Communications with funders of far-right anti-immigrant hate group

Freedom of Information request Communications with funders of far right anti immigrant hate group.txt

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OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

In reply please quote:

FOI Request: FA 25/07/01026

File Number: FA 2507/01026

Dear Christian Otieno,

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

This letter acknowledges that on 15 July 2025 the Department of Home
Affairs (the Department ) received your request to access documents held
by the Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI
Act). This letter also provides important information about your request.

Scope of request

You have requested access to the following:

In the 2024 MYEFO (pg 275), additional funding for the Department of Home
Affairs was announced under a budget measure relating to the establishment
of the Australian Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism and the Australian
Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. As such, I am making this freedom of
information request to the Department of Home Affairs. If this can not be
processed by the Department, I ask the request to be transferred to the
appropriate authorities and offices.

I am requesting: any emails that the Australian Special Envoy to Combat
Antisemitism or her staff have received from or sent to Advance Australia
funder, John Roth.

Your request has been allocated FOI request number FA 25/07/01026 . Please
include your FOI request number in all correspondence with the Freedom of
Information Section.

Timeframe

The timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the day we receive
your request, as set out in the FOI Act.

Your review rights in relation to your request are available on [1]Freedom
of information reviews | OAIC.

Fees and Charges

Charges do not apply to requests from individuals seeking access to
documents about themselves. However, a charge may apply to all other
requests for access to documents.

Charges are based on the amount of time the Department spends on your
request. Charges can range from $10 to over $1,000 depending on the
complexity and scope of your request. The Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner reported that across the public service, the
average charge notified was $335.50 in 2020-21.

If a charge applies, you will be issued with a Notice of Charge that
explains the charge and your options.

Detailed information about FOI charges that may apply to your FOI request
is available on [2]the Department’s website.

We do not provide personal details of staff or non-public facing
operational email addresses

The Department’s practice is to exclude the personal details of Government
employees, including contractors, not in the Senior Executive Service
(SES), as well as the direct contact details of SES staff, contained in
documents that fall within scope of an FOI request. If you require
personal details of non-SES officers, or direct contact details of SES
staff, please inform us so the decision maker may consider your request.
Otherwise we will take it that you agree to that information being
excluded from the scope of your request as irrelevant under section
22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act. However names of staff that have previously
been released in departmental correspondence may be disclosed.

We do not provide duplicated documents

If the FOI decision-maker deems a document to be a duplicate, they will
not assess those pages as part of your FOI request. This means that if a
there is a decision to release the document to you, you will receive only
one copy, even if multiple copies of that document exist.

Publication of document

Released documents you request may be published to our website.

Where documents are released to you in response to your request, the
Department may be required to publish these documents on its website
within 10 working days in accordance with section 11C of the FOI Act.
Publication will not be required where the documents contain personal or
business affairs information.

How to reduce or withdraw your request

Reducing the scope of your request can reduce the time and charges
associated with processing your FOI request.

To reduce or withdraw your request, contact the FOI section at
[3][Department of Home Affairs request email] and include your FOI request number.

Contacting the FOI Section

Should you wish to discuss your request you may contact the FOI Section at
[Department of Home Affairs request email].

Kind regards,

Varsha
Authorised FOI Officer, Freedom of Information
Position Number 60204567

Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch

Legal Group

Department of Home Affairs

E: [4][Department of Home Affairs request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

Important Notice: The content of this email is intended only for use by
the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you have received
this email by mistake, please advise the sender and delete the message and
attachments immediately. This email, including attachments, may contain
confidential, sensitive, legally privileged and/or copyright information.

Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information
by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.
The Department of Home Affairs, the ABF and the National Emergency
Management Agency respect your privacy and have obligations under the
Privacy Act 1988.

Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this
email.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
2. https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/access-an...
3. mailto:[Department of Home Affairs request email]
4. mailto:[Department of Home Affairs request email]

OFFICIAL

Good afternoon Christian Otieno,

I refer to your request received on 15 July 2025 for access to documents
under the FOI Act. 

The current due date for your request is 14 August 2025.

The scope of your request is as follows:

In the 2024 MYEFO (pg 275), additional funding for the Department of Home
Affairs was announced under a budget measure relating to the establishment
of the Australian Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism and the Australian
Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. As such, I am making this freedom of
information request to the Department of Home Affairs. If this can not be
processed by the Department, I ask the request to be transferred to the
appropriate authorities and offices.

I am requesting: any emails that the Australian Special Envoy to Combat
Antisemitism or her staff have received from or sent to Advance Australia
funder, John Roth.

In order for the Department to complete the consultation process with the
relevant business areas, assess the documents provided and the decision
making process in relation to the documents that fall within the scope of
your request, the Department will require additional time to process your
request.

The Department seeks your agreement under section 15AA of the FOI Act to
extend the timeframe for the processing of your request by 30 days.  This
would extend the due date for your request to Saturday 13 September 2025.

However, as this date falls on a non-working day, section 36(2) of the
Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that the latest date the Department
may issue a decision would be the next working day, which is Monday 15
September 2025.

The Department will endeavour to process your request before this date.

It would assist the Department in managing its FOI caseload if you could
provide a response to this request by close of business, Friday 18 July
2025.

If you wish to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to
contact me by return email.

Yours sincerely

Natalie

Assistant Director

Freedom of Information | Non-Personal Team
Privacy, FOI & Records Management Branch | Legal Group

Department of Home Affairs

E: [1][Department of Home Affairs request email]

OFFICIAL

Important Notice: The content of this email is intended only for use by
the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you have received
this email by mistake, please advise the sender and delete the message and
attachments immediately. This email, including attachments, may contain
confidential, sensitive, legally privileged and/or copyright information.

Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information
by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.
The Department of Home Affairs, the ABF and the National Emergency
Management Agency respect your privacy and have obligations under the
Privacy Act 1988.

Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this
email.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Department of Home Affairs request email]

OFFICIAL

Dear Christian Otieno,

I am following up on the request below. Kindly provide your response by
return email if possible.

We are in the process of retrieving the documents which may be available
for your request. Grateful if you could provide the extension for us to
complete the process.

Thank you

Sadaf

Position number: 60207400

Authorised FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section
Privacy, FOI & Records Management Branch | Legal Group
Department of Home Affairs

E: [1][Department of Home Affairs request email]

OFFICIAL

From: FOI <[Department of Home Affairs request email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 15 July 2025 4:11 PM
To: [FOI #13409 email]
Subject: FOI Request FA 25/07/01026 - Request for Extension of time – due
18 July 2025 [SEC=OFFICIAL]