UNCLASSIFIED

In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 20/02/01046
File Number: OBJ2020/5707

Dear Sazan

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

I refer to your correspondence received on 20 February 2020 seeking 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:
the Number of EOIs in the submitted status for 491 family stream as at 12/02/2020 with respect to their points, for each occupations.

Your request was received by the Department on 20 February 2020 and has been allocated FOI request number FA 20/02/01046 . Please include your FOI request number in all correspondence with the Freedom of Information Section.
Timeframe for receiving your decision

The statutory timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the date upon which your application was received by the Department.

Your review rights in relation to your request are available on the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner here.

Duplicate 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 exists.

Contacting the FOI Section
Should you wish to discuss your request you may contact the FOI Section at [DIBP request email].

Yours sincerely,

FOI Officer
Freedom of Information
FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division
Corporate and Enabling Group
Department of Home Affairs | Email: [DIBP request email]

UNCLASSIFIED

show quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Our References: FA 20/02/01046 : OBJ2020/5707

Good afternoon

I refer to your request received on 20 February 2020 for access to
documents under the FOI Act. 

The current due date for your request is 21 March 2020.  Due to the number
of requests currently being processed by our office, we will not be able
to finalise your request by the original due date.

The department is continuing to work through its FOI case load as quickly
as possible.  COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has been declared a pandemic by the
World Health Organisation. As the Department focuses its efforts on
managing the impact of COVID-19 on its critical services and employees,
other non-critical services may not be delivered within expected
timeframes. We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your
patience during this period.

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 Friday 17 April 2020. 

It would assist the Department in managing its FOI caseload if you could
provide a response to this request by close of business, Monday 23 March
2020.

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

Regards

Freedom of Information Section

FOI and Records Management Branch

Data Division | Corporate and Enabling Group

Department of Home Affairs

E: [1][DIBP request email]

T: 6264 1111

UNCLASSIFIED

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 and ABF 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:[DIBP request email]

UNCLASSIFIED

23 April 2020

Dear M. Sazan,

Freedom of Information (FOI) request - Access Decision

I refer to the following request for access to a document under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act), received by the Department
of Home Affairs (the Department).

Reference Scope
Number
FA the Number
20/02/01046 of EOIs in
the
submitted
status for
491 family
stream as at
12/02/2020
with respect
to their
points, for
each
occupations.

The purpose of this email is to provide you with a decision on your
request for access under the FOI Act.

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 document or to amend or
annotate records.

Relevant material

In reaching my decision I referred to the following:

·         the terms of your request

·         the document relevant to the request

·         the FOI Act

·         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 document to which you sought access

Document in scope of request

Section 4 of the FOI Act provides that a document for the purpose of the
Act does not include:

(d) material maintained for reference purposes that is otherwise publicly
available; or

(e) Cabinet notebooks.

The Department has undertaken reasonable searches in relation to the
documents you have requested access to. The information you have requested
is available publically and as such the Department and has not located a
document, for the purposes of the Act.

Decision

Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that the Department may refuse a
request for access to a document if all reasonable steps have been taken
to find the document and the Department is satisfied that the document
does not exist. As such I am refusing access to the documents requested by
you based on the application of section 24A of the FOI Act.

Reasons for Decision

Detailed reasons for my decision are set out below.

Section 4 of the FOI Act provides that a document for the purpose of the
FOI Act does not include material maintained for reference purposes that
is otherwise publically available.

The information you have requested is available through a Qlik application
which can be accessed via the Department’s Skillselect [1]web page. The
Qlik application comprises a comprehensive library of historic and current
data in relation to Expressions of Interest (EOIs) in Skillselect, and may
be accessed by any persons wishing to reference EOI data. I therefore
consider that the information you request is available publically, and is
a complete library of EOI reference material. I find that the documents
you have requested are excluded from the operation of the FOI Act.

Legislation

A copy of the FOI Act is available at
[2]https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2.... If you are unable to
access the legislation through this website, please contact our office for
a copy.

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
will be carried out by an officer other than the original decision maker
and the Department must make a review decision within 30 days.

Applications for review should be sent to:

By email to: [3][email address]

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 Fact Sheet 12 "Freedom of information – Your review rights", available
online at
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

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 [5][email address]

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.

Contacting the FOI Section

Should you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to
contact the FOI Section at [6][DIBP request email].

Position Number 60094112

FOI Section

Authorised Decision Maker

Department of Home Affairs

UNCLASSIFIED

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 and ABF 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://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/wo....
2. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2...
3. mailto:foi.reviews@
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. mailto:[DIBP request email]