Immigration detention release

image001.jpg

9K Download

[1]Australian Government Department of Home Affairs logo

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Your email has been received by the Department of Home Affairs’ (the
Department) Freedom of Information (FOI) section.

If you have lodged a request for access to documents or amendment to
information, you will receive an acknowledgement letter within 14 days.

If your email relates to other matters then please contact the relevant
area of the Department or review the frequently asked questions below. The
mailbox is unable to respond to visa and citizenship status updates or
questions. If your query is answered by this information you will not
receive another response to your email.

Please see our website for more information on submitting a valid request
for access to information. [2]Freedom of information (homeaffairs.gov.au)

Frequently Asked Questions

Your Query General Information
If you applied [4]Our online services (homeaffairs.gov.au)
online, you can
check your visa [5]Ceremony wait times (homeaffairs.gov.au)
application status
in [3]ImmiAccount.
I want to access [6]Check visa details and conditions
my visa details (homeaffairs.gov.au)
I want to apply [7]Applying online in ImmiAccount
for a visa to (homeaffairs.gov.au)
Australia
My visa has [8]Your visa is expiring or has expired
expired (homeaffairs.gov.au)
I want to apply [9]Become a citizen (homeaffairs.gov.au)
for Australian
Citizenship or [10]Evidence of citizenship and certificates Change
access/amend my a citizenship certificate (homeaffairs.gov.au)
citizenship
details
I want my travel [11]Requesting travel records (homeaffairs.gov.au)
records in and out
of Australia
I am having Use our [12]technical guide to troubleshoot in
technical problems [13]ImmiAccount.
lodging an
application If you are still unable to resolve your issue submit
the [14]ImmiAccount Technical Support Form
I wish to provide Provide information by [15]ImmiAccount. After you
information about submit your application, use [16]ImmiAccount to:
a visa application
or provide ·        apply for a bridging visa
information about
changes to my ·        access the My Health Declarations service
situation
·        attach documents to your online application

·        check the progress of your application

· update your passport or address details

· notify of incorrect information in your
application

Further details and instructions refer to
[17]ImmiAccount Help & Support

[18]Changes in your situation (homeaffairs.gov.au)
I have made an If you have been sent a request letter to complete
appointment for a health but are experiencing delays you can attach
health examination details of your appointment to [19]ImmiAccount.
I want to withdraw [20]You want to withdraw an application
my visa or (homeaffairs.gov.au)
citizenship
application
I want to update [21]Changes in your situation (homeaffairs.gov.au)
my address,
contact or
passport details
Can my visa fee be Refunds can only be made in very limited
refunded? circumstances governed by legislation.

For further information see [22]Getting a refund
(homeaffairs.gov.au)
Visa eligibility Information on [23]visa options is available on the
query Department’s website.
Since my visa was [24]Changes in your situation (homeaffairs.gov.au)
granted I have had
a child born in
Australia
I want to lodge Find out how to provide [25]Compliments, complaints
feedback about a and suggestions
Department service

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

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

23 November 2023

Oliver Smith

BY EMAIL: [1][FOI #10874 email]

In reply please quote:

FOI Request: FA 23/11/00901

File Number: FA22/11/00901

Dear Oliver Smith

I refer to your email dated 16 November 2023, in which you requested
access to documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the
Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

You have requested access to the following:

Under the FOI Act, I am seeking all correspondence over the period 1/10/23
to 16/11/23 between the Department and the office of the Minister for
Immigration and Citizenship in relation to the visa status at the time of
release into the community of the detainees in immigration detention who
were to be released as a result of the High Court’s decision in the NZYQ
case.

Intention to refuse request

I am writing to advise you that I intend to refuse your request on the
basis that a practical refusal reason exists. However, before I make a
final decision to do this, you have an opportunity to revise your request
to remove the practical refusal reason. This is called a ‘request
consultation process’. You have 14 days to respond to this notice in one
of the ways set out below.

Power to refuse request

Section 24 of the FOI Act provides that if the Department is satisfied
that a practical refusal reason exists in relation to a request, the
Department must undertake a consultation process with you, and if, after
that consultation process, the Department remains satisfied that the
practical refusal reason still exists, the Department may refuse to give
you access to the documents subject to the request.

Practical refusal

A practical refusal reason exists under section 24AA of the FOI Act if
either (or both) of the following applies:

(1)(a)(i) the work involved in the processing of the request would
substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the Department from
its other operations

(1)(b) the request does not satisfy the requirement in section
15(2)(b) of the FOI Act, which requires you to provide such information
concerning the document you are seeking access to, to enable the
Department to be able to identify it.

I consider that the request does not satisfy the requirements of section
15(2)(b) of the FOI Act, and accordingly that practical refusal reasons
exist under section 24AA(1)(b) of the FOI Act.

Reasons for practical refusal

The Department has considered the scope of this request and its capacity
to conduct searches of relevance based on the current scope. The Freedom
of Information Act 1982 provides a right to obtain access to “a document
of an agency”. It is my preliminary view that your request, in its current
form, does not satisfy the requirement in section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act
and is therefore not valid.

In order to proceed with your request, the Department requires you to
clarify the following part of your request.

· “were to be released”

In consideration of the above, I am satisfied that the Department is
currently unable to identify documents of relevance based on the
information provided in scope. I consider that this would result in the
decision maker being unable to certify that all relevant documents have
been provided and considered in the assessment of this request and that a
practical refusal reason exists in relation to this request.

As such, I am satisfied that your request is not valid and a practical
refusal reason exists in this request.

Request Consultation Process

To enable the Department to consider your request for access under the FOI
Act, the Department will require sufficient information concerning the
specific existing documents you are seeking access to, so as to enable the
Department to identify those documents.

You now have an opportunity to revise your request to enable it to
proceed.

Clarification is required on whether you mean those who were released or
those who were going to be released but were not released?

Please clarify if you are seeking the visa status of all detainees who
were to be released or only the visa status of those who were released?

For example:

Under the FOI Act, I am seeking all correspondence over the period 1/10/23
to 16/11/23 between the Department and the office of the Minister for
Immigration and Citizenship in relation to the visa status of detainees
affected by HC decision NZYQ:

a) at the time of release into the community

b) who were to be released but were not released

Your request is currently not a valid request for the purposes of section
15(2)(b) of the FOI Act. As part of this practical refusal consultation,
you have 14 days to do one of the following:

· withdraw your request;

· make a revised request;

· indicate that you do not wish to revise your request.

If you do not do one of the three things listed above during the
consultation period (14 days) or you do not consult the contact person
listed below during this period, the Department will take no further
action with your request.

Kind regards

Jade

FOI Officer

Freedom of Information

Department of Home Affairs

E: [2][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. mailto:[FOI #10874 email]
2. mailto:[Department of Home Affairs request email]

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

In reply please quote:

FOI Request: FA 23/11/00901

File Number: FA22/11/00901

Dear Oliver Smith

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

This letter acknowledges that on 16 November 2023 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

On 16 November 2023, you requested access to the following:

Under the FOI Act, I am seeking all correspondence over the period 1/10/23
to 16/11/23 between the Department and the office of the Minister for
Immigration and Citizenship in relation to the visa status at the time of
release into the community of the detainees in immigration detention who
were to be released as a result of the High Court’s decision in the NZYQ
case.

On 29 November 2023, you amended your request to:

Under the FOI Act, I am seeking all correspondence over the period 1/10/23
to 16/11/23 between the Department and the office of the Minister for
Immigration and Citizenship in relation to the visa status at the time of
release into the community of the detainees in immigration detention who
were to be released as a result of the High Court’s decision in the NZYQ
case: a. at the time of release into the community

The Department interprets your request as:

I am seeking all correspondence over the period 1/10/23 to 16/11/23
between the Department and the office of the Minister for Immigration and
Citizenship in relation to the visa status of the detainees released into
the community following the NZYQ judgement.

Your request has been allocated FOI request number FA 23/11/00901. 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]the
website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

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

The Department’s practice is to exclude the personal details of staff 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. 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

Jade

FOI Officer

Freedom of Information

Department of Home Affairs

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

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

From: Oliver Smith <[FOI #10874 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 29 November 2023 9:49 AM
To: FOI <[Department of Home Affairs request email]>
Subject: Re: FA 23/11/00901 Practical Refusal Notice
[SEC=OFFICIAL:Sensitive, ACCESS=Personal-Privacy]

Dear FOI,

Thank you for your time on this request and the opportunity to clarify my
request. It is not my intention to create undue work for departmental
staff. I hope the below makes my request as clear and concise as possible
and I am happy to discuss further. Please see below:

Under the FOI Act, I am seeking all correspondence over the period 1/10/23
to 16/11/23 between the Department and the office of the Minister for
Immigration and Citizenship in relation to the visa status at the time of
release into the community of the detainees in immigration detention who
were to be released as a result of the High Court’s decision in the NZYQ
case: a. at the time of release into the community

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Smith

show quoted sections

OFFICIAL: Sensitive

Good morning Oliver

I refer to your request received on 16 November 2023 for access to
documents under the FOI Act. The current due date for your request is 18
December 2023.

In order for the Department to complete the process of retrieving all 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 Monday 15 January 2024.

It would assist the Department in managing its FOI caseload if you could
provide a response to this request by close of business, Monday 18
December 2023

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

Regards

Derek

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.

image001.jpg

9K Download

[1]Australian Government Department of Home Affairs logo

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Your email has been received by the Department of Home Affairs’ (the
Department) Freedom of Information (FOI) section.

If you have lodged a request for access to documents or amendment to
information, you will receive an acknowledgement letter within 14 days.

If your email relates to other matters then please contact the relevant
area of the Department or review the frequently asked questions below. The
mailbox is unable to respond to visa and citizenship status updates or
questions. If your query is answered by this information you will not
receive another response to your email.

Please see our website for more information on submitting a valid request
for access to information. [2]Freedom of information (homeaffairs.gov.au)

Frequently Asked Questions

Your Query General Information
If you applied [4]Our online services (homeaffairs.gov.au)
online, you can
check your visa [5]Ceremony wait times (homeaffairs.gov.au)
application status
in [3]ImmiAccount.
I want to access [6]Check visa details and conditions
my visa details (homeaffairs.gov.au)
I want to apply [7]Applying online in ImmiAccount
for a visa to (homeaffairs.gov.au)
Australia
My visa has [8]Your visa is expiring or has expired
expired (homeaffairs.gov.au)
I want to apply [9]Become a citizen (homeaffairs.gov.au)
for Australian
Citizenship or [10]Evidence of citizenship and certificates Change
access/amend my a citizenship certificate (homeaffairs.gov.au)
citizenship
details
I want my travel [11]Requesting travel records (homeaffairs.gov.au)
records in and out
of Australia
I am having Use our [12]technical guide to troubleshoot in
technical problems [13]ImmiAccount.
lodging an
application If you are still unable to resolve your issue submit
the [14]ImmiAccount Technical Support Form
I wish to provide Provide information by [15]ImmiAccount. After you
information about submit your application, use [16]ImmiAccount to:
a visa application
or provide ·        apply for a bridging visa
information about
changes to my ·        access the My Health Declarations service
situation
·        attach documents to your online application

·        check the progress of your application

· update your passport or address details

· notify of incorrect information in your
application

Further details and instructions refer to
[17]ImmiAccount Help & Support

[18]Changes in your situation (homeaffairs.gov.au)
I have made an If you have been sent a request letter to complete
appointment for a health but are experiencing delays you can attach
health examination details of your appointment to [19]ImmiAccount.
I want to withdraw [20]You want to withdraw an application
my visa or (homeaffairs.gov.au)
citizenship
application
I want to update [21]Changes in your situation (homeaffairs.gov.au)
my address,
contact or
passport details
Can my visa fee be Refunds can only be made in very limited
refunded? circumstances governed by legislation.

For further information see [22]Getting a refund
(homeaffairs.gov.au)
Visa eligibility Information on [23]visa options is available on the
query Department’s website.
Since my visa was [24]Changes in your situation (homeaffairs.gov.au)
granted I have had
a child born in
Australia
I want to lodge Find out how to provide [25]Compliments, complaints
feedback about a and suggestions
Department service

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

Right to Know

1 Attachment

1 Attachment

Want to know something?

Act on what you've learnt

Requests like this

Procedural Instruction BC-2676 - Managing Minors in Immigration Clearance

Policies and Procedural instructions related to immigration clearance, visa cancellation and summary removal

Michael Manthorpe's emails

Novak Djokovic

Ministerial briefs

Alternatives to Held Detention

Character related visa decision making

Home Affairs Style/Brand/Writing guides

Ministerial submission 28 Aug 23

30 October 23 email

Right to Know