Dear Department of Home Affairs,

Please share all policy documents, procedural guidelines regarding implementation or prospective implementation of visa conditions 8204A, 8204B on student visa holders of subclass 500.

Regards,

Yours faithfully,

Ray Mehta

FOI, Department of Home Affairs

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

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

 

Your email has been received by the Department of Home Affairs Freedom of
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The FOI section only responds to valid FOI requests and other matters
relating to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).  Visit the
FOI Information on our Website for more information on what [1]information
can be accessed under the FOI Act 1982.

 

What is a valid FOI request?

 

A valid FOI request may be for:

- documents you previously provided to the Department as part of a visa
application

- a copy of a decision record made by the Department

- statistical information held by the Department

- papers or briefings the Department prepared.

 

If your email is a valid FOI request, the Department will contact you
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o Be in writing and state the request is for consideration under the FOI
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Do not send duplicate emails as this may cause longer delays in processing
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You may be able to resolve your enquiry faster using these other resources

 

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General information about travelling to Australia:

 

The Department of Home Affairs, “Entering Australia” site
[3]https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/entering...

 

·       For visa and our requirements for entry to Australia
[4]https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/ge...

For a copy of your visa refusal or visa grant letter you should contact
the office where you lodged your visa application. 

·       To check your current visa details and conditions use the
Department’s Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) portal which can
be accessed [5]here

·       If you are experiencing technical difficulties in lodging your
visa application through ImmiAccount, submit your concerns through the
ImmiAccount Technical Support Form, which is accessible [6]here.

·       For evidence of your Australian Citizenship please refer [7]here.
The FOI Section does not process these requests.

·       For movement records or travel history complete the online
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process these requests.

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notify the Department [9]here. The FOI Section does not process these
requests.

 

 

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[10]https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-and-...

 

 

Thank you

Information updated 11 January 2022

 

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References

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4. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/ge...
5. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/al...
6. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-sup...
7. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizens...
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FOI, Department of Home Affairs

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

12 April 2022

Ray Mehta
BY EMAIL: [FOI #8724 email]

In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 22/04/00522
File Number: OBJ2022/8846

Dear Ray Mehta

I refer to your email dated 10 April 2022 in which you request access to documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

I am writing to advise you that your request is not valid for the purposes of section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act, and to provide you with an opportunity to revise your request so that it is a valid request. This
is called a ‘request consultation process’. You have 14 days to respond to this notice in one of the ways set out below.

Scope of Request

You have requested access to the following:

Please share all policy documents, procedural guidelines regarding implementation or prospective implementation of visa conditions 8204A, 8204B on student visa holders of subclass 500.

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 if either (or both) of the following applies:
(a) the work involved in the processing of the request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the Department from its other operations
(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.

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 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.

To assist the Department with searches, please provide a specific date or timeframe that you require for example, from 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2022, or as at the time the request was received (10 April 2022).

You may wish to consider revising your request to the following:

Please share current (as at 10 April 2022) policy documents, procedural guidelines regarding implementation or prospective implementation of visa conditions 8204A, 8204B on student visa holders of subclass 500.

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

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.

Contact

Should you wish to revise your request or have any questions in relation to this process, please do not hesitate to contact [Department of Home Affairs request email].

Kind regards

Jade
Position number: 60107422
Authorised FOI Officer
FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division
Strategy and National Resilience Group
Department of Home Affairs
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

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