or material that is irrelevant to the request and it is
possible for the agency to prepare an edited copy of the document with the irrelevant or
exempt material deleted, then the agency must prepare such a copy.
This edited copy must be provided to the applicant. Further, the decision maker must advise
the applicant in writing that the edited copy of the document has been prepared and of the
reason(s) for each of the deletions in the document (s.22(3) of the FOI Act).
Exempt material is deleted pursuant to s.22(1)(a)(i) and irrelevant material is deleted
pursuant to s.22(1)(a)(i ) of the FOI Act.
The schedule identifies documents where material has either been deleted as exempt
information under the FOI Act; or deleted as irrelevant to the scope of the request.
s 22
FOIREQ22/00228 117
s 22
FOIREQ22/00228 118
s 22
FOIREQ22/00228 119
s 22
Yours sincerely
Nicole
Position No. 60095088
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section
Department of Home Affairs
Email: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
FOIREQ22/00228 120
Attachment B – Schedule of Documents
Client Details
s 22
FOIREQ22/00228 123
Documents in scope
In light of your review request, my revised decision has considered the following:
s 22
Revised decision
The Department has assessed the documents that fall within the scope of your review request.
My decision is to exempt in part the documents in the possession of the Department, which
fall within the scope of your request. The reasons for my decision are set out in
Attachment A.
The Schedule of Documents that falls within the scope of your request is at
Attachment B.
Read together the Decision Record and Schedule sets out the decision on access and where
appropriate refers to various sections of the FOI Act
How to make a complaint about the handling of this FOI request
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner if you have concerns about
how the Department has handled your request under the FOI Act. Information about how to
submit a complaint is available at www.oaic.gov.au .
Contacting the FOI Section
If you wish to discuss this matter, I can be contacted using the details provided below.
Yours sincerely
Danica
Position no: 60029640
FOI Section
FOI and Records Management Branch
Data Division
Strategy & Law Enforcement Group
Email:
xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Department of Home Affairs l www.homeaffairs.gov.au
Attachments:
Attachment A – DECISION RECORD
Attachment B - SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS
s 22
FOIREQ22/00228 124
Attachment A – DECISION RECORD
Client Details
s 22
Documents in scope
s 22
Information considered
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions in respect of
requests to access documents or to amend or annotate departmental records. In reaching my
decision, I have considered the following:
• The
Freedom of Information Act 1982;
• Departmental files and/or documents (identified above);
• The Australian Information Commissioner’s guidelines relating to access to
documents held by government;
• The terms of your request;
• The OAIC review.
Reasons for decision
I have considered the above listed pages from Departmental file s 22
and applied
exemptions in part to the documents as detailed in the Schedule of Documents. You should
read the schedule in conjunction with the exemptions below.
22 Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted (extract)
Scope
(1)
This section applies if:
(a)
an agency or Minister decides:
(i) to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or
(ii) that to give access to a document would disclose information that
would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access;
and
(b)
it is possible for the agency or Minister to prepare a copy (an edited
copy) of the document, modified by deletions, ensuring that:
(i) access to the edited copy would be required to be given under
section 11A (access to documents on request); and
(ii) the edited copy would not disclose any information that would
reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request; and
(c)
it is reasonably practicable for the agency or Minister to prepare the
edited copy, having regard to:
(i) the nature and extent of the modification; and
(ii) the resources available to modify the document; and
(d)
it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the
applicant) that the applicant would decline access to the edited copy.
Section 22(2) of the FOI Act provides that, where an agency reaches the view that a document
contains exempt information or material that is irrelevant to the request and it is possible for
the agency to prepare an edited copy of the document with the irrelevant or exempt material
deleted, then the agency must prepare such a copy.
FOIREQ22/00228 125
In your acknowledgement letter, you were advised of the Department’s policy to consider
irrelevant to the scope of your request the personal details of staff engaged in some roles.
This includes their names, direct email addresses and also the mobile and direct work
telephone numbers of these staff. This material has therefore been removed under
s22 (1)(a)(i ) of the FOI Act from the documents that form the scope of your request.
You wil see these deletions in the documents released to you as they wil be clearly identified
with ‘s.22(1)(a)(i )’ however they wil not be individually noted in the Schedule of Documents.
s 22
FOIREQ22/00228 126
s 22
Yours sincerely
Danica
Position no: 60029640
FOI Section
FOI and Records Management Branch
Data Division
Strategy & Law Enforcement Group
Email:
xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Department of Home Affairs l www.homeaffairs.gov.au
FOIREQ22/00228 127
Attachment B - SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS
Client Details
s 22
