Brief PDR No. MS24-001556

Oliver Smith made this Freedom of Information request to Department of Home Affairs

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Currently waiting for a response from Department of Home Affairs, they should respond promptly and normally no later than January 06, 2025 (details).

Dear Department of Home Affairs,

Under the FOI Act, I seek a copy of the Ministerial Brief provided to the office of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on 6/9/24 with the Brief PDR No. MS24-001556

Yours faithfully,

Oliver Smith

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Your email has been received by the Department of Home Affairs’ (the
Department) Freedom of Information (FOI) section.

If you have lodged a request for access to documents or amendment to
information, you will receive an acknowledgement letter within 14 days.

Please see our website for more information on submitting a valid request
for access to information. [2]Freedom of information
(homeaffairs.gov.au)

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Your Query General Information
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check your visa [5]Ceremony wait times (homeaffairs.gov.au)
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References

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

In reply please quote:

FOI Request: FA 24/12/00327

File Number: FA24/12/00327

Dear Oliver Smith

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

This letter acknowledges that on 5 December 2024 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:

Under the FOI Act, I seek a copy of the Ministerial Brief provided to the
office of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on 6/9/24 with the Brief PDR
No. MS24-001556.

Your request has been allocated FOI request number FA 24/12/00327. 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 [1]Freedom
of information reviews | OAIC.

Fees and Charges

Charges do not apply to requests from individuals seeking access to
documents about themselves. However, a charge may apply to all other
requests for access to documents.

Charges are based on the amount of time the Department spends on your
request. Charges can range from $10 to over $1,000 depending on the
complexity and scope of your request. The Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner reported that across the public service, the
average charge notified was $335.50 in 2020-21.

If a charge applies, you will be issued with a Notice of Charge that
explains the charge and your options.

Detailed information about FOI charges that may apply to your FOI request
is available on [2]the Department’s website.

We do not provide personal details of staff or non-public facing
operational email addresses

The Department’s practice is to exclude the personal details of Government
employees, including contractors, 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 as irrelevant under section
22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act. However names of staff that have previously
been released in departmental correspondence may be disclosed.

We do not provide duplicated 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 exist.

Publication of document

Released documents you request may be published to our website.

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.

How to reduce or withdraw your request

Reducing the scope of your request can reduce the time and charges
associated with processing your FOI request.

To reduce or withdraw your request, contact the FOI section at
[3][Department of Home Affairs request email] and include your FOI request number.

Contacting the FOI Section

Should you wish to discuss your request you may contact the FOI Section at
[4][Department of Home Affairs request email].

Leigh
Authorised FOI Officer, Freedom of Information
Position Number 60201191

Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch

Legal Group

Department of Home Affairs

E: [5][Department of Home Affairs request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

show quoted sections

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

In reply please quote:

FOI Request: FA 24/12/00327

File Number: FA24/12/00327

Dear Oliver Smith,

I refer to your request received on 05 December 2024 for access to
documents under the FOI Act.

The current due date for your request is Saturday, 4 January 2025 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 Monday 3 February 2025.

The reason we are seeking an extension of time is due to demand for
Departmental documents is high and we continue to experience increasing
volumes of incoming requests particularly in recent months. Also due to
the limited business hours during Christmas and New Year period, the
Department will require additional time to complete processing of your
request. Each request received by the Department is managed in the context
of this large volume which can impact the timeliness of our decisions and
as such we seek agreement from applicants on extensions of time where
possible.

We are endeavouring to ensure, as an applicant, you understand the likely
timeframe for your request to be finalised. We continue to try to process
requests as quickly as possible regardless of if an extension is provided.

If you could please provide a response to this request by close of
business on 09 December 2024

Kind Regards,

Leigh
Authorised FOI Officer, Freedom of Information
Position Number 60201191

Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch

Legal Group

Department of Home Affairs

E: [1][Department of Home Affairs request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

show quoted sections

Dear FOI,

Thank you for your email. As the department has not set out the grounds for an extension as provided by the OAIC, the request for an extension is denied.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Smith

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

Dear Oliver Smith,

I refer to the following requests received for access to documents under
the FOI Act

FA24/12/00316

FA24/12/00323

FA24/12/00327

Please note that document retrieval/ consultation with the relevant areas
of the Department is currently underway. The current due date on these
requests is 4/1/2025. Staff leave during the holiday period and Christmas
shutdown affecting all agencies have a significant impact on processing
timeframes and we are unlikely to be able to finalise these requests prior
to the due date.

These requests are being actively progressed but with further
consultation required on these documents both internal and external they
are unlikely to respond to us until next year.

Therefore, I seek an extension of time by 30 days under s15AA of the FOI
Act. The Department will endeavour to finalise these requests by the new
due date, 3/2/2025.

We note that each of your requests have a specific email address for
correspondence, confirming that FOI is contacting you about all of the 3
requests listed above rather than sending a separate email for each one.
Thanking you for your understanding and support in this FOI matter.

Awaiting your response.

Kind regards

Susan

FOI Case officer

Freedom of Information | Non-Personal Team
Privacy, FOI & Records Management Branch | Legal Group

Department of Home Affairs

E: [1][Department of Home Affairs request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this
email.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Department of Home Affairs request email]

Dear FOI,

Thanks for your email. While I sympathetic to your situation, the Department has asked for a 30 day extension to cover the Christmas shutdown period which is only one week. Noting that by law, staff shortages and holiday periods are not valid reasons for extensions, I am prepared to accept a 15 day extension which would make the due date 17 January, 2025.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Smith

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