Documents relating to efforts & activities undertaken to protect the endangered Abbott's Booby at the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre between 2020 and 2025

Richard Smith made this Freedom of Information request to Australian Border Force

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Currently waiting for a response from Australian Border Force, they should respond promptly and normally no later than November 20, 2025 (details).

Dear Australian Border Force,

The Abbott's Booby is a large, long-lived seabird, with the only known nesting colony in the world existing on Christmas Island.

The Abbotts Booby is listed as Endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000 list the Abbotts Booby as Critically Endangered.

Despite this endangered bird existing only in one place in the world, i.e. on Christmas Island, and it's sole breeding habitat being the tall rainforest situated mostly above 150m elevation in the western, central and northern portions of Christmas island, the Commonwealth went ahead and cleared 99 acres of National Park and "prime Abbott's Booby habitat" to build the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre in 2003-2008.

Even with that needless destruction of 99 acres of critical breeding habitat, the Commonwealth has enacted a National Recovery Plan for the Abbott's Booby.

It is here: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/bi...

Border Force's responsibilities under the National Recovery Plan

Specific Objective 3 of the National Recovery Plan is "Ensure activities associated with construction and operation of Immigration Reception and Processing Centre (IRPC) do not impede recovery"

Specific Action 3.3 specifies "The day-to-day operational activities of the IRPC are managed to ensure that environmental impacts are minimised. In particular, breeding of Abbotts booby pairs nesting adjacent to the site should not be compromised by the Centres operational activities."

The performance criteria of Specific Action 3.3 is "Breeding success and survival of boobies nesting adjacent to the Centre is not reduced as a result of routine operation of the facility".

I therefore request the following Government Information:

(a) Documents detailing any monitoring activities undertaken by Border Force or it's agents or contractors of sightings or nesting sites of the Abbott's Booby on Christmas Island in the period 1 January 2020 to 1 October 2025; and

(b) Documents detailing any records or monitoring by Border Force or it's agents or contractors of "breeding success and survival of boobies nesting adjacent to the Centre" on Christmas Island in the period 1 January 2020 to 1 October 2025; and

(c) Documents detailing any activities undertaken by Border Force or it's agents or contractors to assist with recovery and conservation of the Abbott's Booby on Christmas Island in the period 1 January 2020 to 1 October 2025; and

(d) Documents detailing any activities undertaken by Border Force or it's agents or contractors to detect and eradicate Yellow Crazy Ants on Christmas Island in the period 1 January 2020 to 1 October 2025.

Requests involving use of computers etc

This request for Government information is for information contained within the Government's information system, as contemplated by section 17 of the Act.

This request therefore covers documents which include documents where an “Where:

(a) a request (including a request in relation to which a practical refusal reason exists) is made in accordance with the requirements of subsection 15(2) to an agency;

(b) it appears from the request that the desire of the applicant is for information that is not available in discrete form in written documents of the agency; and

...

(i) the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information;

....

the agency shall deal with the request as if it were a request for access to a written document so produced and containing that information and, for that purpose, this Act applies as if the agency had such a document in its possession.”

Clarifications

To assist Border Force, I am not seeking names and details of people in any of the documents, so it would be appropriate to redact any references to people's names & contact details.

In making this request I note that section 3 of the Act outlines:

"(4) The Parliament also intends that functions and powers given by this Act are to be performed and exercised, as far as possible, to facilitate and promote public access to information, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost".

If this request can be answered as an informal request, please do so.

Otherwise, please proceed with this as a formal request under the Freedom of Information principles & framework, i.e. the Freedom of Information Act 1982 & regulations.

Yours faithfully,
Richard Smith

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OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

In reply please quote:

FOI Request: FA 25/10/01714

File Number: FA25/10/01714

Dear Richard SMITH

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

This letter acknowledges that on 21 October 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:

The Abbott's Booby is a large, long-lived seabird, with the only known
nesting colony in the world existing on Christmas Island.

The Abbotts Booby is listed as Endangered under the Environment Protection
and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
and Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000 list the Abbotts Booby as
Critically Endangered.

Despite this endangered bird existing only in one place in the world, i.e.
on Christmas Island, and it's sole breeding habitat being the tall
rainforest situated mostly above 150m elevation in the western, central
and northern portions of Christmas island, the Commonwealth went ahead and
cleared 99 acres of National Park and "prime Abbott's Booby habitat" to
build the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre in 2003-2008.

Even with that needless destruction of 99 acres of critical breeding
habitat, the Commonwealth has enacted a National Recovery Plan for the
Abbott's Booby.

It is here:
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/bi...

Border Force's responsibilities under the National Recovery Plan

Specific Objective 3 of the National Recovery Plan is "Ensure activities
associated with construction and operation of Immigration Reception and
Processing Centre (IRPC) do not impede recovery"

Specific Action 3.3 specifies "The day-to-day operational activities of
the IRPC are managed to ensure that environmental impacts are minimised.
In particular, breeding of Abbotts booby pairs nesting adjacent to the
site should not be compromised by the Centres operational activities."

The performance criteria of Specific Action 3.3 is "Breeding success and
survival of boobies nesting adjacent to the Centre is not reduced as a
result of routine operation of the facility".

I therefore request the following Government Information:

(a) Documents detailing any monitoring activities undertaken by Border
Force or it's agents or contractors of sightings or nesting sites of the
Abbott's Booby on Christmas Island in the period 1 January 2020 to 1
October 2025; and

(b) Documents detailing any records or monitoring by Border Force or it's
agents or contractors of "breeding success and survival of boobies nesting
adjacent to the Centre" on Christmas Island in the period 1 January 2020
to 1 October 2025; and

(c) Documents detailing any activities undertaken by Border Force or it's
agents or contractors to assist with recovery and conservation of the
Abbott's Booby on Christmas Island in the period 1 January 2020 to 1
October 2025; and

(d) Documents detailing any activities undertaken by Border Force or it's
agents or contractors to detect and eradicate Yellow Crazy Ants on
Christmas Island in the perion 1 January 2020 to 1 October 2025.

Requests involving use of computers etc

This request for Government information is for information contained
within the Government's information system, as contemplated by section 17
of the Act.

This request therefore covers documents which include documents where an
“Where:

(a) a request (including a request in relation to which a practical
refusal reason exists) is made in accordance with the requirements of
subsection 15(2) to an agency;

(b) it appears from the request that the desire of the applicant is for
information that is not available in discrete form in written documents of
the agency; and
----
(c) the agency could produce a written document containing the
information in discrete form by:
(i) the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available
to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information;
-----
the agency shall deal with the request as if it were a request for access
to a written document so produced and containing that information and, for
that purpose, this Act applies as if the agency had such a document in its
possession.”

Clarifications

To assist Border Force, I am not seeking names and details of people in
any of the documents, so it would be appropriate to redact any references
to people's names & contact details.

In making this request I note that section 3 of the Act outlines:

"(4) The Parliament also intends that functions and powers given by this
Act are to be performed and exercised, as far as possible, to facilitate
and promote public access to information, promptly and at the lowest
reasonable cost".

If this request can be answered as an informal request, please do so.

Otherwise, please proceed with this as a formal request under the Freedom
of Information principles & framework, i.e. the Freedom of Information Act
1982 & regulations.

Your request has been allocated FOI request number FA 25/10/01714. Please
include your FOI request number in all correspondence with the Freedom of
Information Section.

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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: [5][ABF request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

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:[ABF request email]
4. mailto:[ABF request email]
5. mailto:[ABF request email]

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

Good afternoon

I refer to your request received on 21 October 2025 for access to
documents under the FOI Act.

The current due date for your request is 20 November 2025.

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 20 December 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 22
December 2025.

It would assist the Department in managing its FOI caseload if you could
provide a response to this request by close of business, Monday 27 October
2025.

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][ABF request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

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

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[ABF request email]

Dear Andrea,

I agree to the extension of time for processing my request.

Considering the due date at the end of the extension is 22nd December, and being so close to Christmas, I would not object to a due date around mid January if the Department would be agreeable to that.

Yours sincerely,
Richard

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Right to Know

Documents relating to efforts & activities undertaken to protect the endangered Abbott's Booby at the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre between 2020 and 2025

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