16 November 2022
foi+request-9492-63c8f92c
Sent via email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
Client Name: foi+request-9492-63c8f92c
FOI Request: FA 22/11/00090
File Number: FA22/11/00090
Dear XD1022-2021
Access Decision - Freedom of Information (FOI) request – Release of documents
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 24 October 2022,
seeking access to:
Please provide any documents held in your main investigation management system
attached to the entity ‘Traditional Chinese Massage’ operating in Civic (inclusive of
the trading name, pty ltd company, or what have you)
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.
The due date for a decision on your request is 23 November, 2022.
Authority to make decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions in respect of
requests to access documents or to amend or annotate Departmental records.
Information considered
In reaching my decision, I have considered the following:
• the
Freedom of Information Act 1982;
• the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines relating to access to
documents held by government;
• the terms of your request;
Casselden Place 2 Lonsdale Street Melbourne VIC 3000
GPO Box 241 MELBOURNE VIC 3001• Telephone: 13 18 81• Website: w w w.homeaffairs.gov.au
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Decision
My decision is to exempt in full the files/documents in the possession of the
Department which fall within the scope of your 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
(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).
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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:
The information appears on a file that holds your personal information. This weighs in
favour of the release being reasonable.
The information is not your personal information. This weighs against the release being
reasonable.
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.
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.
I have considered:
Arguments in favour of the disclosure of the documents include:
• a person having a general right of access to any material about them held by the
government;
• there is a general public interest in making information held by the Government
accessible to the public;
• 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;
• inform debate on a matter of public importance; and
• the need for openness and accountability of the department’s operations.
• the extent to which the information is known by the public.
Arguments against disclosure of the documents include:
• it is a core Government concern to maintain the integrity of the information it holds and in
the maintaining of an individual’s privacy
• prejudice the fair treatment of individuals
• prejudice security, law enforcement, public health or safety
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.
I consider that disclosure of the documents in scope would disclose personal
information relating to another party. As the appropriate authorisation to provide
information has not been provided, I am refusing you access to documents under
personal privacy – s.47F of the Freedom Of Information Act.
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Review rights Internal review
If you disagree with my decision, you have the right to apply for an internal review by the
Department of my decision. Any request for internal review must be provided to the
Department within 30 days of you being notified of the decision. Where possible please
attach reasons why you believe review of the decision is necessary. The internal review will
be carried out by an officer other than the original decision-maker and the Department must
make a review decision within 30 days.
Applications for review should be sent to:
Email to: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Or by mail at:
Freedom of Information
Department of Home Affairs
GPO Box 241 MELBOURNE VIC 3001
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
John
Position number: 6004 6997
FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Victoria
E: xxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
