In reply please quote:
FOI request: As below
File number: As below
Dear Oliver Smith
Notification of invalid Freedom of Information internal review request
I refer to your email received by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) on 16
September 2024 in which you requested an internal review of Freedom of Information request
FA24/08/00878, FA24/08/00866, FA24/08/00708.
FOI request
Statutory Date
Internal review
FA reference
Received date
due
received date FOI decision
27/09/2024 –
Extension of time
FA24/08/00878
14/08/2024
granted 2 weeks
16/09/2024
Pending
FA 24/08/00866
14/08/2024
13/09/2024
16/09/2024
Pending
FA24/08/00708
12/08/2024
11/09/2024
16/09/2024
Pending
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.
The Department has not yet made a decision in response to your request. Consequently your
internal review request is invalid and we cannot review the decision.
Other options for review: Information Commissioner review
As the Department did not make a decision within the statutory timeframes specified under the
FOI Act, section 15AC of the FOI Act provides that the Department was deemed to have
refused your request.
Because section 15AC of the FOI Act now applies to your request, you are able to request an
Information Commissioner review of the Department’s deemed refused decision.
You can apply for an Information Commissioner review of the Department’s deemed refused
decision by completing t
he Information Commissioner review application form on the website
of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
Further information about Information Commissioner reviews
is available on the OAIC
website.
Making a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
You may also complain to the Australian Information Commissioner about action taken by the
Department in relation to your request. You can make a complaint to the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) by completing their
FOI complaint form.
Further information about the FOI complaint process
is available on the OAIC website.
Kind regards,
Nurun
Freedom of Information Reviews Team
Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch | Legal Group
Department of Home Affairs
E:
xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Date: 18/09/2024
