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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

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UNCLASSIFIED

In reply please quote:

FOI Request:         FA 20/05/01104

File Number:          OBJ2020/18023 

Dear Niraj Bohra

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

I refer to your correspondence received on 28 May 2020 seeking access to
documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has been declared a pandemic by the World Health
Organisation ([1]link). As the Department focuses its efforts on managing
the impact of COVID-19 on its critical services and employees, other
non-critical services may not be delivered within expected timeframes. We
apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience during this
period.

Scope of request

You have requested access to the following:

The number of onshore applications in queue for 189 Software Developer
(261312) between points 80 - 105  as at 26th May 2020.

Your request was received by the Department on 28 May 2020 and has been
allocated FOI request number FA 20/05/01104 . Please include your FOI
request number in all correspondence with the Freedom of Information
Section.

Timeframe for receiving your decision

The statutory timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the date
upon which your application was received by the Department.

Your review rights in relation to your request are available on the
website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner [2]here.

Exclusion of staff details

The Department’s policy is to exclude the personal details of staff not in
the Senior Executive Service (SES), as well as the direct contact details
of SES staff, contained in documents that fall within scope of an FOI
request. If you require personal details of non-SES officers, or direct
contact details of SES staff, please inform us so the decision maker may
consider your request. Otherwise we will take it that you agree to that
information being excluded from the scope of your request.

Duplicate documents

If the FOI decision-maker deems a document to be a duplicate, they will
not assess those pages as part of your FOI request. This means that if a
there is a decision to release the document to you, you will receive only
one copy, even if multiple copies of that document exists.

Publication of document

Where documents are released to you in response to your request, the
Department may be required to publish these documents on its website
within 10 working days in accordance with section 11C of the FOI Act.
Publication will not be required where the documents contain personal or
business affairs information.

Contacting the FOI Section

Should you wish to discuss your request you may contact the FOI Section at
[3][DIBP request email].

Yours sincerely

FOI Officer

Freedom of Information

FOI & Records Management Branch | Data Division

Corporate and Enabling Group

Department of Home Affairs | [4]www.homeaffairs.gov.au

E: [5][DIBP request email]

Dear Department of Home Affairs,

Is it possible to know the number of onshore applications in queue for 189
Software Developer (261312) between points 80 - 105  as at 26th May 2020

Thank you for your time and help

Yours faithfully,

Niraj Bohra

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[6][FOI #6362 email]

Is [7][DIBP request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Home Affairs? If so, please contact us using
this form:

[8]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:

[9]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

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UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Niraj Bohra

You have requested data relating “The number of onshore applications in
queue for 189 Software Developer (261312) between points 80 - 105  as at
26th May 2020”. Your request requires additional clarification in order to
be processed.

Please confirm if you are requesting the data for “visa applications on
hand” or “EOIs submitted and on hand”.

Please respond by Tuesday 2 June 2020 to continue the processing of your
FOI request.

Yours sincerely

FOI Officer

Freedom of Information

FOI & Records Management Branch | Data Division

Corporate and Enabling Group

Department of Home Affairs | [1]www.homeaffairs.gov.au

E: [2][DIBP request email]

From: FOI
Sent: Thursday, 28 May 2020 11:00 AM
To: '[FOI #6362 email]'
<[FOI #6362 email]>
Subject: HPRM: Acknowledgement – FOI request FA 20/05/01104
[SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

UNCLASSIFIED

In reply please quote:

FOI Request:         FA 20/05/01104

File Number:          OBJ2020/18023 

Dear Niraj Bohra

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

I refer to your correspondence received on 28 May 2020 seeking access to
documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has been declared a pandemic by the World Health
Organisation ([3]link). As the Department focuses its efforts on managing
the impact of COVID-19 on its critical services and employees, other
non-critical services may not be delivered within expected timeframes. We
apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience during this
period.

Scope of request

You have requested access to the following:

The number of onshore applications in queue for 189 Software Developer
(261312) between points 80 - 105  as at 26th May 2020.

Your request was received by the Department on 28 May 2020 and has been
allocated FOI request number FA 20/05/01104 . Please include your FOI
request number in all correspondence with the Freedom of Information
Section.

Timeframe for receiving your decision

The statutory timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the date
upon which your application was received by the Department.

Your review rights in relation to your request are available on the
website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner [4]here.

Exclusion of staff details

The Department’s policy is to exclude the personal details of staff not in
the Senior Executive Service (SES), as well as the direct contact details
of SES staff, contained in documents that fall within scope of an FOI
request. If you require personal details of non-SES officers, or direct
contact details of SES staff, please inform us so the decision maker may
consider your request. Otherwise we will take it that you agree to that
information being excluded from the scope of your request.

Duplicate documents

If the FOI decision-maker deems a document to be a duplicate, they will
not assess those pages as part of your FOI request. This means that if a
there is a decision to release the document to you, you will receive only
one copy, even if multiple copies of that document exists.

Publication of document

Where documents are released to you in response to your request, the
Department may be required to publish these documents on its website
within 10 working days in accordance with section 11C of the FOI Act.
Publication will not be required where the documents contain personal or
business affairs information.

Contacting the FOI Section

Should you wish to discuss your request you may contact the FOI Section at
[5][DIBP request email].

Yours sincerely

FOI Officer

Freedom of Information

FOI & Records Management Branch | Data Division

Corporate and Enabling Group

Department of Home Affairs | [6]www.homeaffairs.gov.au

E: [7][DIBP request email]

Dear Department of Home Affairs,

Is it possible to know the number of onshore applications in queue for 189
Software Developer (261312) between points 80 - 105  as at 26th May 2020

Thank you for your time and help

Yours faithfully,

Niraj Bohra

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[8][FOI #6362 email]

Is [9][DIBP request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Home Affairs? If so, please contact us using
this form:

[10]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:

[11]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon,

We are working on being able to provide you with some information soon.

Regards,
Freedom of Information Section
FOI and Records Management Branch
Data Division | Corporate and Enabling Group
Department of Home Affairs

E: [DIBP request email]
T: 6264 1111

UNCLASSIFIED

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UNCLASSIFIED

Good morning,

I refer to your request received on 28 May 2020 for access to documents under the FOI Act.

The current due date for your request is 27 June 2020.

Due to the number of requests currently being processed by our office, we will not be able to finalise your request by the original due date.

The Department seeks your agreement under section 15AA of the FOI Act to extend the timeframe for the processing of your request by 30 days. This would extend the due date for your request to 27 July 2020.

It would assist the Department in managing its FOI caseload if you could provide a response to this request by close of business, Friday 26 June 2020.

If you wish to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact the FOI section on the details below.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Officer
Freedom of Information
FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division
Corporate and Enabling Group
Department of Home Affairs | Email: [DIBP request email]

UNCLASSIFIED

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UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Neeraj,

Thank you for your email.

Please confirm if you agree to an extension of time.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Officer
Freedom of Information
FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division
Corporate and Enabling Group
Department of Home Affairs | Email: [DIBP request email]

UNCLASSIFIED

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OFFICIAL

01 August 2020

Dear Niraj BOHRA,

Freedom of Information (FOI) request - Access Decision

I refer to the following requests for access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act), received by the Department
of Home Affairs (the Department).

Is it possible to know the number of onshore applications in queue for 189
Software Developer (261312) between points 80 - 105  as at 26th May 2020

The purpose of this email is to provide you with a decision on your
requests for access under the FOI Act.

Authority to make decision

I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make
decisions in respect of requests to access document or to amend or
annotate records.

Relevant material

In reaching my decision I referred to the following:

·       the terms of your request

·       the document relevant to the request

·       the FOI Act

·       Guidelines published by the Office of the Information Commissioner
under section 93A of the FOI Act (the FOI Guidelines)

·       advice from Departmental officers with responsibility for matters
relating to the document to which you sought access

Document in scope of request

Section 4 of the FOI Act provides that a document for the purpose of the
Act does not include:

(d) material maintained for reference purposes that is otherwise publicly
available

The Department has undertaken reasonable searches in relation to the
documents you have requested access to. The information you have requested
is available publically and as such the Department and has not located a
document, for the purposes of the Act.

Decision

Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that the Department may refuse a
request for access to a document if all reasonable steps have been taken
to find the document and the Department is satisfied that the document
does not exist. As such I am refusing access to the documents requested by
you based on the application of section 24A(1)(b)(ii) of the FOI Act.

Reasons for Decision

Detailed reasons for my decision are set out below.

Section 4 of the FOI Act provides that a document for the purpose of the
FOI Act does not include material maintained for reference purposes that
is otherwise publically available.

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 [1]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.

Legislation

A copy of the FOI Act is available at
[2]https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2.... If you are unable to
access the legislation through this website, please contact our office for
a copy.

Your Review Rights

Internal Review

If you disagree with this decision, you have the right to apply for an
internal review by the Department of this decision. Any request for
internal review must be provided to the Department within 30 days of you
being notified of the decision. Where possible please attach reasons why
you believe a review of the decision is necessary. The internal review
will be carried out by an officer other than the original decision maker
and the Department must make a review decision within 30 days.

Applications for review should be sent to:

By email to: [3][email address]

OR

By mail to:

Freedom of Information Section

Department of Home Affairs

PO Box 25

BELCONNEN ACT 2617

Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

You may apply directly to the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (OAIC) for a review of this decision. You must apply in
writing within 60 days of this notice. For further information about
review rights and how to submit a request for a review to the OAIC, please
see Fact Sheet 12 "Freedom of information – Your review rights", available
online at
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

Making a Complaint

You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner about action
taken by the Department in relation to your request.

Your enquiries to the Australian Information Commissioner can be directed
to:

Phone 1300 363 992 (local call charge)
Email [5][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
of Home Affairs as the relevant agency.

Contacting the FOI Section

Should you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to
contact the FOI Section at [6][DIBP request email].

Signed electronically,

Position Number 60081621

Authorised Decision Maker | Freedom of Information Section

FOI and Records Management Branch

Data Division | Strategy and Law Enforcement Group

Department of Home Affairs

OFFICIAL

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References

Visible links
1. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/wo...
2. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2...
3. mailto:foi.reviews@
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. mailto:[DIBP request email]