Statistics on health waivers in the Refugee and Humanitarian Program
Dear Department of Immigration and Border Protection,
I would like to request the following statistics under the Freedom of Information Act.
Background:
In July 2012, changes were made to the policy for Refugee and Humanitarian Visas (Class XB) that provided that when determining the "health requirements" for applicants under the Refugee and Humanitarian Program (Public Interest Criteria 4007), "no costs are to be considered undue". This has the affect of people receiving a "health waiver" under PIC 4007. I would like to know if this policy change had the affect of more people receiving a health waiver.
Request:
Please provide statistics on number of people who arrived through the Refugee and Humanitarian Program (Class XB) that received a health waiver under Public Interest Criteria 4007. Please provide these statistics by financial year from July 1 2007 until the latest available date. Please provide a breakdown of these statistics by visa subclass.
Yours faithfully,
Asher Hirsch
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Your email has been received by the Department of Immigration and Border
Protection’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Section. Please note that we
will only action and respond to FOI requests and other matters relating to
the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
If your email is a valid FOI request, the Department will contact you
shortly to acknowledge your request. Please be aware that there has been a
significant increase in the number of FOI requests received and that there
may be delays in the processing of your request. Please do not send
duplicate emails as this may also cause delays in processing times.
For matters not relating to the Freedom of Information Act 1982, your
email will not be actioned by the FOI Section. As a matter of guidance,
please refer to the information below to assist in the resolution of your
enquiry.
General information regarding travelling to Australia
Information for visitors to Australia can be found [1]here.
Information regarding potential visa options can be found [2]here.
Request for a copy of your Visa Refusal or Visa Grant letter
If you have lost or misplaced correspondence regarding your Visa Refusal
or Visa Grant, or you wish to confirm the authenticity of your Visa
Refusal or Visa Grant, you should contact the office where you lodged your
visa application.
Details of our offices located around the world can be found [3]here.
Queries regarding your current Visa status
You can check your visa details and conditions on the Department’s Visa
Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) portal. If you do not have the
necessary reference numbers to access the VEVO portal, please refer to the
online VEVO Request for Reference Number form, which is accessible at
[4]https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporat....
Refund of Visa fees
If you are seeking a refund of fees associated with your Visa, you should
contact the office where you lodged your visa application. Details of our
offices located around the world can be found [5]here.
Making a Visa application
Registered migration agents are authorised to provide immigration advice
or assistance, including advice regarding the lodgement of visa
applications. Further information on migration agents may be found
[6]here. Please note that the Department is unable to assist you in this
regard.
If you are experiencing technical difficulties in lodging your visa
application through ImmiAccount, you should submit your concerns through
the ImmiAccount Technical Support Form, which is accessible [7]here.
Australian Citizenship
If you are seeking evidence of your Australian Citizenship, you should
complete Form 119, which can be found [8]here. Details on where to send
your completed form may be found on page 8 of the Form. This form will
not be actioned by the FOI Section.
Information on how to apply for Australian citizenship, information for
Australian citizens and Australian Citizenship Day can be found [9]here.
Movement Records/Travel History
If you are seeking evidence of your own travel movements/history you
should complete Form 1359, which can be found [10]here. Details on where
to send your request may be found on page 1 and 2 of the Form. This
request will not be actioned by the FOI Section.
Superannuation – Evidence of Immigration Status
If you are seeking evidence of your own immigration status for
superannuation purposes, you should complete Form 1194, which can be found
[11]here. Details on where to send your completed form may be found on
page 1 of the Form. This request will not be actioned by the FOI Section.
Update Passport Details
Information on how to update your address or passport details can be found
[12]here.
Notification of Change in Circumstances
If you have lodged a visa application and your circumstances have changed,
you should submit [13]Form 1022 to the office where you lodged your visa
application. Details of our offices located around the world can be found
[14]here. The FOI Section does not process these forms.
Notification of incorrect answers
If you wish to correct answers that you have provided to the Department
either:
· in a visa application
· on a passenger card or
· in response to a notice given to you by the Department inviting
you to comment on possible non-compliance with an obligation to correct
incorrect information
you should submit [15]Form 1023 to the Department. Details of our offices
located around the world can be found [16]here. The FOI Section does not
process these forms.
Duty Free concessions
Information relating to duty free concessions can be found [17]here.
General Enquiries
If you have a question, which has not been answered above, and which is
about visa, citizenship, travel or trade, including bringing goods in and
out of Australia, please refer to our general enquiries web form [18]here.
Yours Sincerely
FOI Helpdesk
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Information updated 16 December 2016
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. http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visi
2. http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1
3. http://www.border.gov.au/about/contact/o...
4. https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporat...
5. http://www.border.gov.au/about/contact/o...
6. https://www.mara.gov.au/
7. https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Immi...
8. http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents...
9. http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Citi
10. http://www.border.gov.au/FormsAndDocumen...
11. http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents...
12. http://www.border.gov.au/Lega/Lega/Form/...
13. http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents...
14. http://www.border.gov.au/about/contact/o...
15. http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents...
16. http://www.border.gov.au/about/contact/o...
17. http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Ente/Duty-...
18. http://www.border.gov.au/about/contact/m...
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 17/05/01274; ADF2017/55443
Dear Mr Hirsch
Please find attached the acknowledgement of receipt for your recent FOI
Request.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss.
Yours sincerely
Karen Chapman
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
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.
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Hirsch,
I am writing in regards to your FOI request FA 17/05/01274.
You have requested data from 1 July 2007 until the latest available data.
Unfortunately the Department is unable to provide data from 2007. We are
able to provide data from 1 July 2011 until 30 June 2016.
It would assist the Department in progressing your FOI request if you
could confirm whether data from 2011 would be sufficient.
Grateful for a response by COB Tuesday 20 June 2017.
with regards,
Helen Simons
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section
Freedom of Information, Privacy & Records Management Branch
Corporate Services Division | Corporate Group
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
E: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear FOI,
Thank you for your response.
Yes, I am happy to modify my request for the dates from 1 July 2011 until 30 June 2016.
I look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Yours sincerely,
Asher Hirsch
Dear FOI,
Could you please provide an update on this request and an estimation for when it will be completed? I note it is now overdue.
Yours sincerely,
Asher Hirsch
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 17/05/01274; ADF2017/55443
Dear Mr Hirsch,
I refer to your FOI request received on22 May 2017, seeking access to the
following:
Please provide statistics on number of people who arrived through the
Refugee and Humanitarian Program (Class XB) that received a health waiver
under Public Interest Criteria 4007.
Please provide these statistics by financial year from July 1 2007 until
the latest available date. Please provide a breakdown of these statistics
by visa subclass.
The request was subsequently revised on 16 June 2017 to:
Please provide statistics on number of people who arrived through the
Refugee and Humanitarian Program (Class XB) that received a health waiver
under Public Interest Criteria 4007.
Please provide these statistics by financial year from July 1 2011 until
the latest available date. Please provide a breakdown of these statistics
by visa subclass.
The Department has made a decision on this request. Please see attached
the signed decision letter, decision record, schedule of documents and
documents released under the FOI Act.
This request has now been closed.
Yours sincerely
with regards,
H Simons
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section
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]