OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

In reply please quote:

FOI Request: FA 26/02/00285
File Number: FA26/02/00285

Dear Oliver SMITH,

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request.
This letter acknowledges that on 3 February 2026 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:

I seek access to documents relating to the processing of FOI request FA 25/09/01312, including:

1. All internal correspondence, communications, or records between the Department’s FOI area and any Business Areas, line areas, or consulted areas, created or received for the purpose of identifying, retrieving, assessing, or deciding documents within the scope of FOI request FA 25/09/01312.

2. Any consultation communications undertaken in processing FOI request FA 25/09/01312, including emails, file notes, tasking requests, advice, or responses between the FOI decision-maker and consulted business areas.

3. Any records evidencing searches undertaken, search terms used, or instructions provided to business areas in relation to FOI request FA 25/09/01312.

The scope of this request is limited to documents created or received between 17 September 2025 and the date of the final decision on FOI request FA 25/09/01312.

Your request has been allocated FOI request number FA 26/02/00285. 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 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 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 [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,

Andrea
Authorised FOI Officer, Freedom of Information
Position Number 60118553
Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch
Legal Group
Department of Home Affairs
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

show quoted sections

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

Good afternoon

I refer to your request received on 3 February 2026 for access to
documents under the FOI Act.

The current due date for your request is 5 March 2026. 

In order for the Department to complete the process of retrieving all the
documents that fall within the scope of your request and the subsequent
decision-making process in relation to those documents, 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 4 April 2026.
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 6
April 2026.

It would assist the Department in managing its FOI caseload if you could
provide a response to this request by close of business, Monday 9 February
2026.

If you wish to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to
contact me on the details below.

Kind regards,

Andrea
Authorised FOI Officer, Freedom of Information
Position Number 60118553
Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch
Legal Group
Department of Home Affairs
E: [1][Department of Home Affairs request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

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the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you have received
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References

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