Decision on Internal Review FA 221101438 R1.pdf

6 April 2023
Mr Benjamin Limmings
BY EMAIL:  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
In reply please quote:
FOI Request:
FA 22/11/01438-R1
File Number:
FA22/11/01438
Dear Mr Limmings
Decision on Internal Review – Freedom of Information Act 1982
I refer to your correspondence dated 20 March 2023 in which you requested that the
Department of Home Affairs (the Department) review its decision on access to documents
dated 15 March 2023 under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
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Scope of original request
The scope of your original request for access to documents under the FOI Act was as
follows:
I am requesting the number of visa subclass 601 (Electronic Travel Authority)
applications, and the number of those which were flagged for further processing and
such communicated to the application, by the list of countries eligible for visa subclass
601, between the dates of 7 Feb 2022 and 28 Nov 2022.
To clarify, I am seeking data in the along the lines of:
Country    | Number of Applicants | Count of flagged for further processing
Country A | 1000
| 900
Country B | 5000
| 1900
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Original decision on access dated 15 March 2023
The Department conducted reasonable searches and identified one document as fal ing
within the scope of your original request. This document was in the possession of
Department on 28 November 2022 when your FOI request was received.
The original decision maker decided to:
 Release one document in ful .
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Level 4, 808 Bourke Street, Victoria, 3008
 Telephone:   www.homeaffairs.gov.au

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Request for internal review
On 20 March 2023, you requested the Department review its decision dated 15 March 2023.
The terms of your review request were as fol ows:
‘I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Home Affairs handling of my FOI
request 'Number of visa subclass 601 applications, and further processing, by country'.
Payment was made on 6 Feb 2023, but was only released on 15 March 2023, 37 days later.
As the information was released outside the statutory time limit, per section 4.46 of the OAIC
Freedom of information guidance for government agencies
(https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/freedom-of-information-guidance-for-
government-agencies/foi-guidelines/part-4-charges-for-providing-access), I am requesting a
refund of AUD75 paid under ss 7(2) of the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations
2019’.
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Scope of internal review
Based on the terms of your internal review in paragraph 3, I consider you are seeking review
of the Department’s decision to charge you a processing fee under section 29 of the FOI Act,
because payment was taken outside the statutory time limit. You consider the charge is invalid
under section 7(2) of the FOI (Charges) Regulations.
I  consider you  have  not  sought review  of  the  Department’s decision  on  the  documents it
identified as fal ing within  the scope of  the request in its  original decision. Accordingly, the
Department has not re-assessed these documents as part of this internal review decision, and
wil  not be providing you with another copy of these documents.
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Authority to make decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make decisions to release and to
refuse access to exempt documents and to conduct internal reviews.
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Relevant material
In reaching my decision, I have considered the fol owing:
  the terms of your original request
  the terms of your request for internal review
  advice from departmental officers with responsibility for matters relating to the
information to which you sought access
  whether payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause financial hardship to the
applicant or a person on whose behalf the application was made
  any other relevant matter including any other submission as to why a charge
should be reduced or waived
  The Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019 (the Charges
Regulations);
  the Freedom of Information Act 1982; and
  The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner Guidelines – Part 4 –
Charges for providing access;
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Financial Hardship
I have considered whether payment of the charge would cause you to suffer financial
hardship. Interpretation of the term ‘financial hardship’ is based on ‘AY’ and the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation [2014] AICmr 7 (28 January 2014). In this decision (summarised
by the OAIC’s FOI Guidelines at 4.101):
‘Financial hardship exists when payment of the debt would leave you unable to provide food,
accommodation, clothing, medical treatment, education or other necessities for yourself or
your family, or other people for whom you are responsible’.
I note that you have not made any claim that payment of the charge would result in financial
hardship to you and/or your employer. I have therefore determined that payment of the
charge, or part of it, would not be contrary to the FOI Guidelines to cause financial hardship.
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Internal review decision
I have decided to affirm the original decision of the Department dated 15 March 2023 (the
original decision) in relation to the assessment of the charge and not issue a refund of the
fee of $75.00.
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Reasons for internal review decision
The  FOI  Act  enables  the  statutory  timeframes  to  be  stopped  to  enable  specific  charge
processing activities; the Department refers to this as ‘stopping’ the clock.
To assess the statutory timeframe in this matter, I firstly acknowledge that an extension of
time (EOT) of 30 days under s15AA was requested on 16 December 2022. As this request
was accepted on 16 December 2022, the Department had an additional 30 days to action
your request. Therefore the new due date on your request was 27 January 2023.
To assess the number or days the clock was stopped on your request, the Department
stopped the clock from the date the charge notice was issued and payment on that notice is
received. The relevant dates are as follows:
-  19 December 2022 – Preliminary Charge Notice issued – clock was stopped
-  23 December 2022 – Applicant contends the charge be waived or reduced or not
imposed under section 29(8) of the FOI Act – clock remains stopped
-  20 January 2023 -  Decision to not waive, reduce of not impose a charge issued to
applicant – clock remains stopped
-  6 February 2023 – Payment is received from applicant – clock is restarted
Having calculated the dates in the above timeframe, the clock was stopped for a total of 49
days. Therefore the new due date on your request was 17 March 2023. As the Department
notified you of its decision on 15 February 2023, a decision on your request was made wel
within the statutory time limit. As such, the Department is unable to issue you a refund on
your request under 4.47 of the FOI Guidelines, as they do not apply.
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Legislation
A copy of the FOI Act is available at https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A02562.
If you are unable to access the legislation through this website, please contact our office for a
copy.
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Your 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 this decision.  You must apply in writing within 60 days of this notice.  For further
information about review rights and how to submit a request for a review to the OAIC, please
see https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/information-
commissioner-review/.
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Making a Complaint
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner about action taken by the
Department in relation to your request.
Your enquiries to the Australian Information Commissioner can be directed to:
Phone 1300 363 992 (local call charge)
Email  xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
There is no particular form required to make a complaint to the Australian Information
Commissioner. The request should be in writing and should set out the grounds on which it is
considered that the action taken in relation to the request should be investigated and identify
the Department of Home Affairs as the relevant agency.
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Contact
Should you wish to discuss my decision, please do not hesitate to contact via email at
xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
[Electronically signed]
Dale Simpson
Position No. 60159153
Authorised Decision Maker
Department of Home Affairs
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