Australia government's ad expenditure in Sri Lanka, for purpose of deterring illegal emigration to Australa
Dear Department of Home Affairs,
I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information act.
- The Australian government's ad expenditure in Sri Lanka for the purpose of deterring illegal emigration towards Australia, in 2022.
- The Australian government's ad expenditure in Sri Lanka for the purpose of deterring illegal emigration towards Australia, in 2019.
Yours faithfully,
Fidel Fernando
** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **
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OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy
In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 23/04/01265
File Number: FA23/04/01265
Dear Fidel Fernando,
Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request
This letter acknowledges that on 24 April 2023 the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) received your request to access documents held by the Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). This letter also provides important information about your request.
Scope of request
You have requested access to the following:
I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information act.
- The Australian government's ad expenditure in Sri Lanka for the purpose of deterring illegal emigration towards Australia, in 2022.
- The Australian government's ad expenditure in Sri Lanka for the purpose of deterring illegal emigration towards Australia, in 2019.
Your request has been allocated FOI request number FA 23/04/01265. Please include your FOI request number in all correspondence with the Freedom of Information Section.
Timeframe
The timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the day we receive your request, as set out in the FOI Act.
Your review rights in relation to your request are available on the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
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Kind regards,
FOI Officer - Geoff
Freedom of Information
Department of Home Affairs
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]
Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
OFFICIAL
FOI Request: FA 23/04/01265
Good afternoon,
I refer to your request received on 24 April 2023 for access to documents
under the FOI Act.
The current due date for your request is 24 May 2023.
In order for the Department to complete the decision making process in
relation to the documents that fall within the scope of your request, the
Department will require additional time to process your request.
We seek 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 23 June 2023. We hope to provide a
decision to you earlier if possible.
It would assist the Department in managing its FOI caseload if you could
please provide a response to this request by close of business, Friday 19
May 2023.
If you wish to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to
contact me on the details below.
Kind regards,
Lynette
Position number: 60025562
Authorised FOI Officer
Freedom of Information Section
Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch | Legal Group
Department of Home Affairs
E: [1][Department of Home Affairs request email]
[2]cid:image001.png@01D8B643.CCD9CEC0
OFFICIAL
Important Notice: The content of this email is intended only for use by
the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you have received
this email by mistake, please advise the sender and delete the message and
attachments immediately. This email, including attachments, may contain
confidential, sensitive, legally privileged and/or copyright information.
Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information
by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.
The Department of Home Affairs and ABF respect your privacy and have
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.
Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this
email.
References
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Dear Lynette,
As my deadline is the end of this month, unfortunately that is too long a time period for me to wait. Could you please provide this information by May 31?
I don't understand what the delay is, as they are fairly simple and specific requests. Could they not be found fairly easily by looking through the Department of Home Affairs budget?
Looking forward to your response, and to getting this information quickly.
Yours sincerely,
Fidel Fernando
OFFICIAL
Good morning Mr Fernando,
Thank you for your response. Can you please respond with approval to
extend the due by date to Wednesday, 31 May 2023?
We understand your need to receive the information as quickly as possible.
The reasons we occasionally seek extensions under the FOI Act can be for a
variety of reasons. High volume of incoming requests, searching for,
identifying and retrieving documents, complex and voluminous caseloads
requiring clearance through several business areas, and occasionally the
availability of staff. These factors can slow down progress more than we
would wish. The documents you seek are not necessarily held in one place
and the Department has many offices.
However, we are hoping to finalise a decision and have it to you in time
but it may become over due by a short period. This request for an
extension of time, should keep your request within a legislated time frame
if granted. It does not need to be 30 days. That is the maximum we can
request. We would appreciate a short extension if you agree.
Kind regards,
Lynette
Position number: 60025562
Authorised FOI Officer
Freedom of Information Section
Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch | Legal Group
Department of Home Affairs
E: [1][Department of Home Affairs request email]
[2]cid:image001.png@01D8B643.CCD9CEC0
OFFICIAL
To Lynette,
Thanks for your response. Yes this is to confirm that the due date may be extended to May 31. But please, no later.
As you have another week, may I also ask for an additional tidbit of information? I would like to know the details of the brief which the Australian Government gives to the advertising agency that runs the "Zero Chance" campaign in Sri Lanka. The most recent brief is fine.
Yours sincerely,
Fidel Fernando
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Fernando,
Thank you for the short extension of time. This should allow us to respond
to your original request within the new due by date of 31 May 2023.
Unfortunately we cannot add new requests to your original scope. Even if
we could it would delay the current request further as we have many
business areas and each request needs to be directed to the exact area
that may be able to respond best.
Kind regards,
Lynette
Position number: 60025562
Authorised FOI Officer
Freedom of Information Section
Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch | Legal Group
Department of Home Affairs
E: [1][Department of Home Affairs request email]
[2]cid:image001.png@01D8B643.CCD9CEC0
OFFICIAL
To Lynette,
Sure, that is fine. Looking forward to receiving the information.
Best regards,
Fidel Fernando
Dear Dept. of Home Affairs,
Despite this due date having been extended, the Department of Home Affairs has not made this information available in the agreed-upon timeframe.
Please update as to when this information will be available.
Yours sincerely,
Fidel Fernando
OFFICIAL
FOI Request: FA 23/04/01265
Dear Mr Fernando,
We are endeavouring to finalise and provide a decision to you as soon as
possible.
Please know that we are unable to release documents without careful
examination and approval by various stakeholders under the FOI Act.
We apologise for the unforeseen delay.
Kind regards,
Lynette
Position number: 60025562
Authorised FOI Officer
Freedom of Information Section
Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch | Legal Group
Department of Home Affairs
E: [1][Department of Home Affairs request email]
[2]cid:image001.png@01D8B643.CCD9CEC0
OFFICIAL
Dear Dept. of Home Affairs,
I am yet to receive the information I requested, 11 days after the original date lapsed, and five days after the agreed-upon extension has passed.
I appreciate that this information must go through checks, but am unsure why we went through the rigamarole of agreeing to a new date if the Department is just going to blow through the deadlines like this.
My questions were merely about a specific use of Australian taxpayers' money.
Yours sincerely,
Fidel Fernando
Dear Departmen of Home Affairs,
Please let me know when I can expect this information, ideally with a specific date.
We are well past the 31 May extension we agreed on.
Yours sincerely,
Fidel Fernando
OFFICIAL
In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 23/04/01265
File Number: FA23/04/01265
Dear Fidel Fernando
On 24 April 2023, the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) received
a request for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (the FOI Act).
Please find attached a decision letter in relation to this request.
Kind regards
Rebecca
Assistant Director - Freedom of Information
Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch | Legal Group
Department of Home Affairs | www.homeaffairs.gov.au
Championing government accountability and transparency by enabling access
to information.
OFFICIAL
Important Notice: The content of this email is intended only for use by
the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you have received
this email by mistake, please advise the sender and delete the message and
attachments immediately. This email, including attachments, may contain
confidential, sensitive, legally privileged and/or copyright information.
Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information
by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.
The Department of Home Affairs and ABF respect your privacy and have
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.
Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this
email.