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This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 's 55G decisions the OAIC received in July 2022'.


FOIREQ22/00291   002
- 2  -
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. 
Information considered 
In reaching my decision, I have considered the following: 
x the Freedom of Information Act 1982;
x the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to
documents held by government;
x the terms of your request;
x Departmental documents, (identified below)
Revised decision 
The Department has identified the documents that fall within the scope of your request. 
My decision is to release in full the documents in the possession of the Department, which 
falls within the scope of your request. A list of the documents is below for your reference.  


FOIREQ22/00291   005
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. 
 
Information considered 
In reaching my decision, I have considered the following: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x  Departmental documents, (identified below);  
 
Decision 
The Department has identified the document that falls within the scope of your request.  
My decision is to release in full the documents in the possession of the Department, which 
falls within the scope of your request. A list of the documents is below for your reference.  
 
No. 
Description 
Reference 
No. of folios 
1.  
Departmental 
File 
14 
s 22
2.  
Departmental 
File 
114 
 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   006
 
Section 22  
22 Deletion of exempt matter or irrelevant material  
(1) 
This section applies if:  
(a)  an agency or Minister decides:  
(i) to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or   
(i )  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   
(i ) 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).  
 
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. 
 
Review rights 
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 my decision. You must apply in writing within 60 days of this notice. For further 
information about review rights and how to submit a review request to the OAIC, please see 
FOI fact sheet 12 ‘Freedom of information – Your review rights’, available online at 
www.oaic.gov.au . 
 
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. 
 
Contacting the Department 
You can contact us with an enquiry in a number of ways including by email, through our 
website; by telephone, through our Service Centres or offices around the world, or in person. 
In Australia you can call 13 18 81 between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm Monday to Friday. Details 
on submitting a webform, or contacting our offices outside Australia are available on our 
website at www.homeaffairs.gov.au. 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
 
Rubi  
Position number 60016889 
Freedom of Information Section 
Department of Home Affairs 
FOIREQ22/00291   007
Email : xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
Attachments 
x 
Documents released to you under the FOI Act 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   021
             (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: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x  Departmental documents, (identified below) 
  
Revised decision 
The Department has identified the documents that fall within the scope of your request.  
 
My decision is to release in full the documents in the possession of the Department, which 
falls within the scope of your request. A list of the documents is below for your reference.  
 
Documents in scope 
 
s 22
 
 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   022
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. 
 
 
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 
 
 
 
Electronically signed 
 
 
Nurun 
Position No: 60016892  
FOI Case Officer, Freedom Of Information (FOI) 
Email:  xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
Date: 08 July 2022 
 
Attachments 
s 
 
 
2
 
Note: As a decision has now been made on your FOI application, please contact the OAIC 
directly to advise if you would like to withdraw your OAIC review request  
 
 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   024
Deemed refused decision 
A ‘deemed refusal’ has occurred as the time for making a decision has expired on 7 May 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 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. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   026
I have undertaken the following searches to identify the document/s you have requested: 
 
y 
Searched the following departmental databases: 
o  Integrated Client Services Environment (ICSE) 
o ICSE 
Offspring 
 
o  TRIM – the Department’s record management system 
 
I have been unable to locate any documents within the scope of your request.  
 
As the document does not exist, I am refusing your request for access.  
 
How to make a complaint about the handling of your 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 
x  Documents released to you under the FOI Act 
 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   028
             (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 refusal 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: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x  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. 
 
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 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   029
 
Contacting the FOI Section 
If you wish  to discuss this matter, I can be contacted using the details provided below. 
 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
Lyall 
Position number 1544 
FOI Decision Officer  
Freedom of Information Victoria 
Department of Home Affairs 
Email   xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
Attachments 
x 
Attachment A – Decision Record 
x 
Documents released to you under the FOI Act 

FOIREQ22/00291   031
 
 
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 
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 
                             (i )  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 
                             (i )  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 
                             (i )  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. 
 
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 )’.  
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 
SECTION 37  
Documents affecting enforcement of law and protection of public safety  
 
(1)  A document is an exempt document if its disclosure under this Act would, or could 
reasonably be expected to:  
(a) prejudice the conduct of an investigation of a breach, or possible breach, of the law, 
or a failure, or  possible failure, to comply with a law  relating to taxation or prejudice 
the enforcement or proper  administration of the law in a particular instance; 
(b) disclose, or enable a person to ascertain, the existence or identity of a confidential 
source of  information, or the non-existence of a confidential source of information, in 
relation to the  enforcement or administration of the law; or 
FOIREQ22/00291   032
(c) endanger the life or physical safety of any person. 
 
(2) A document is an exempt document if its disclosure under this Act would, or could 
reasonably be  expected to:  
(a) prejudice the fair trial of a person or the impartial adjudication of a particular case; 
(b) disclose lawful methods or procedures for preventing, detecting, investigating, or 
dealing with matters arising out of, breaches or evasions of the law the disclosure of 
which would, or would be reasonably likely to, prejudice the effectiveness of those 
methods or procedures; or 
(c) prejudice the maintenance or enforcement of lawful methods for the protection of 
public safety. 
 
The information which I have exempted under section 37(2)(b) is information which, if 
disclosed, would reveal lawful methods or procedures used by the Department to investigate 
complaints and would be reasonably likely to prejudice the effectiveness of those methods or 
procedures. 
 
I  believe disclosure of this information would reasonably compromise the Department’s 
investigation strategy by revealing the Department’s methods of investigating issues and in 
so doing would compromise the Department’s ability to successfully utilise such methods or 
procedures in the future.  
 
It is important that these processes are kept confidential to prevent persons from 
circumventing these procedures, or from providing false information during these  
investigations. Release of this information would prejudice the effectiveness of the referral 
process, and the attainment of true and correct information. 
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 
SECTION 47F  
Public interest conditional exemptions—personal privacy (extract) 
 
General rule  
 
(1) A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would involve the 
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased 
person). 
 
(2) In determining whether the disclosure of the document would involve the unreasonable 
disclosure of personal information, an agency or Minister must have regard to the following 
matters: 
(a) the extent to which the information is well known;  
(b) 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;  
(c) the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources;  
(d) any other matters that the agency or Minister considers relevant.  
 
(3) Subject to subsection (5), subsection (1) does not have effect in relation to a request by a 
person for access to a document by reason only of the inclusion in the document of matter 
relating to that person.  
 
A document is conditionally exempt under s.47F(1) if its release would involve the 
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased 
person). A conditionally exempt document must be released unless the release would be 
contrary to the public interest. The FOI Act requires me to firstly consider the conditional 
exemption and then the Public Interest Test in s.11B.  
 
s 22
FOIREQ22/00291   033
 
Would the disclosure be an ‘unreasonable’ disclosure of personal information.  
 
The conditional exemption will only apply if I am satisfied that the disclosure would involve 
‘unreasonable’ disclosure of a third party’s personal information. The FOI Act states that, 
when deciding whether the disclosure of the personal information would be ‘unreasonable’, I 
‘must’ have regard to the factors set out in s.47F(2). I have considered each of these 
provisions separately below  
 
(a) the extent to which the information is well known  
 
It is unknown whether the personal information identified above of the third-party individuals,  
also identified above, is well known either to you or generally.  
 
If the information is maintained in accordance with Departmental record keeping procedures 
and is only accessible to officers with a business need to know, the information may not be 
well known. 
 
On balance, I believe that the factor weighs in favour of the disclosure being unreasonable.  
 
(b) 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.  
As above, this information is not well known. Therefore, I consider that this individual is not  
generally known to be associated with the matters discussed within the document.  
 
On balance, I believe that the factor weighs in favour of the disclosure being unreasonable.  
 
(c) the availability of the information from publicly available resources  
 
As stated above, if the information has been handled appropriately the personal information  
should not be publically available.  
 
On balance, I believe that the factor weighs in favour of the disclosure being unreasonable.  
 
(d) any other matters that I consider relevant.  
 
It is a core Government concern to maintain the integrity of the information it holds and in the  
maintaining of an individual’s privacy.  
 
s 22
 
On balance, I believe that the factor weighs in favour of the disclosure being unreasonable.  
 
Having considered each of these provisions I am satisfied that disclosure of the personal 
information would be an unreasonable disclosure of personal information.  
 
I  am satisfied that the information I have identified in the relevant documents, as a third 
party’s personal information, is conditionally exempt under s.47F(1) of the FOI Act.  
 
I  must now turn my mind to whether the conditionally exempt information would be contrary 
to the public interest if released. My consideration of s.11B for this conditional exemption is 
below.  
 
11B Public interest exemptions—factors  
 
Scope  
 
FOIREQ22/00291   034
(1) This section applies for the purposes of working out whether access to a conditionally 
exempt document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest under subsection 
11A(5). 
 
(2) This section does not limit subsection 11A(5).  
Factors favouring access  
 
(3) Factors favouring access to the document in the public interest include 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.  
Irrelevant factors  
 
(4) The following factors must not be taken into account in deciding whether access to the 
document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest:  
(a) access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Commonwealth 
Government, or cause a loss of confidence in the Commonwealth Government;  
(aa) access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Government of Norfolk 
Island or cause a loss of confidence in the Government of Norfolk Island;  
(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.  
Guidelines 
 
(5) In working out whether access to the document would, on balance, be contrary to the 
public interest, an agency or Minister must have regard to any guidelines issued by the 
Information Commissioner for the purposes of this subsection under section 93A.  
 
As I  have decided that parts of the documents are conditionally exempt, I am now required to 
consider whether access to the conditional exempt material would be contrary to the public 
interest. Section 11B sets out four factors favouring access, these include whether access to 
the documents would do any of the following: 
 
(a) promote the objects of this Act  
(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:  
 
While I  am satisfied that release of the document in their entirety would provide you access  
to your own personal information and thereby promote the objects of the Act, this would also 
result in the release of third-party information which would be contrary to the objects of the 
Act. I do not consider that full release of the document would inform debate on a matter of 
public importance or provide an oversight of public expenditure.  
 
The Australian Information Commissioner has issued Guidelines that contain a list of factors 
weighing against disclosure which may be considered, however this is not an exhaustive list  
that can be taken into consideration by an agency.  
 
On balance, I have given the greatest weight to the right an individual has to maintain their 
privacy and that to release this information without their informed and expressed consent 
may result in a breach of their privacy.  
 
I  have also had regard to section 11B(4) which sets out the factors that are irrelevant to the 
decision making process. I have not taken into account any of those factors in this decision.  
 
FOIREQ22/00291   035
Upon balancing all of the above relevant public interest considerations, I have concluded that 
the disclosure of the conditional exempt information in the documents is not in the public 
interest and therefore exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act.  
 
Yours sincerely 
Lyall 
Position number 1544 
FOI Decision Officer 
Freedom of Information Victoria 
Department of Home Affairs 
Email   xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   037
             (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 refusal decision and substitute it with a revised decision 
under section s55G(1)(a) of the FOI Act as set out below. 
 
Timeframe for processing your request 
The FOI Act provides a statutory period for processing your request of 30 calendar days, 
unless an extension of time is agreed to, or provided for under a provision of the FOI Act. 
 
On 16 February 2022, the Department wrote to you acknowledging your request and 
advising that the statutory timeframe provided under the FOI Act for processing requests is a 
standard 30 calendar days. FOI requests will generally be processed in the order that they 
are received. 
 
The due date for a decision on your request is 11 Mar, 2022. 
 
According to section 15 of the FOI Act, the statutory timeframe for the processing of your 
request expired on 11 Mar, 2022. The Department apologises for the delay in processing 
your request. 
 
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: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x  Departmental documents, (identified below)  
 
Decision 
The Department has identified the file and documents that falls within the scope of your 
request. These document(s) were in the possession of the Department on 9 Feb, 2022 when 
your request was received. 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   038
My decision is to exempt in part the document(s) in the possession of the Department which 
falls within the scope of your request. The reasons for my decision are set out in 
Attachment A. 
 
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. 
 
Contacting the Department 
You can contact us with an enquiry in a number of ways including by email, through our 
website; by telephone, through our Service Centres or offices around the world, or in person. 
In Australia you can call 13 18 81 between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm Monday to Friday. Details 
on submitting a web form, or contacting our offices outside Australia are available on our 
website at www.homeaffairs.gov.au. 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
Electronically signed  
 
Vesna  
FOI Officer 
Freedom of Information Section 
Department of Home Affairs   
Email 
xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx  
 
Attachments 
x 
Attachment A – Decision Record 
x 
Documents released to you under the FOI Act 

FOIREQ22/00291   040
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 
 
(i )  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 
 
(i )  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 
 
(i )  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. 
 
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 
departmental 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 )’.  
 
33 Documents affecting national security, defence or international relations 
A document is an exempt document if disclosure of the document under this Act: 
(a) would, or could reasonably be expected to, cause damage to: 
(i) the security of the Commonwealth; 
(i ) the defence of the Commonwealth; or 
(iii) the international relations of the Commonwealth; or 
 
(b) would divulge any information or matter communicated in confidence by or on behalf of 
a foreign government, an authority of a foreign government or an international 
organization to the Government of the Commonwealth, to an authority of the 
Commonwealth or to a person receiving the communication on behalf of the 
Commonwealth or of an authority of the Commonwealth. 
Note: See also subsection 4(10). 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   041
I  have decided that documents (pg.108) that would fall within the scope of this request would 
be exempt under section 33(a)(i) as they concern the security of the Commonwealth, the 
disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to cause damage to Australia’s security.  
 
In my opinion the expectation of damage to the protection of Australia and its population is a 
reasonable one, having paid regard to the nature of the information. I am of the view that 
releasing the material would contribute to a lessening of the value of the information and may 
reveal methods that are used to gather intelligence information. 
 
47E Public interest conditional exemptions—certain operations of agencies  
 
 
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or could reasonably 
be expected to, do any of the following:  
(a) prejudice the effectiveness of procedures or methods for the conduct of tests, 
examinations or audits by an agency;  
(b) prejudice the attainment of the objects of particular tests, examinations or audits 
conducted or to be conducted by an agency;  
(c) have a substantial adverse effect on the management or assessment of personnel by 
the Commonwealth or by an agency;  
(d) have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations 
of an agency.  
 
Note: Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it would be 
contrary to the public interest (see section 11A). 
 
For a document to be exempt under section 47E(d), I must be satisfied that there is a 
reasonable expectation that its disclosure will result in a substantial adverse effect on the 
Department’s operations and that there is no overriding public interest in favour of disclosure.  
 
In my opinion the documents (pg.248-249) as exempt under this section could reasonably be 
expected, if disclosed, to prejudice the effectiveness of the operations of this Department.   
 
Having formed this view I then considered whether release of the documents would be 
contrary to the public interest. 
 
I  considered the following factors in favour of disclosure: 
 
x  There is a general public interest in making information held by the Government 
accessible to the public; 
x  A person or the general public is entitled to have access to documents containing 
decisions which affect them.  Disclosure may reveal the reasons for decision;  
x  The need for openness and accountability of the Department’s operations. 
 
On the other hand I considered the following in favour of non-disclosure:  
 
x  Could reasonably be expected to impede the administration of migration and 
citizenship laws, including procedural fairness  
x  Reveal covert operating procedures, the release of which would require the 
Department to change the way it operates. 
 
The disclosure of documents exempt under section 47E(d) would reveal various methods 
used by the Department, giving the applicant prior knowledge of the processes of the 
Department. This could allow applicants to deliberately circumvent certain departmental 
processes in the future, thereby prejudicing and compromising the effectiveness of the 
processes set up for the core operational activity of the Department – processing of visa and 
citizenship applications.  In addition, changing the processes continual y would come at a 
cost to the Department. 
 
 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   042
On balance, I am satisfied that the release would be contrary to the public interest and the 
documents are exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act. 
 
24A Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or have not 
been received 
Document lost or non-existent 
(1) An agency or Minister may refuse a request for access to a document if: 
(a) all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and 
(b) the agency or Minister is satisfied that the document: 
(i) is in the agency’s or Minister’s possession but cannot be found; or 
(i ) does not exist. 
 
Document not received as required by contract 
(2) An agency may refuse a request for access to a document if: 
(a) in order to comply with section 6C, the agency has taken contractual measures to 
ensure that it receives the document; and 
(b) the agency has not received the document; and 
(c) the agency has taken all reasonable steps to receive the document in accordance 
with those contractual measures. 
 
In your application you have also requested the following:  
 
s 22  
  
 
I  have searched the file s 22
 as well as following departmental databases: 
Integrated Client Services Environment (ICSE); ICSE Offspring and TRIM – the 
Department’s record management system and was unable to locate any records in relation to 
s 22
 
 
As the record do not exist I am refusing your request for access. 
 
 
Vesna   
FOI Officer 
Freedom of Information Section 
Department of Home Affairs   
Email 
xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
 
 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   044
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 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 refusal 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: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x  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. 
 
 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   045
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 truly  
 
Electronically signed  
 
Vesna 
P/N 60002400 
Freedom of Information   
Department of Home Affairs  
E: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   047
(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. 
 
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.  
 
47E Public interest conditional exemptions—certain operations of agencies  
 
 
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or could reasonably 
be expected to, do any of the following:  
(a) prejudice the effectiveness of procedures or methods for the conduct of tests, 
examinations or audits by an agency;  
(b) prejudice the attainment of the objects of particular tests, examinations or audits 
conducted or to be conducted by an agency;  
(c) have a substantial adverse effect on the management or assessment of personnel by 
the Commonwealth or by an agency;  
(d) have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations 
of an agency.  
 
Note: Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it would be 
contrary to the public interest (see section 11A). 
 
For a document to be exempt under section 47E(d), I must be satisfied that there is a 
reasonable expectation that its disclosure will result in a substantial adverse effect on the 
Department’s operations and that there is no overriding public interest in favour of disclosure.  
 
In my opinion the documents listed in the Schedule as exempt under this section could 
reasonably be expected, if disclosed, to prejudice the effectiveness of the operations of this 
Department.   
 
Having formed this view I then considered whether release of the documents would be 
contrary to the public interest. 
 
I considered the following factors in favour of disclosure: 
 
x  There is a general public interest in making information held by the Government 
accessible to the public; 
x  A person or the general public is entitled to have access to documents containing 
decisions which affect them.  Disclosure may reveal the reasons for decision;  
x  The need for openness and accountability of the Department’s operations. 
 
On the other hand I considered the following in favour of non-disclosure:  
 
x  Could reasonably be expected to impede the administration of migration and 
citizenship laws, including procedural fairness  
x  Reveal covert operating procedures, the release of which would require the 
Department to change the way it operates. 
 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   048
The disclosure of documents exempt under section 47E(d) would reveal various methods 
used by the Department, giving the applicant prior knowledge of the processes of the 
Department. This could allow applicants to deliberately circumvent certain departmental 
processes in the future, thereby prejudicing and compromising the effectiveness of the 
processes set up for the core operational activity of the Department – processing of visa and 
citizenship applications.  In addition, changing the processes continually would come at a 
cost to the Department. 
 
On balance, I am satisfied that the release would be contrary to the public interest and the 
documents are exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act. 
 
Vesna 
P/N 60002400 
Freedom of Information   
Department of Home Affairs  
E: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx  
 

FOIREQ22/00291   050
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. 
 
Information considered 
In reaching my decision, I have considered the following: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x  Departmental documents, (identified below) 
  
Revised decision 
The Department has identified the documents that fall within the scope of your request.  
 
My decision is to release in full the documents in the possession of the Department, which 


FOIREQ22/00291   053
Information considered 
In reaching my decision, I have considered the following: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x Departmental 
documents, 
(identified 
below); 
 
Decision 
The Department has identified the documents that falls within the scope of your request.  
My decision is to exempt in part the documents in the possession of the Department, which 
falls 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.   
 
Review rights 
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 my decision. You must apply in writing within 60 days of this notice. For further 
information about review rights and how to submit a review request to the OAIC, please see 
FOI fact sheet 12 ‘Freedom of information – Your review rights’, available online at 
www.oaic.gov.au . 
 
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. 
 
Contacting the Department 
You can contact us with an enquiry in a number of ways including by email, through our 
website; by telephone, through our Service Centres or offices around the world, or in person. 
In Australia you can call 13 18 81 between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm Monday to Friday. Details 
on submitting a webform, or contacting our offices outside Australia are available on our 
website at www.homeaffairs.gov.au. 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
 
 
 
Rubi  
Position number 60016889 
Freedom of Information Section 
Department of Home Affairs 
Email : xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
Attachments 
x 
Attachment A – Decision Record 
x 
Attachment B – Schedule of Documents 
x 
Documents released to you under the FOI Act 

FOIREQ22/00291   055
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x 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. 
 
Section 22    
22 Deletion of exempt matter or irrelevant material  
(1) 
This section applies if:  
(a)  an agency or Minister decides:  
(i) to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or   
(i )  that to give access to a document would disclose information that would 
reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access; and 
(a)  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   
(i ) the edited copy would not disclose any information that would reasonably 
be regarded as irrelevant to the request; and 
(b)  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 
(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)(i ) of the FOI Act from the documents that form the scope of your request. 
 
Section 47E(d)  
47E Public interest conditional exemptions—certain operations of agencies  
 
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or could reasonably 
be expected to, do any of the following:  
(a) prejudice the effectiveness of procedures or methods for the conduct of tests, 
examinations or audits by an agency;  
(b) prejudice the attainment of the objects of particular tests, examinations or audits 
conducted or to be conducted by an agency;  
(c) have a substantial adverse effect on the management or assessment of personnel by 
the Commonwealth or by an agency;  
(d) have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations 
of an agency.  
For a document to be exempt under section 47E(d), I must be satisfied that there is a 
reasonable expectation that its disclosure will result in a substantial adverse effect on the 
Department’s operations and that there is no overriding public interest in favour of disclosure.  
In my opinion the documents listed in the Schedule as exempt under this section could 
reasonably be expected, if disclosed, to prejudice the effectiveness of the operations of this 
Department.   
Having formed this view I then considered whether release of the documents would be 
contrary to the public interest. 
I  considered the following factors in favour of disclosure: 
FOIREQ22/00291   056
x  There is a general public interest in making information held by the Government 
accessible to the public; 
On the other hand I considered the following in favour of non-disclosure:  
x  Could reasonably be expected to impede the administration of migration and 
citizenship laws, including procedural fairness  
x  Reveal covert operating procedures, the release of which would require the 
Department to change the way it operates. 
The disclosure of documents exempt under section 47E(d) would reveal various methods 
used by the Department, giving the applicant prior knowledge of the processes of the 
Department. This could allow applicants to deliberately circumvent certain departmental 
processes in the future, thereby prejudicing and compromising the effectiveness of the 
processes set up for the core operational activity of the Department – processing of visa and 
citizenship applications.  In addition, changing the processes continual y would come at a 
cost to the Department. 
On balance, I am satisfied that the release would be contrary to the public interest and the 
documents are exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act. 
 
 
 
 
Rubi  
Position number 60016889 
Freedom of Information Section 
Department of Home Affairs 
Email : xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


FOIREQ22/00291   065
             (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: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x  Departmental documents, (identified below) 
  
Revised decision 
The Department has identified the documents that fall within the scope of your request.  
 
My decision is to release in full the documents in the possession of the Department, which 
falls within the scope of your request. A list of the documents is below for your reference.  
 
Documents in scope 
1. Departmental files 22
 
 
 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   066
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.  
 
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 
x  Documents released to you under the FOI Act 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   067
 
20 July 2022 
s 22
 
Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (RAILS) 
PO Box 5143 
WEST END QLD 4101 
 
Email:  
s 22
 
 
In reply please quote: 
s 22
 
Dear  
s 22
 
Freedom of Information – 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 February 2022, 
seeking access to:  
 
s 22
 
Deemed refused decision 
A ‘deemed refusal’ has occurred as the time for making a decision has expired on 10 March 
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 
FOIREQ22/00291   068
             (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 refusal 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: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x  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 
falls 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 Attachme nt  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 . 
 
 
 
 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   069
 
 
 
 
Contacting the FOI Section 
If you wish  to discuss this matter, I can be contacted using the details provided below. 
 
Kind regards  
 
 
Trish 
Position no: 60019773 
Decision Maker, Freedom of Information  
FOI & Records Management Branch | Data Division  
Strategy & Law Enforcement Group 
Department of Home Affairs  
Email: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx  
Website: www.homeaffairs.gov.au 
 
Attachments 
x 
Attachment A – Decision Record 
x 
Attachment B – Schedule of Documents 
x 
Documents released to you under the FOI Act

FOIREQ22/00291   070
 
 
 
Attachment A – Decision Record 
 
Client Details 
s 22
Scope of Request 
 
No. Description Reference 
(if applicable)  No  of folios 
1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  s 22
5.  
6.  
 
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: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x 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: 
 
(i)  to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or 
 
(i )  that to give access to a document would disclose information that 
would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access; 
and 
FOIREQ22/00291   071
 
(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 
 
(i )  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 
 
(i )  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. 
 
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 will not be individually noted in the Schedule of 
Documents. 
 
47F Public interest conditional exemptions—personal privacy  
 
(1)  A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would involve the 
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a 
deceased person). 
 
(2) In determining whether the disclosure of the document would involve the unreasonable 
disclosure of personal information, an agency or Minister must have regard to the 
fol owing matters: 
(a)  the extent to which the information is well  known; 
(b) 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; 
(c) the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources; 
(d) any other matters that the agency or Minister considers relevant. 
 
(3) Subject to subsection (5), subsection (1) does not have effect in relation to a request by a 
person for access to a document by reason only of the inclusion in the document of 
matter relating to that person. 
 
Access given to qualified person instead 
 
(4) Subsection (5) applies if: 
(a) a request is made to an agency or Minister for access to a document of the agency, or 
an official document of the Minister, that contains information concerning the 
applicant, being information that was provided by a qualified person acting in his or 
her capacity as a qualified person; and 
(b) it appears to the principal officer of the agency or to the Minister (as the case may be) 
that the disclosure of the information to the applicant might be detrimental to the 
applicant’s physical or mental health, or well-being. 
 
(5) The principal officer or Minister may, if access to the document would otherwise be given 
to the applicant, direct that access to the document, so far as it contains that information, 
is not to be given to the applicant but is to be given instead to a qualified person who: 
(a) carries on the same occupation, of a kind mentioned in the definition of qualified 
person in subsection (7), as the first-mentioned qualified person; and 
(b) is to be nominated by the applicant. 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   073
x  prejudice the fair treatment of individuals 
x  prejudice security, law enforcement, public health or safety 
 
s 22
I  consider that disclosure of this information would be contrary to the public interest and it is 
therefore exempt from disclosure under section 47F of the FOI Act. 
 
Kind regards  
 
 
Trish 
Position no: 60019773 
Decision Maker, Freedom of Information  
FOI & Records Management Branch | Data Division  
Strategy & Law Enforcement Group 
Department of Home Affairs  
Email: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx  
Website: www.homeaffairs.gov.au 
 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   074
 
 
Attachment B – Schedule of Documents 
 
 
Client Details 
s 22
Departmental File - Copy of Electronic files 22
 
Page No.  
Description 
Decision 
Legislation 
1 – 21 
- 
Released in full 
 
 
Departmental File - Copy of Electronic file s 22
 
 
Page No.  
Description 
Decision 
Legislation 
1 – 9 
- 
Released in full 
 
 
Departmental File - Copy of Electronic file s 22
 
 
Page No.  
Description 
Decision 
Legislation 
1 - 3 
Personal privacy 
Exempt in full 
s.47F(1) 
4 – 5 
- 
Released in full 
 
6 
Personal privacy 
Exempt in full 
s.47F(1) 
7 - 10 
- 
Released in full 
 
11  - 13 
Personal privacy 
Exempt in full 
s.47F(1) 
14 
- 
Released in full 
 
15 
Personal privacy 
Exempt in full 
s.47F(1) 
16  - 34 
- 
Released in full 
 
35  - 36 
Personal privacy 
Exempt in part 
s.47F(1) 
37  - 58 
- 
Released in full 
 
 
Departmental File - Copy of Electronic file s 22
 
 
Page No.  
Description 
Decision 
Legislation 
1 - 2 
Personal privacy 
Exempt in part 
s.47F(1) 
3  - 10 
- 
Released in full 
 
11 - 13 
Personal privacy 
Exempt in part 
s.47F(1) 
14 – 18 
- 
Released in full 
 
19 
Personal privacy 
Exempt in part 
s.47F(1) 
20  - 21 
- 
Released in full 
 
22 
Personal privacy 
Exempt in part 
s.47F(1) 
23 – 24 
- 
Released in full 
 
25 
Personal privacy 
Exempt in full 
s.47F(1) 
26   - 29 
- 
Released in full 
 
30 – 32 
Personal privacy 
Exempt in part 
s.47F(1) 
33   - 50 
- 
Released in full 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   076
 


FOIREQ22/00291   079
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.  
 
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 
 
 
Holly 
Position number: 60107420  
FOI Decision Maker  
Freedom of Information Melbourne 
xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
Attachments 
x  Documents released to you under the FOI Act 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   081
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 refusal 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:
x the Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government;
x the terms of your request;
x 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
FOIREQ22/00291   082
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
John
Position number: 6004 6997
FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Victoria 
E: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Attachments
x
Attachment A – Decision Record
x
Attachment B – Schedule of Documents
x
Documents released to you under the FOI Act

FOIREQ22/00291   084
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.
47F Public interest conditional exemptions—personal privacy 
(1)  A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would involve the 
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a 
deceased person).
(2) In determining whether the disclosure of the document would involve the unreasonable 
disclosure of personal information, an agency or Minister must have regard to the 
following matters:
(a)  the extent to which the information is well known;
(b) 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;
(c) the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources;
(d) any other matters that the agency or Minister considers relevant.
(3) Subject to subsection (5), subsection (1) does not have effect in relation to a request by a 
person for access to a document by reason only of the inclusion in the document of 
matter relating to that person.
Access given to qualified person instead
FOIREQ22/00291   085
(4) Subsection (5) applies if:
(a) a request is made to an agency or Minister for access to a document of the agency, or 
an official document of the Minister, that contains information concerning the 
applicant, being information that was provided by a qualified person acting in his or 
her capacity as a qualified person; and
(b) it appears to the principal officer of the agency or to the Minister (as the case may be) 
that the disclosure of the information to the applicant might be detrimental to the 
applicant’s physical or mental health, or well-being.
(5) The principal officer or Minister may, if access to the document would otherwise be given 
to the applicant, direct that access to the document, so far as it contains that information, 
is not to be given to the applicant but is to be given instead to a qualified person who:
(a) carries on the same occupation, of a kind mentioned in the definition of qualified 
person in subsection (7), as the first-mentioned qualified person; and
(b) is to be nominated by the applicant.
(6) The powers and functions of the principal officer of an agency under this section may be 
exercised by an officer of the agency acting within his or her scope of authority in 
accordance with arrangements referred to in section 23.
(7) In this section:
qualified person means a person who carries on, and is entitled to carry on, an 
occupation that involves the provision of care for the physical or mental health of people 
or for their well-being, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes any of 
the following:
(a) a medical practitioner;
(b) a psychiatrist;
(c) a psychologist;
(d) a counsellor;
(e) a social worker.
Note: 
Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it 
would be contrary to the public interest (see section 11A).
The documents that are exempt, either in full or in part, under section 47F of the FOI Act 
contain personal information.
Having formed the view that the documents are of a kind to which section 47F does apply, I 
am required to consider whether disclosure of the documents would be unreasonable. I took 
the following information into consideration:
y
The information appears on a file that holds your personal information. This weighs in 
favour of the release being reasonable.
y
The information is not your personal information. This weighs against the release being 
reasonable. 
y
Every person has the right to expect that their personal information will be securely 
maintained by the department. This weighs against the release being reasonable. 
y
The information does not appear to be in the public forum. This weighs against the 
release being reasonable. 
On balance I believe it would be unreasonable to release these documents in their complete 
format. 
Having formed the view that the documents are of a kind to which section 47F(1) does apply, 
I am required to consider whether disclosure of the documents would be contrary to the 
public interest.
FOIREQ22/00291   086
I have considered:
Arguments in favour of the disclosure of the documents include:
x a person having a general right of access to any material about them held by the 
government;
x there is a general public interest in making information held by the Government 
accessible to the public;
x a person or the general public is entitled to have access to documents containing 
decisions which affect them.  Disclosure may reveal the reasons for decision; 
x inform debate on a matter of public importance; and 
x the need for openness and accountability of the department’s operations.
x the extent to which the information is known by the public.
Arguments against disclosure of the documents include:
x it is a core Government concern to maintain the integrity of the information it holds and in 
the maintaining of an individual’s privacy
x prejudice the fair treatment of individuals
x prejudice security, law enforcement, public health or safety
The information contained within the identified documents wholly relates to a person other 
than you.  The department is obliged to take action to prevent the unreasonable disclosure of 
an individual’s personal information and I have given this the greatest weight. 
I consider that disclosure of this information would be contrary to the public interest and it is 
therefore exempt from disclosure under section 47F of the FOI Act.
Yours sincerely
John
Position number: 6004 6997
FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Victoria
E: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx



FOIREQ22/00291   090
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 
 
Melissa  
Position number 60046995 
Freedom of Information Section 
Department of Home Affairs 
Email : xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
 
 
 
Attachments 
x  Attachment A – Decision Record 
x  Attachment B – Schedule of Documents 
x  Documents released to you under the FOI Act 


FOIREQ22/00291   093
 
(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 
 
(i ) 
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. 
 
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.  You will see 
these exemptions in the documents released to you as they wil  be clearly identified with ‘s 
22 (1)(a)(ii)’ however they will not be individually noted in the Schedule of Documents. 
 
42 Documents subject to legal professional privilege 
(1)  
A document is an exempt document if it is of such a nature that it would be privileged 
from production in legal proceedings on the ground of legal professional privilege. 
 
(2)  
A document is not an exempt document because of subsection (1) if the person 
entitled to claim legal professional privilege in relation to the production of the 
document in legal proceedings waives that claim. 
 
(3)  
A document is not an exempt document under subsection (1) by reason only that: 
(a)  
the document contains information that would (apart from this subsection) 
cause the document to be exempt under subsection (1); and 
(b)  
the information is operational information of an agency. 
 
Note: For operational information, see section 8A. 
 
The documents identified in the schedule of documents as being exempt under section 42(1) 
of the FOI Act are documents that contain information subject to legal professional privilege. 
 
For a document to be exempt under section 42(1) I must be satisfied that the documents 
would be privileged from production in legal proceedings on the ground of legal professional 
privilege and that real harm would result from disclosure of this information.   
 
A document is privileged on the ground of legal professional privilege if, amongst other things, it is a 
confidential communication between a person and his or her solicitor or barrister brought into 
existence for the dominant purpose of seeking or giving advice or for the purpose of providing legal 
services in connection with proceedings. 
 
The documents considered exempt under section 42(1) were raised for the dominant purposes of 
giving or seeking legal advice, and are confidential communication between departmental legal 
officers and the client in which information was conveyed or requested for the purpose of legal 
advice. 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   094
I  have considered these facts in conjunction with section 42(1) of the FOI Act. The departmental 
legal adviser in response to a request prepared the documents concerned by the Department for 
legal advice. The Department, as the client, does not agree to waive its privilege in relation to the 
document because of the effect this could have on the conduct of its legal affairs. 
I  am satisfied that at this time the Department has not waived its claim to legal professional privilege 
in relation to this document and that the document is not solely operational information of the 
agency.  
Consequently, having regard to all of these matters, I have decided to refuse access to the 
material indicated in the Schedule, in whole, under section 42(1) of the FOI Act. 
47E Public interest conditional exemptions—certain operations of agencies  
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or could reasonably 
be expected to, do any of the following:  
(a) prejudice the effectiveness of procedures or methods for the conduct of tests,
examinations or audits by an agency;
(b) prejudice the attainment of the objects of particular tests, examinations or audits
conducted or to be conducted by an agency;
(c) have a substantial adverse effect on the management or assessment of personnel by
the Commonwealth or by an agency;
(d) have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations 
of an agency.
Note: Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it would be 
contrary to the public interest (see section 11A). 
For a document to be exempt under section 47E(d), I must be satisfied that there is a 
reasonable expectation that its disclosure will result in a substantial adverse effect on the 
Department’s operations and that there is no overriding public interest in favour of disclosure. 
In my opinion the documents listed in the Schedule as exempt under this section could 
reasonably be expected, if disclosed, to prejudice the effectiveness of the operations of this 
Department.   
Having formed this view I then considered whether release of the documents would be 
contrary to the public interest. 
I  considered the following factors in favour of disclosure: 
x There is a general public interest in making information held by the Government
accessible to the public;
x A person or the general public is entitled to have access to documents containing
decisions which affect them.  Disclosure may reveal the reasons for decision; 
x Inform debate on a matter of public importance; and
x The need for openness and accountability of the Department’s operations.
x The extent to which the information is known by the public.
On the other hand I considered the following in favour of non-disclosure: 
x An unfair advantage could be gained by knowledge of the operations of the
Department;
x Reveal covert operating procedures, the release of which would require the
Department to change the way it operates.
Releasing information about the way the Department operates may enable applicants to 
circumvent certain processes in the future. This would result in the Department having to 
continually change its processes at a cost to the Department. I have given this the most 
FOIREQ22/00291   095
weight. I  therefore believe that releasing this information would be contrary to the public 
interest.  
 
47F Public interest conditional exemptions—personal privacy  
(1)  A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would involve the 
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a 
deceased person). 
 
(2) In determining whether the disclosure of the document would involve the unreasonable 
disclosure of personal information, an agency or Minister must have regard to the 
fol owing matters: 
(a)  the extent to which the information is well  known; 
(b) 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; 
(c) the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources; 
(d) any other matters that the agency or Minister considers relevant. 
 
(3) Subject to subsection (5), subsection (1) does not have effect in relation to a request by a 
person for access to a document by reason only of the inclusion in the document of 
matter relating to that person. 
 
Access given to qualified person instead 
 
(4) Subsection (5) applies if: 
(a) a request is made to an agency or Minister for access to a document of the agency, or 
an official document of the Minister, that contains information concerning the 
applicant, being information that was provided by a qualified person acting in his or 
her capacity as a qualified person; and 
(b) it appears to the principal officer of the agency or to the Minister (as the case may be) 
that the disclosure of the information to the applicant might be detrimental to the 
applicant’s physical or mental health, or well-being. 
 
(5) The principal officer or Minister may, if access to the document would otherwise be given 
to the applicant, direct that access to the document, so far as it contains that information, 
is not to be given to the applicant but is to be given instead to a qualified person who: 
(a) carries on the same occupation, of a kind mentioned in the definition of qualified 
person in subsection (7), as the first-mentioned qualified person; and 
(b) is to be nominated by the applicant. 
 
(6) The powers and functions of the principal officer of an agency under this section may be 
exercised by an officer of the agency acting within his or her scope of authority in 
accordance with arrangements referred to in section 23. 
 
(7) In this section: 
qualified person means a person who carries on, and is entitled to carry on, an 
occupation that involves the provision of care for the physical or mental health of people 
or for their well-being, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes any of 
the fol owing: 
(a) a medical practitioner; 
(b) a psychiatrist; 
(c) a psychologist; 
(d) a counsellor; 
(e) a social worker. 
 
Note:  
Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it 
would be contrary to the public interest (see section 11A). 
 
The documents that are exempt,  either in full or in part, under section 47F of the FOI  Act 
contain personal information. 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   096
Having formed the view that the documents are of a kind to which section 47F does apply, I 
am required to consider whether disclosure of the documents would be unreasonable. I took 
the following information into consideration: 
 
y 
The information appears on a file that holds your personal information. This weighs in 
favour of the release being reasonable. 
y 
The information is not your personal information. This weighs against the release being 
reasonable.  
y 
Every person has the right to expect that their personal information will be securely 
maintained by the Department. This weighs against the release being reasonable.  
y 
The information does not appear to be in the public forum. This weighs against the 
release being reasonable.  
y  s 22
 
On balance I believe it would be unreasonable to release these documents in their complete 
format.  
 
Having formed the view that the documents are of a kind to which section 47F(1) does apply, 
I  am required to consider whether disclosure of the documents would be contrary to the 
public interest. 
 
I have considered: 
 
Arguments in favour of the disclosure of the documents include: 
 
x  a person having a general right of access to any material about them held by the 
government; 
x  there is a general public interest in making information held by the Government 
accessible to the public; 
x  a person or the general public is entitled to have access to documents containing 
decisions which affect them.  Disclosure may reveal the reasons for decision;  
x  inform debate on a matter of public importance; and  
x  the need for openness and accountability of the Department’s operations. 
x  the extent to which the information is known by the public. 
 
Arguments that against disclosure of the documents include: 
 
x  it is a core Government concern to maintain the integrity of the information it holds and in 
the maintaining of an individual’s privacy 
x  prejudice the fair treatment of individuals 
x  prejudice security, law enforcement, public health or safety 
 
The information contained within the identified documents wholly relates to a person other 
than you.  The Department is obliged to take action to prevent the unreasonable disclosure 
of an individual’s personal information and I have given this the greatest weight.  
 
I  consider that disclosure of this information would be contrary to the public interest and it is 
therefore exempt from disclosure under section 47F of the FOI Act. 
 
Melissa   
Position number 60046995 
Freedom of Information Section 
Department of Home Affairs 
Email : xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 


FOIREQ22/00291   112
s 22
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 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 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 refusal 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:
x the Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government;
x the terms of your request;
x Departmental documents, (identified below); 
FOIREQ22/00291   113
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
John
Position number: 6004 6997
FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Victoria
E: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Attachments
x
Attachment A – Decision Record
x
Attachment B – Schedule of Documents
x
Documents released to you under the FOI Act
FOIREQ22/00291   114
Attachment A – Decision Record
Client Details
s 22
Scope of Request 
s 22
Departmental records within scope
No.
Description
Reference (if applicable)
No. of folios
1.
2.
s 22
FOIREQ22/00291   115
3.
4.
5.
6.
s 22
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
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:
x the Freedom of Information Act 1982;
x the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to
documents held by government;
x the terms of your request;
x Departmental documents, (identified above)
Reasons for decision
I have considered the documents within the scope of your request and applied exemptions in 
part or in full as detailed in the Schedule of Documents. You should read the schedule in 
conjunction with the reasons for exemption below. 
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.  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. 
You will see these exemptions in the documents released to you as they will be clearly 
identified with ‘s 22 (1)(a)(ii)’ however they will not be individually noted in the Schedule of 
Documents. 
FOIREQ22/00291   116
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.
47F Public interest conditional exemptions—personal privacy 
(1)  A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would involve the 
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a 
deceased person).
(2) In determining whether the disclosure of the document would involve the unreasonable 
disclosure of personal information, an agency or Minister must have regard to the 
following matters:
(a)  the extent to which the information is well known;
(b) 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;
(c) the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources;
(d) any other matters that the agency or Minister considers relevant.
FOIREQ22/00291   117
(3) Subject to subsection (5), subsection (1) does not have effect in relation to a request by a 
person for access to a document by reason only of the inclusion in the document of 
matter relating to that person.
Access given to qualified person instead
(4) Subsection (5) applies if:
(a) a request is made to an agency or Minister for access to a document of the agency, or 
an official document of the Minister, that contains information concerning the 
applicant, being information that was provided by a qualified person acting in his or 
her capacity as a qualified person; and
(b) it appears to the principal officer of the agency or to the Minister (as the case may be) 
that the disclosure of the information to the applicant might be detrimental to the 
applicant’s physical or mental health, or well-being.
(5) The principal officer or Minister may, if access to the document would otherwise be given 
to the applicant, direct that access to the document, so far as it contains that information, is 
not to be given to the applicant but is to be given instead to a qualified person who:
(a) carries on the same occupation, of a kind mentioned in the definition of qualified 
person in subsection (7), as the first-mentioned qualified person; and
(b) is to be nominated by the applicant.
(6) The powers and functions of the principal officer of an agency under this section may be 
exercised by an officer of the agency acting within his or her scope of authority in 
accordance with arrangements referred to in section 23.
(7) In this section:
qualified person means a person who carries on, and is entitled to carry on, an 
occupation that involves the provision of care for the physical or mental health of people 
or for their well-being, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes any of 
the following:
(a) a medical practitioner;
(b) a psychiatrist;
(c) a psychologist;
(d) a counsellor;
(e) a social worker.
Note: 
Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it 
would be contrary to the public interest (see section 11A).
The documents that are exempt, either in full or in part, under section 47F of the FOI Act 
contain personal information.
Having formed the view that the documents are of a kind to which section 47F does apply, I 
am required to consider whether disclosure of the documents would be unreasonable. I took 
the following information into consideration:
y
The information appears on a file that holds your personal information. This weighs in 
favour of the release being reasonable.
y
The information is not your personal information. This weighs against the release being 
reasonable. 
y
Every person has the right to expect that their personal information will be securely 
maintained by the department. This weighs against the release being reasonable. 
y
The information does not appear to be in the public forum. This weighs against the 
release being reasonable. 
On balance I believe it would be unreasonable to release these documents in their complete 
format. 
FOIREQ22/00291   118
Having formed the view that the documents are of a kind to which section 47F(1) does apply, 
I am required to consider whether disclosure of the documents would be contrary to the 
public interest.
I have considered:
Arguments in favour of the disclosure of the documents include:
x a person having a general right of access to any material about them held by the 
government;
x there is a general public interest in making information held by the Government 
accessible to the public;
x a person or the general public is entitled to have access to documents containing 
decisions which affect them.  Disclosure may reveal the reasons for decision; 
x inform debate on a matter of public importance; and 
x the need for openness and accountability of the department’s operations.
x the extent to which the information is known by the public.
Arguments against disclosure of the documents include:
x it is a core Government concern to maintain the integrity of the information it holds and in 
the maintaining of an individual’s privacy
x prejudice the fair treatment of individuals
x prejudice security, law enforcement, public health or safety
The information contained within the identified documents wholly relates to a person other 
than you.  The department is obliged to take action to prevent the unreasonable disclosure of 
an individual’s personal information and I have given this the greatest weight. 
I consider that disclosure of this information would be contrary to the public interest and it is 
therefore exempt from disclosure under section 47F of the FOI Act.
47E Public interest conditional exemptions—certain operations of agencies 
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or could reasonably 
be expected to, do any of the following: 
(a) prejudice the effectiveness of procedures or methods for the conduct of tests, 
examinations or audits by an agency; 
(b) prejudice the attainment of the objects of particular tests, examinations or audits 
conducted or to be conducted by an agency; 
(c) have a substantial adverse effect on the management or assessment of personnel by the 
Commonwealth or by an agency; 
(d) have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of 
an agency. 
Note: Access must generally be given to a conditionally exempt document unless it would be 
contrary to the public interest (see section 11A).
  
For a document to be exempt under section 47E(d), I must be satisfied that there is a 
reasonable expectation that its disclosure will result in a substantial adverse effect on the 
department’s operations and that there is no overriding public interest in favour of disclosure. 
  
In my opinion the documents listed in the Schedule as exempt under this section could 
reasonably be expected, if disclosed, to prejudice the effectiveness of the operations of this 
department.  
  
Having formed this view I then considered whether release of the documents would be 
contrary to the public interest.
  
FOIREQ22/00291   119
I considered the following factors in favour of disclosure:
  
x
There is a general public interest in making information held by the Government 
accessible to the public; 
x
A person or the general public is entitled to have access to documents containing 
decisions which affect them.  Disclosure may reveal the reasons for decision;  
x
Inform debate on a matter of public importance; and  
x
The need for openness and accountability of the department’s operations. 
x
The extent to which the information is known by the public. 
  
On the other hand I considered the following in favour of non-disclosure: 
  
x
An unfair advantage could be gained by knowledge of the operations of the 
department; 
x
Reveal covert operating procedures, the release of which would require the 
department to change the way it operates.  
  
Releasing information about the way the department operates may enable applicants to 
circumvent certain processes in the future. This would result in the department having to 
continually change its processes at a cost to the department. I have given this the most 
weight. I therefore believe that releasing this information would be contrary to the public 
interest. 
 
Yours sincerely
John
Position number: 6004 6997
FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Victoria
E: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
FOIREQ22/00291   120
Attachment B – Schedule of Documents
Client Details
s 22
Departmental Electronic File - s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-7
Released in full
8-14
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
15
Released in full
16
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
17-24
Released in full
25-26
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
27-34
Released in full
35-36
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
37-42
Released in full
43-45
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
46
Released in full
47-65
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
66
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
67
Released in full
68
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
69-80
Released in full
s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
2
Released in full
3-4
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
5-6
Released in full
7-8
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
9-11
Released in full
FOIREQ22/00291   121
Departmental Electronic File - s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
2
Released in full
3-8
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
9-16
Released in full
17
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
18-23
Released in full
24-27
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
28
Released in full
29-30
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
31-36
Released in full
37-44
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
45-46
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
47-64
Released in full
s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-2
Operations and processes of Department
Exempt in full
s.47E(d)
3
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
4
Released in full
5-6
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
7-8
Released in full
Departmental Electronic File - s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-25
Released in full
26-27
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
28-39
Released in full
40-41
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
42-45
Released in full
s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1
Operations and processes of Department
Exempt in part
s.47E(d)
2-4
Released in full
Departmental Electronic File - s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-26
Released in full
27-28
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
29-54
Released in full
FOIREQ22/00291   122
s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1
Operations and processes of Department
Exempt in part
s.47E(d)
2-4
Released in full
Departmental Electronic File - s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-10
Released in full
11-12
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
13-40
Released in full
ICSE notes – s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-3
Released in full
s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-26
Released in full
27-28
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
29-36
Released in full
37-38
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
39-63
Released in full
s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-5
Released in full
Departmental Electronic File - s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-17
Released in full
18-21
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
22-27
Released in full
28
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
29-30
Released in full
31-32
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
33-37
Released in full
38
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
39-46
Released in full
47-49
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
50-72
Released in full
FOIREQ22/00291   123
s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-7
Released in full
Departmental Electronic File - s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-6
Released in full
7-13
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
14
Released in full
15
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
16-17
Released in full
18-20
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
21-26
Released in full
27
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
28
Released in full
29-30
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
31-35
Released in full
36
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
37
Released in full
38-39
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
40
Released in full
41-44
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
45-64
Released in full
65
Third party details 
Exempt in full
s.47F(1)
66-74
Released in full
s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1
Released in full
2
Operations and processes of Department
Exempt in part
s.47E(d)
3-5
Third party details 
Exempt in part
s.47F(1)
s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-11
Released in full
12-13
Operations and processes of Department
Exempt in part
s.47E(d)
14-25
Released in full
26
Operations and processes of Department
Exempt in part
s.47E(d)
27-39
Released in full
s 22
Page No.  Description
Decision
Legislation
1-7
Released in full

FOIREQ22/00291   125
 
 
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 refusal 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: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x  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 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   126
 
 
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 
 
 
Thomas 
Position No: 60016894 
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section 
Department of Home Affairs 
Email:xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
 
 
 
Attachments 
x  Attachment A – Decision Record 
x  Attachment B – Schedule of Documents 
x  Documents released to you under the FOI Act 

FOIREQ22/00291   127
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Attachment A – Decision Record 
 
s 22
Scope of Request  
 
 
Departmental records within scope 
 
No. Description 
Reference 
(if applicable)  No. of folios 
1 Electronic 
file 
2 Electronic 
records 
3 Electronic 
records 
4 Electronic 
records 
s 22
5 Electronic 
records 
6 Electronic 
records 
 
 
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: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x  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. 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   128
 
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. You will see 
these exemptions in the documents released to you as they will be clearly identified with ‘s 
22 (1)(a)(ii)’ however they will not be individual y noted in the Schedule of Documents. 
 
Please note that there are times that this same section of the FOI Act will be used to remove 
other material and this will be in the Schedule of Documents with a clear explanation as to 
what the material is. 
 
 
37 Documents affecting enforcement of law and protection of public safety  
 
(1)  A document is an exempt document if its disclosure under this Act would, or could 
reasonably be expected to:  
(a) prejudice the conduct of an investigation of a breach, or possible breach, of the law, 
or a failure, or  possible failure, to comply with a law relating to taxation or prejudice 
the enforcement or proper  administration of the law in a particular instance; 
(b) disclose, or enable a person to ascertain, the existence or identity of a confidential 
source of  information, or the non-existence of a confidential source of information, in 
relation to the  enforcement or administration of the law; or 
(c) endanger the life or physical safety of any person. 
 
(2) A document is an exempt document if its disclosure under this Act would, or could 
reasonably be  expected to:  
(a) prejudice the fair trial of a person or the impartial adjudication of a particular case; 
(b) disclose lawful methods or procedures for preventing, detecting, investigating, or 
dealing with matters arising out of, breaches or evasions of the law the disclosure of 
which would, or would be reasonably likely to, prejudice the effectiveness of those 
methods or procedures; or 
(c) prejudice the maintenance or enforcement of lawful methods for the protection of 
public safety. 
 
The information which I have exempted under section 37(2)(b) is information which, if 
disclosed, would reveal lawful methods or procedures used by the department to investigate 
fraud and would be reasonably likely to prejudice the effectiveness of those methods or 
procedures. 
 
I believe disclosure of this information would reasonably compromise the department’s 
investigation strategy by revealing the department’s methods of investigating issues and in 
so doing would compromise the department’s ability to successfully utilise such methods or 
procedures in the future.  
 
It is important that these processes are kept confidential to prevent persons from 
circumventing these procedures, or from providing false information during these 
investigations. Release of this information would prejudice the effectiveness of the referral 
process, and the attainment of true and correct information. 
 
Yours Sincerely 
 
 
Thomas 
Position No: 60016894 
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section 
Department of Home Affairs 
Email:xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 

FOIREQ22/00291   129
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Attachment B – Schedule of Documents 
 
 
Client Details 
s 22
Departmental File:  
s 22
 
Page No.  
Description 
Decision 
Legislation 
1-39 
Documents on file 
Released in full   
40-41 
Information, if released, would be 
Exempted in full  s37(2)(b)
reasonably likely to prejudice the 
 
 
effectiveness of investigative methods or 
procedures. 
42-158 
Documents on file 
Released in full   
 
 
Electronic records: s 22
 
 
Page No.  
Description 
Decision 
Legislation 
All 
Documents on file 
Released in full   
 
Electronic records: s 22
 
 
Page No.  
Description 
Decision 
Legislation 
All 
Documents on file 
Released in full   
 
Electronic records: s 22
 
 
Page No.  
Description 
Decision 
Legislation 
All 
Documents on file 
Released in full   
 
 
Electronic records: s 22
   
 
Page No.  
Description 
Decision Legislation 
N/A Released 
in 
full 
 
s 22
 
 
 
 
FOIREQ22/00291   130
 
 
Electronic records: s 22
 
 
Page No.  
Description Decision 
Legislation 
N/A Released 
in 
full 
 
s 22
 
 
 

FOIREQ22/00291   132
                     (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 refusal 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: 
 
x the 
Freedom of Information Act 1982; 
x  the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to 
documents held by government; 
x  the terms of your request; 
x  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 .