UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD

Please find attached the acknowledgement of receipt for your recent FOI
Request. 

Yours sincerely

Penelope Robb
FOI Helpdesk

Freedom of Information Section

Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio

E: [1][email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Important Notice: 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.  DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.  The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au.  See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD

This email refers to your FOI request received on 11 February 2015
seeking access to:

“any and all written documentation such as, but not limited to; letters,
emails, notes, press releases, statements and faxes held by the
"Department of Immigration and Border Protection" that refer to "Freedom"
branded food items and/or "Muesli Bars" between the dates of 1/6/14 and
10/2/15.”

The purpose of this email is to advise you, as required under s.24AB of
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) that I consider a practical
refusal reason exists under s.24AA of the FOI Act in relation to your
request. I have set out my reasons and the actions required by you (to
consult on the scope of your request) in the attached notice. 

The current due date for your FOI request is Friday 13 March 2015 In
accordance with s.24AB(8) of the FOI Act the legislated processing time
for your request is suspended during the consultation period. Please refer
to the attached notice for further details.

Consultation period

The FOI Act requires that you respond to this notice before the end of the
consultation period, which is close of business Tuesday 10 March 2015.

You may consult with me by replying to this email: [1][email address]

Yours Sincerely

Simone Stanley

FOI Case Officer

Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

Telephone: 02 6264 1504
Email: [2]foi @immi.gov.au

UNCLASSIFIED

Important Notice: 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.  DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.  The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au.  See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED
 
Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383
 
Dear CD
 
Thank you for your email below, revising the scope of your FOI request.
 
The FOI Act gives an applicant a right of access only to documents in
existence at the time a request is lodged with an agency. Therefore, your
revised scope can only extend to the date we received your request, which
is 11 February 2015.
 
This would mean your revised scope would read as follows:
 
        "any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border
Protection that refer to 'Freedom' branded food items and/or 'Muesli Bars'
between the dates of 1/1/15 and  11/2/15".
 
Please advise if I have misunderstood your scope.
 
I will now contact the relevant business areas with the revised scope,
seeking their advice on the whether a 'practical refusal reason' under
section 24AB of the FOI Act remains.
 
I will be in touch again, once I have had a response.
 
The consultation period under section 24AB accordingly continues.
 
Regards
 
Simone Stanley
FOI Case Officer
Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Telephone: 02 6264 1504
Email: foi @immi.gov.au
 
 
 

show quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD

I am currently consulting with the business area in relation to the documents you are seeking access to. Due to the large number of documents, some of which have not as yet been provided to the FOI section, I intend, with your agreement, to extend the consultation period under section 24AB of the FOI Act until COB Monday 16 March 2015.

I will in contact early next week to advise whether I consider a "practical refusal reason" under the FOI Act remains.

Regards

Simone Stanley
FOI Case Officer
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio
Email: [email address]

UNCLASSIFIED
Important Notice: 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. DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au. See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear CD,

I refer to your FOI request for the following:

... any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
that refer to 'Freedom' branded food items and/or 'Muesli Bars' between
the dates of 1/1/15 and  11/2/15.

I wish to advise that I have taken over this request from my colleague,
Simone Stanley.

Although the FOI Section has received a number of documents from various
business areas, there are still documents outstanding. The relevant
business area has sought an extension of time to provide these documents
to us, which I have agree to.

I accordingly wish to extend the consultation period under section 24AB of
the FOI Act, to allow the business area time to locate the relevant
documents and forward them on to the FOI Section and for me to then make
an assessment as to whether or not a practical refusal reason under the
FOI Act remains (i.e. whether the processing of your request will still
amount to an unreasonable and substantial diversion of this department’s
resources).

With your agreement the consultation period is extended to COB Thursday 26
March 2015.

I will be in touch again on that date.

Regards,

Marianne Nolte-Crimp
Freedom of Information

Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio
E: [1][email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Important Notice: 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.  DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.  The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au.  See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Our References: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD,

I refer to your FOI request for the following:

… any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
that refer to 'Freedom' branded food items and/or 'Muesli Bars' between
the dates of 1/1/15 and 11/2/15

This email is to advise that I have now received the documents falling
within the scope of this request from the relevant business areas.  

I no longer consider that a ‘practical refusal reason’ exists under the
FOI Act and I accept your revised scope. The processing of your FOI
request (which was suspended whilst we were consulting over the scope
under section 24AB of the FOI Act) has accordingly recommenced.  The due
date for the department to provide you with a decision on access is 11
April 2015.

I note that the next stage in the FOI process is to assess the documents
for charges. I will be in touch again once I have completed this task.

Regards,

Marianne Nolte-Crimp
Freedom of Information

Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio
E: [1][email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Important Notice: 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.  DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.  The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au.  See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD

This email refers to your FOI request for:

.. any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
that refer to 'Freedom' branded food items and/or 'Muesli Bars ‘between
the dates of 1/1/15 and  11/2/15

As you know, you we have been consulting over the scope of your request,
as required under s.24AB of the FOI Act, after you received a ‘section
24AB Notice’ from the department on 24 February 2015.

On 25 March 2015 I sent you an email advising that I accepted your revised
scope (as above) and that the department would recommence processing your
request.

I have since assessed the documents which have been provided to the FOI
Section from various business areas (including the external service
provider). There are a large number of documents in scope (more than
initially estimated), the processing of which would amount to an
unreasonable and substantial diversion of the department’s resources. I am
therefore again issuing you with a ‘section 24AB Notice’ advising that I
consider a practical refusal reason exists under s.24AA of the FOI Act in
relation to your request. My reasons are set out in the attached notice.

I invite you to again consult with me on the scope of your request.

The current due date for your FOI request is 11 April 2015. In accordance
with s.24AB(8) of the FOI Act the legislated processing time for your
request is suspended during the consultation period.

Consultation period

The FOI Act requires that you respond to this notice before the end of the
consultation period, which is close of business Friday 10 April 2015.

You may consult with me by replying to this email: [1][email address]

Yours Sincerely

Marianne Nolte-Crimp
Freedom of Information

Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio
T: 02 6264 1757
E: [2][email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Important Notice: 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.  DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.  The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au.  See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Our References: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD,

Thank you for your email of 2 April 2015 in which you revise the scope of
your FOI request, in response to a s.24AB notice which I sent you on 27
March 2015, to the following:

... any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
that refer to 'Freedom' branded food items and/or 'Muesli Bars' between
the dates of 23/1/15 and  31/1/15".

I will let you know by the end of the week, if the scope of your revised
request remains too large; once I have looked through the 75 documents
which have been provided to the FOI section, and taken out those which no
longer apply.

The consultation period accordingly continues.

Regards,

Marianne Nolte-Crimp
Freedom of Information

Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio
E: [1][email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Important Notice: 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.  DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.  The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au.  See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear CD

Mrs Nolte-Crimp is out of the office this week. However I note that work continues in relation to the documents received to determine whether or not a practical refusal reason remains. I can confirm that the consultation period under s24AB of the FOI Act is ongoing. No further action is required of you at this stage.

Mrs Nolte-Crimp will be in contact with you once she returns to the office.

Yours sincerely,
Beth Morrison

FOI Coordinator
Freedom of Information Section - Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Email: [email address]

show quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568;  ADF2015/5383

Dear CD,

I apologise for the delay in responding to you regarding the revised scope
of your request. As indicated by my colleague, Beth Morrison, I have been
out of the office.

The revised scope of your FOI request is for access to the following
documents:  

… any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
that refer to ‘Freedom’ branded food items and/or ‘Muesli Bars’ between
the date range of 23/1/15 and 31/1/15.

Accepting revised scope

This email is to advise that the department accepts your revised scope. A
‘practical refusal reason’ no longer exists under s.24AB of the FOI Act.
The department will accordingly continue to process your request.

Charges

It is my decision that you are liable to pay a charge in respect of the
processing of your FOI request in accordance with s.29 of the FOI Act.
Please see the attached notice for further information.  

The current due date for your FOI request is Tuesday, 5 May 2015. In
accordance with s.31 of the FOI Act the legislated processing time for
your request is suspended from the date that you are deemed to have been
notified of the charge. Please refer to the attached notice for further
details, including advice on when the processing period for your request
would resume.

Timeframe to respond

The FOI Act provides you with 30 days to respond, in writing, to this
notice, which is close of business Thursday 21 May 2015.

How to pay:

Details on how to make a payment to the department are included in the
notice. Please ensure that you include your FA Reference number and advise
whether you wish to pay the deposit or the full amount. If this
information is not included with your payment details it may delay the
processing of your request.

The deposit or full payment can be paid by cheque, money order, credit
card or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). If you choose to pay via EFT or
send your payment via post, please notify the FOI Section at
[1][email address].

Yours sincerely

Marianne Nolte-Crimp
Freedom of Information

Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio
E: [2][email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Important Notice: 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.  DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.  The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au.  See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568;  ADF2015/5383

Dear CD,

Thank you for your email of 4 May 2015 where you have indicated your
contention to the charges assessment for FA 15/02/00568, on the basis that
payment of the charge would cause you financial hardship and on the basis
that giving access to the document (free of charge) is in the general
public interest or in the interest of a substantial section of the public.

I will consider your contention and respond, no later than 30 days from
the date the department received your contention. This is in accordance
with s.29(6) of the FOI Act. Therefore, you may expect a decision by
Wednesday 3 June 2015.

Financial hardship

You have advised that you are a student and that the payment of the charge
would impact your ability to afford and budget for basic living
allowances. Should you wish to make a further submission to support your
contention please do so by close of business Monday 11 May 2015. I note
that I must be reasonably satisfied that your financial circumstances
warrant this claim.

The Australian Information Commissioner has issued Guidelines under s 93A
to which regard must be had for the purposes of performing a function, or
exercising a power, under the FOI Act. In relation to the ‘financial
hardship’ contention, the Guidelines (Part 4 – Charges for Providing
Access - at 4.53-4.54) explain that:

An applicant relying on this ground could ordinarily be expected to
provide some evidence of financial hardship. For example, the
applicant may rely upon (and provide evidence of) receipt of a
pension or income support payment; or provide evidence of income,
debts or assets.(…)

As you have made your FOI request through Right to Know, you may not wish
to provide such evidence through this email. You are welcome to send me an
email at the FOI inbox ([1][email address]) or mail documents to me, c/o
FOI Section, PO Box 25, Belconnen, 2617.

Your queries regarding the efficacy of paying the charges

Your email suggests some misunderstandings about the purpose of the
charges mechanism in the Act. The charges mechanism is one of two
mechanisms given to agencies by the Parliament to assist agencies to
manage onerous requests. It does not represent a ‘value for money’
exchange with a ‘customer’ or a ‘cost recovery’ mechanism. Agencies are
not ‘selling’ government held information to FOI applicants and applicants
do not ‘buy’ a document when they pay an FOI charge. The purpose of the
charges process is to ensure that FOI applicants make some type of
contribution towards the cost of the process.

As I set out in my charges notice to you (of 21 April 2015) the department
has to date spent approximately 12 hours on the processing of this
request. Also, as third party individuals/organisations are mentioned
/referenced in the documents, I am required under the FOI Act to consult
with these, to ascertain whether they have any objection to the documents
being released to you. This takes time, which is included in the charges
assessment.

I note that you are not charged for the number of pages or documents
within the scope of your request, or which you ultimately are given access
to, but for the time it takes to process your request under the FOI Act.

General information about the Department’s FOI processes

It may interest you to know that, as part of its routine FOI processes,
once the scope of a new request has been settled/agreed, the Department
will assess the FOI request against the charge regime contained in s.29 of
the FOI Act. This regime promotes the effective and efficient use of
Commonwealth resources (as required under the relevant financial
management legislation). The ‘charge’ regime reflects the fact that, from
the time the Act was passed, Parliament intended that FOI applicants would
contribute to the costs incurred by the Commonwealth to process their
request (unless the request was for the applicant’s own personal
information). As a rough guide, the relevant laws provide that an agency
may charge $20 per hour processing time, with the first 5 hours of
processing time free.

Regards,

Marianne Nolte-Crimp
Freedom of Information

Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio

E: [2][email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Important Notice: 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.  DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.  The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au.  See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD

I am writing in regards to your FOI request seeking:  

… any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
that refer to 'Freedom' branded food items and/or 'Muesli Bars' between
the date range of 23/1/15 and 31/1/15.

In response to a charges notice which I sent you on 21 April 2015, on 4
May 2015 you sent an email in which you requested a waiver or reduction of
charges pursuant to s.29(5)(a) of the FOI Act, on the grounds of financial
hardship and  pursuant to s.29(5)(b), on the grounds of public interest.

I attach my decision letter in this regard.

Timeframe to respond

The department provides you with 30 days to respond, in writing, to this
decision, which is close of business Friday 12 June 2015.

How to pay:

Details on how to make a payment to the department are included in the
decision letter. Please ensure that you include your FA Reference number
and advise whether you wish to pay the deposit or the full amount. If this
information is not included with your payment details it may delay the
processing of your request.

The deposit or full payment can be paid by cheque, money order, credit
card or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). If you choose to pay via EFT or
send your payment via post, please notify the FOI Section at
[1][email address].

Review of decision

A decision under s.29(8) of the FOI Act is a reviewable decision. Please
see the attached decision for further details.

Yours sincerely

Marianne Nolte-Crimp
Freedom of Information

Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio
E: [2][email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Important Notice: 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.  DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.  The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au.  See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...

From 1 July 2015 email addresses will change from  '@immi.gov.au' or
'@customs.gov.au' to '@border.gov.au'.  This is to reflect the Department
of Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Customs and Border
Protection Service integrating into a single organisation - the Department
of Immigration and Border Protection - on 1 July 2015.  At this time the
Australian Border Force will be established within the Department.  Please
update your records and systems to reflect this change.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED
 
Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383
 
Via email: [FOI #921 email]
 
 
 
Dear CD
 
I am responding on behalf of Ms Nolte-Crimp as she is not in the office
today. Thank you for your advice that you have transferred the deposit.
 
The Department has recommenced processing your request. The processing
period provided under s.15(5)(b) of the FOI Act now ends at close of
business Wednesday 17 June 2015.
 
Ms Nolte-Crimp will contact you once she is back in the office.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Angela O'Neil
Assistant Director
Freedom of Information
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
 
Email: [email address]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

show quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD,

I refer to your FOI request for the following:

… any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
that refer to 'Freedom' branded food items and/or 'Muesli Bars' between
the date range of 23/1/15 and 31/1/15.

Please find attached a letter to you advising that the Department is
required to formally consult with third parties in relation to the
proposed release of their documents.

Regards,

Marianne Nolte-Crimp
Freedom of Information

Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio
E: [1][email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Important Notice: 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.  DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.  The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au.  See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...

From 1 July 2015 email addresses will change from  '@immi.gov.au' or
'@customs.gov.au' to '@border.gov.au'.  This is to reflect the Department
of Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Customs and Border
Protection Service integrating into a single organisation - the Department
of Immigration and Border Protection - on 1 July 2015.  At this time the
Australian Border Force will be established within the Department.  Please
update your records and systems to reflect this change.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Via email: [1][FOI #921 email]

Dear CD

I refer to your request for access to documents relating to:

            ‘… any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border
Protection that refer to 'Freedom' branded food items and/or 'Muesli Bars'
between the date range of 23/1/15 and 31/1/15.’

The current due date for your request is Friday 17 July 2015. However, due
to complexities that have arisen in the formal consultation process, the
Department will be unable to finalise the request by the due date.

Therefore, the Department seeks your agreement (under s.15AA of the FOI
Act) to extend the statutory period for processing your request by 14
days.  This would extend the due date for your request to Friday 31 July
2015.

It would assist the Department in managing its FOI caseload if you could
provide a response to this request by close of business, Thursday 16 July
2015. If you do not wish to agree to an EOT the Department will seek an
extension of time under s.15AB of the Act from the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss.

Yours sincerely

Angela O’Neil

FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section

Access to Information Branch | Information Management Task Force

Corporate Group

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

Email: [2][email address]

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. 
DIBP respects your privacy and has 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 #921 email]
2. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED
 
Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383
 
To: CD
 
Via email: [1][FOI #921 email]
 
Thank you for your email.
 
As I am not the appointed decision maker for this decision, I am unable to
give you more detail than I provided in my previous email about the
complexities of the consultation process.
 
However, I can advise you that the information involves third parties who
have formal review rights under the FOI Act. Further, any communication
between you and the Department must not inadvertently disclose information
that the decision maker may ultimately decide is exempt ‘third party’
information.
 
In relation to the charge imposed, once the request goes beyond the
statutory due date, the Department is obliged to refund the deposit you
paid and continue to process the request.
 
I note that the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has
previously criticised the Department for failing to use the mechanisms
(under ss.15AA, 15AB and 15AC) in the FOI Act to keep requests within
statutory time.
 
As a result, if you decline the request for the EOT under s.15AA of the
FOI Act, the Department will be under an obligation to seek an EOT under
s.15AB (relating to complex or voluminous requests) from the OAIC.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Angela O’Neil
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section
Access to Information Branch | Information Management Task Force
Corporate Group
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
 
Email: [2][email address]
 
 
 
 

show quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED
 
Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383
 
To: CD
 
Via email: [1][FOI #921 email]
 
Dear CD
 
Thank you for agreeing to the extension of 14 days (under s.15AA of the
Act).
 
This brings the due date for your request to close of business Friday 31
July 2015.
 
Regarding third party information, the FOI Act provides a range of
protections for third parties whose personal or business information may
be contained on documents that an applicant is seeking under the FOI Act.
Where the Department is considering releasing third party information to
an FOI applicant, the Department is obliged to formally consult the third
party who 'owns' the information. This third party has the right to object
to the release of their personal or business information to applicants on
the grounds that the release could reasonably be expected to cause them
harm.
 
If a third party objects to the release of the information, the decision
maker must consider the grounds of objection and then form a view as to
whether the personal or business information is exempt under the FOI Act.
 
Where the decision maker decides that the information is not exempt, the
decision maker must notify the third party that the Department intends to
release their personal or business information. This gives the third party
the right to seek a review of the Department's decision either internally
or with the OAIC. The documents cannot be released to the FOI applicant
until the third party has exhausted all their review mechanisms (which can
include an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal), or the
review period of 30 days has lapsed without the third party seeking a
review.
 
As you would understand, the personal or business information that might
be in a document encompasses a huge range, including people's identities
and their personal or business relationships. For this reason, when
discussing third party information in documents being considered for
release under the FOI Act, an agency must take care not to accidentally
disclose personal or business information about the third party that the
decision maker or a reviewer later decides should have been treated as
exempt information.
 
For example, to facilitate agencies protecting this type of information,
s.26(2) of the FOI Act provides that a 'notice of decision' is not
required to contain 'any matter that would cause the document to be an
exempt document'. This provision allows Commonwealth agencies to ensure
that information about third parties who raise objections to the release
of their personal or business information under the FOI Act is not
included in a notice of decision (and therefore in effect, 'released' to
the application under the FOI Act).
 
I hope that this clarifies my earlier advice.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Angela O’Neil
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section
Access to Information Branch | Information Management Task Force
Corporate Group
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
 
Email: [email address]
 
 

show quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD,

I refer to your FOI request for the following:

… any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
that refer to 'Freedom' branded food items and/or 'Muesli Bars' between
the date range of 23/1/15 and 31/1/15.

The statutory due date for this request in Friday 31 July 2015.

I have today been advised that the FOI decision maker in this matter is no
longer in a position to make the decision on access in this matter and
that another authorised decision maker must be found.

Under the circumstances I am requesting a 14 day extension of time (under
section 15AA of the FOI Act) from you to finalise the processing of your
request. This extra time should be sufficient to identify the new decision
maker, provide the relevant documents to him/her for consideration and for
him/her to make the final decision on access.

I do apologies for the delay however it was unforeseen.

I would be most grateful if you could let me know as soon as possible but
no later than COB Thursday 30 July 2015, whether or not you agree to the
extension.

Many thanks.

Regards,

Marianne

Marianne Nolte-Crimp

FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section

Access to Information Branch | Information Management Task Force

Corporate Group

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

E: [1][email address]

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. 
DIBP respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.
 

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

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD,

I refer to your FOI request, seeking access to the following:

… any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
that refer to 'Freedom' branded food items and/or 'Muesli Bars' between
the date range of 23/1/15 and 31/1/15.

The Department has made a decision on this request. Please see attached
the signed decision letter, decision record and schedule of documents.

Outstanding payment

On 1 June 2015 you agreed to pay the charge for the processing of your
request. The Department is not required to release documents until the
charges have been paid in full. I note that you have paid a deposit of
$155.53. Therefore, you are required to pay the remainder of the charge,
being $466.59, before the Department can provide you with the documents
listed in the schedule of documents.

Details on how to make a payment were contained in the charges notice. I
have reattached a credit card authorisation form for your convenience.

This request has now been closed.

Yours sincerely

Marianne Nolte-Crimp

FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section

Access to Information Branch | Information Management Task Force

Corporate Group

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

P: 02 6264 1757

E: [1][email address]

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. 
DIBP respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.
 

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

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Our References: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD,

Thank you for your emails to the FOI Section and for agreeing to pay the
outstanding amount for the processing of this request.

Once I have had confirmation from our Finance area that the payment has
been received and processed, the documents will be released to you.

Regards,

Marianne Nolte-Crimp

FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section

Access to Information Branch | Information Management Task Force

Corporate Group

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

E: [1][email address]

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. 
DIBP respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.
 

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

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 15/02/00568; ADF2015/5383

Dear CD,

I refer to your FOI request for the following:

… any emails held by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
that refer to 'Freedom' branded food items and/or 'Muesli Bars' between
the date range of 23/1/15 and 31/1/15.

I have had confirmation from our Finance Section that your payment has
been received and receipted.

Please find attached the relevant documents.

For your information, the Department is required to place the documents on
its Disclosure Log within 10 days.

This request is now closed.

Regards,

Marianne

Marianne Nolte-Crimp

FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section

Access to Information Branch | Information Management Task Force

Corporate Group

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

E: [1][email address]

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. 
DIBP respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.
 

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

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]