24 March 2023
D Maheshwari
BY EMAIL: Dushyant Maheshwari <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx>
In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 23/03/00087
File Number: FA 23/03/00087
Dear Dushyant Maheshwari,
Freedom of Information (FOI) request – Access Decision
On 23 February 2023, the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) received a request for
access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your request for access under the
FOI Act.
1
Scope of request
You have requested access to the following documents:
1. What is the criteria of choosing medical centers in India as the panel physicians
for Visa examinations?
2. What checklists are used before selecting these medical centers?
2
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 records.
3
Relevant material
In reaching my decision I referred to the following:
• the terms of your request
• the documents relevant to the request
• the FOI Act
808 Bourke Street VIC 3008
PO Box 25 Belconnen ACT 2616 • Email: xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx • www.homeaffairs.gov.au
• Guidelines published by the Office of the Information Commissioner under section 93A
of the FOI Act (the FOI Guidelines)
• advice from Departmental officers with responsibility for matters relating to the
documents to which you sought access
4
Documents in scope of request
The Department has identified two documents as falling within the scope of your request. These
documents were in the possession of the Department on 23 February 2023 when your request
was received.
5
Decision
The decision in relation to the documents in the possession of the Department which fall within
the scope of your request is as follows:
• Release one document in full
• Release one document in part with deletions
6
Reasons for Decision
Detailed reasons for my decision are set out below.
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that the exemption provision applies to that
information are set out below.
The documents in question contain information held by the Department in relation to Panel
doctors appointed by the department for undertaking health checks. I am of the opinion that
release of the documents would prejudice the operations of the department in relation to its
management of health checks.
Releasing information about the Department’s decision in this process wil circumvent certain
processes in the future. This would result in the Department having to continual y change their
processes at a cost to the department.
Release would therefore compromise the capacity of the department to carry out one of its
management functions, namely the management of Panel doctors.
Finally, releasing this information would prejudice Department’s ability to work effectively with
the panel doctor’s network.
6.1 Section 47E of the FOI Act – Operations of Agencies
Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act provides that documents are conditionally exempt if disclosure
would, or could reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and
efficient conduct of the operations of an agency.
I consider that the disclosure of the parts of documents marked ‘
s47E(d)’ would, or could
reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct
of the operations of the Department.
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The documents in question contain information held by the Department in relation to Panel
doctors appointed by the department for undertaking health checks. I am of the opinion that
release of the documents would prejudice the operations of the department in relation to its
management of health checks.
Releasing information about the Department’s decision in this process wil circumvent certain
processes in the future. This would result in the Department having to continual y change their
processes at a cost to the department.
Release would therefore compromise the capacity of the department to carry out one of its
management functions, namely the management of Panel doctors.
Finally, releasing this information would prejudice Department’s ability to work effectively with
the panel doctor’s network.
I have decided that parts of the documents are conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of the
FOI Act. Access to a conditionally exempt document must general y be given unless it would be
contrary to the public interest to do so. I have turned my mind to whether disclosure of the
information would be contrary to the public interest, and have included my reasoning in that
regard at paragraph 1.1 above.
6.2 The public interest – section 11A of the FOI Act
As I have decided that parts of the documents are conditional y exempt, I am now required
to consider whether access to the conditionally exempt information would be contrary to
the public interest (section 11A of the FOI Act).
A part of a document which is conditionally exempt must also meet the public interest test
in section 11A(5) before an exemption may be claimed in respect of that part.
In summary, the test is whether access to the conditionally exempt part of the document
would be, on balance, contrary to the public interest.
In applying this test, I have noted the objects of the FOI Act and the importance of the other
factors listed in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act, being 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.
Having regard to the above I am satisfied that:
•
Access to the documents would promote the objects of the FOI Act.
•
The subject matter of the documents does not seem to have a general characteristic
of public importance. The matter has a limited scope and, in my view, would be of
interest to a very narrow section of the public.
•
No insights into public expenditure wil be provided through examination of the
documents.
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•
You do not require access to the documents in order to access your own personal
information.
I have also considered the following factors that weigh against the release of the conditionally
exempt information in the document.
• Disclosure to the world at large of the conditionally exempt information contained
within document Australian Offshore Panel Physicians Network - Information Pack
2023 would have a substantial adverse effect on the IT Network of the
Department. This conditionally exempt information is of value to individuals or
organisations who may be interested in crafting a hostile cyber security attack on
the IT systems of the Department. I consider that this would be contrary to the
public interest and that this factor weighs strongly against disclosure.
I have also had regard to section 11B(4) which sets out the factors which are irrelevant to my
decision, which are:
a)
access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Commonwealth
Government, or cause a loss of confidence in the Commonwealth Government
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.
I have not taken into account any of those factors in this decision.
Upon balancing all of the above relevant public interest considerations, I have concluded that the
disclosure of the conditionally exempt information in the documents would be contrary to the
public interest and it is therefore exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act.
7
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.
8
Your Review Rights
Internal Review
If you disagree with this decision, you have the right to apply for an internal review by the
Department of this 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 a review of the decision is necessary. The internal review wil be carried out by an
officer other than the original decision maker and the Department must make a review decision
within 30 days.
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Applications for review should be sent to:
By email to: xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
OR
By mail to:
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Home Affairs
PO Box 25
BELCONNEN ACT 2617
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/.
9
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.
10 Contacting the FOI Section
Should you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to contact the FOI Section at
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely,
[Signed electronically]
Joanne
Position number 60100057
Authorised Decision Maker
Department of Home Affairs
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