** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

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OFFICIAL

In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 21/01/00665

Good afternoon

Offer to Withdraw Freedom of Information Access Request

I refer to your correspondence of 10 January 2021 seeking access to documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

Your request has been allocated the FOI reference number referred to above. Please include your FOI reference number in all correspondence with the Freedom of Information Section.

As you may be aware, earlier this year the Department launched a dashboard on its SkillSelect website to provide visa Expression of Interest (EOI) statistics. The Department has undertaken a review of the SkillSelect Dashboard to ensure that there is no reasonable chance of an individual being re-identified from the EOI statistics.

The dashboard is now available again and can be accessed via the Department’s SkillSelect web page and comprises a comprehensive library of historic and current statistics in relation to Expressions of Interest (EOIs). The dashboard is a one-stop shop for SkillSelect EOI statistics and is freely available on demand, without any need to formally request the statistics and wait for such a request to be processed. Bypassing the FOI process will significantly reduce delays in obtaining the same information as has previously been provided in response to FOI requests.

As this information is now publically available, you may wish to withdraw you FOI request. If you do not advise the Department that you wish to continue with this FOI request within 5 days of this email, your request will be taken to have been withdrawn.

Privacy

The Department’s handling of personal information is regulated by the Privacy Act 1988 (the Privacy Act). Guidance published by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is that information will be de-identified, and therefore not subject to the protections in the Privacy Act, where the risk of an individual being re-identified is very low. De-identification is not a fixed state. Rather, re-identification risks and their controls require ongoing monitoring and review.

The Department’s view is that the current controls are appropriate to reduce the risk that an individual can be re-identified from the statistics accessible from the SkillSelect Dashboard to very low.

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 Section
FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division
Strategy & Law Enforcement Group

OFFICIAL

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** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

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OFFICIAL

In reply please quote:

FOI request: FA 21/01/00665-R1

File number: ADF2020/61138

Dear Mit

Invalid Freedom of Information internal review request

I refer to your email received by the Department of Home Affairs (the
Department) on 11 February 2021 in which you requested an internal review
in relation to your Freedom of Information request [Insert case number].

Application background

On 11 January 2021, you received correspondence offering that you withdraw
your request. On 17 January 2021, your request was deemed withdrawn.

Whether internal review request valid

The right for an applicant to seek internal review is specified in Part VI
of the FOI Act, which provides that an applicant may request an internal
review of an ‘access refusal decision’ made by an agency. The types of
decisions that are reviewable access refusal decisions are specified in
section 53A of the FOI Act.

Unfortunately, as the Department deemed your request to have been
withdrawn and finalised it without making an access decision, the
Department has not made a decision that meets the requirements of a
reviewable access refusal decision as defined in section 53A of the FOI
Act. Consequently your internal review request is invalid and we cannot
review the decision.

Next steps

Should you still wish to seek access to the information requested, you may
wish to lodge a new FOI request. Should you make a new request, the
Department could then make a decision on the request for which you would
have the right to seek internal or external review.

It is open to you to make a new FOI access request for the information
that you are seeking.

However, I am aware that the Department is preparing to publish additional
information on the SkillSelect Dashboard, which covers the period of time
you are seeking. I suggest that you check the Dashboard in the next 7 - 14
days to see if the information has been uploaded.

It is also open to you to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner if you are dissatisfied with the way your access
request was processed. Your submissions to the Australian Information
Commissioner can be directed to:

Online:              [1]www.oaic.gov.au

Phone:              1300 363 992 (local call charge)

Post:                  GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001

Fax:                    +61 2 9284 9666

Email:                [2][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
as the relevant agency.

Regards,

FOI Officer

FOI and Records Management Branch

Data Division

Strategy & Law Enforcement Group

Department of Home Affairs

Email: [3][email address]

OFFICIAL

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Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information
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The Department of Home Affairs and ABF respect your privacy and have
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References

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1. http://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]