Extension of time request under s 15AB

Thank you for your correspondence of 15 April 2014, in which you requested an extension of time for the Australian Customs And Border Protection Service (Customs) to process Mr Samuel Pufendorf’s request, received 4 February 2014, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act).

You have sought an extension on the basis that the current processing period is insufficient to deal adequately with Mr Pufendorf’s request, because it is complex.

Contact with Applicant

Customs have attempted to contact Mr Pufendorf, however the only contact details provided are from the Right to Know website. It has been noted that Mr Pufendorf’s request is not currently active on the Right to Know website.

Decision

As a delegate of the Information Commissioner, I am authorised to make decisions on requests for extensions of time under s 15AB of the FOI Act.

We have decided to grant ACBPS’s extension of time under s 15AB (2) of the FOI Act to close of business 16 June 2014. In coming to this decision we have considered factors including your advice that:

· 108 documents have been identified. A number of these are still awaiting retrieval.

· 81 documents require third party consultation.

· Customs are processing an inordinately high volume of FOI requests an din particular requests related to illegal maritime arrivals and Operation Sovereign Borders.

· A plan has been provided to complete the FOI request within the extended period.

· Customs notified Mr Pufendorf on 14 April 2014 regarding this extension.

We are satisfied with ACBPS’s proposal to manage this request.

By granting an extension of time it is anticipated that ACBPS will provide a well-reasoned and better managed decision.

A copy of this decision will be provided to Mr Pufendorf.

Contact

If you have any questions about this email, please contact me on (02) 6239 9121 or via email [email address]. In all correspondence please include reference number RQ14/00746.

Yours sincerely

Elizabeth Zatschler | Investigations Officer

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

4 National Circuit, BARTON ACT 2600

GPO Box 2999 CANBERRA ACT 2601 |www.oaic.gov.au

Phone: +61 2 6239 9121

Fax: +61 2 6239 9187

Email: [email address]

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