Australian Government
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
12 March 2015
Sent by email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
Client Name Tymeka Murray
FOI Request FA 15/02/01189
File Number ADF2015/6698
Dear Tymeka Murray
Request deemed withdrawn under s.24AB
I am writing to you in relation to your request under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act) on 20 February 2015 for:
“I wish to have any documents relating to the changes in immigration laws due to
recent terrorist plots around the country.”
Purpose of this letter
This letter is further to the ‘practical refusal reason’ notice that I sent you on Wednesday
25 February 2015,
under the ‘request consultation process’ required in s.24AB of the Act.
The notice advised you that you were required to contact me before the end of the
‘consultation period’ to either:
• withdraw the request or
• revise the request or
• advise me that you do not intend to revise the request.
The notice advised you that the consultation period for the practical refusal notice ended at
close of business on Wednesday 11 March 2015.
However, as you did not contact me before the end of the consultation period your request is
now ‘deemed withdrawn’ under the combined operation of ss.24AB(6) and (7) of the Act.
6 Chan Street Belconnen ACT 2617
PO Box 25 BELCONNEN ACT 2616 • Telephone: 02 6264 1111 • Fax: 02 6225 6970 • www.immi.gov.au
- 2 -
You remain welcome to resubmit your request at any time, taking into account the issues I
raised in the practical refusal reason notice about the current scope of your request.
Yours sincerely
Simone Stanley
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Email
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Extract of relevant legislation
24AB What is a request consultation process?
Scope
(1) This section sets out what is a
request consultation process for the purposes of
section 24.
Requirement to notify
(2) The agency or Minister must give the applicant a written notice stating the following:
(a) an intention to refuse access to a document in accordance with a request;
(b) the practical refusal reason;
(c) the name of an officer of the agency or member of staff of the Minister (the
contact
person) with whom the applicant may consult during a period;
(d) details of how the applicant may contact the contact person;
(e) that the period (the
consultation period) during which the applicant may consult
with the contact person is 14 days after the day the applicant is given the notice.
Assistance to revise request
(3) If the applicant contacts the contact person during the consultation period in accordance
with the notice, the agency or Minister must take reasonable steps to assist the applicant
to revise the request so that the practical refusal reason no longer exists.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (3),
reasonable steps includes the following:
(a) giving the applicant a reasonable opportunity to consult with the contact person;
(b) providing the applicant with any information that would assist the applicant to
revise the request.
Extension of consultation period
(5) The contact person may, with the applicant’s agreement, extend the consultation period
by written notice to the applicant.
Outcome of request consultation process
(6) The applicant must, before the end of the consultation period, do one of the following, by
written notice to the agency or Minister:
(a) withdraw the request;
(b) make a revised request;
(c) indicate that the applicant does not wish to revise the request.
(7) The request is taken to have been withdrawn under subsection (6) at the end of the
consultation period if:
(a) the applicant does not consult the contact person during the consultation period in
accordance with the notice; or
(b) the applicant does not do one of the things mentioned in subsection (6) before the
end of the consultation period.
Extract of relevant legislation continued
Consultation period to be disregarded in calculating processing period
(8) The period starting on the day an applicant is given a notice under subsection (2) and
ending on the day the applicant does one of the things mentioned in paragraph (6)(b) or
(c) is to be disregarded in working out the 30 day period mentioned in paragraph
15(5)(b).
Note:
Paragraph 15(5)(b) requires that an agency or Minister take all reasonable steps to notify an
applicant of a decision on the applicant’s request within 30 days after the request is made.
No more than one request consultation process required
(9) To avoid doubt, this section only obliges the agency or Minister to undertake a request
consultation process once for any particular request.
Document Outline
