Correspondence regarding the name "Border Force"
Dear Department of Immigration and Border Protection,
I would like to request under the FOI act, a copy of correspondence regarding the decision of naming of "Border Force", the new DIBP agency.
Please remove duplicate emails from the scope of my request.
The Right to Know email address is a valid email
address for the purposes of s15(2)(c) of the FOI Act.
Yours faithfully,
Robin de Garis
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/07/00725; ADF2014/25298
Dear Robin de Garis
I refer to your request made under the Freedom of Inforamtion Act 1982
(the Act) on 16 July 2014, seeking access to:
a copy of correspondence regarding the decision of naming of "Border
Force", the new DIBP agency.
The purpose of this email is to advise you (as required under s.24AB of
the Act) that I consider a 'practical refusal reason' exists under s.24AA
of the Act in relation to your request.
I have set out my reasons in the attached notice.
The Act requires that you respond to this notice before the end of the
consultation period, which is close of business Tuesday 5 August 2014.
In accordance with s.24AB(8) of the Act the legislated processing time for
your request is ‘suspended’ during the consultation period, please refer
to the attached notice for further details.
As advised in the notice, you may reply to me at this email address
([1][email address]).
Publicly avilable informaiton
The Australian Border Force, which is to be establiched on the 1 July
2015, was announced by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection
on the 9 May 2014.
See: [2]http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/sm...
The Australian Customs and Border Protection agencies ‘Border Force’ is a
part of their 2013 service capability review. Information about this work
group is avialable in the ‘Blueprint for Reform 2013-2018’.
See:
[3]http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resour...
I hope this information is of assistance
Yours Sincerely
Janelle Raineri
A/g Assistant Director | Authorised Decision Maker
FOI & Privacy Policy Section
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch I Immigration and Border
Protection Portfolio
E: [4][email address]
Daniel O'Connor left an annotation ()
The news article linked to refers to this document http://www.ncoa.gov.au/report/docs/phase... which contains:
Recommendation 51: Consolidation of border protection services
Border protection and security is integral to national security. The Commission recommends that a single, integrated border agency, to be known as Border Control Australia, be established through the merger of the border control functions of the Department of
Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.
The document does not mention "Border Force", so beyond a press release choosing a different branding there's no obvious correspondence available to the public.
Secondly, in the *announcement for the naming of the agency, Morrison refers to it as Border Force three times*:
"Disciplined, uniformed Border Force officers, some armed, will carry out these tasks and will be supported by mobile and other portable technology which will enhance their ability to clear cargo, remotely access data and information, and wirelessly report back to Strategic Border Command."
http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/sm...
For the FOI officer to be unaware of which DIBP organisation you are referring to indicates an unclear or hurried reading of your request: cursory googling and the language of the responsible minister very quickly refer to the ABF.
Along with pointing out what we can only assume is an oversight; it might be worth while providing further clarity around the document(s) you are seeking such as:
1) Documents & Emails containing any of the terms "Border Force", "Australian Border Force", "ABF", "Border Control Australia", "BCA"; referring to the "Branding", "Naming", "Marketing" or "Positioning" of the ABF dated prior to 09 May 2014 (the announcement) and either after 01 February 2014 (approximate publication of the recommendations), or after the 2013 election (7 September 2013).
2) Correspondence within or between the department and marketing/IT teams regarding the business case, business requirements documentation, functional specifications or change requests; dated prior to 9th May specifically describing the changes to the website, logos, branding, uniforms et. al.
In particular, extracts such as the "Business Objectives", "Business Context", "Rationale", "Objectives", "Goals", "Benefits", "Measures" or similar background description provided describing what and why the changed naming is occurring.
Daniel O'Connor left an annotation ()
Just to be super clear; IANAL, but given the refusal is based around 24AA (b) "the request does not satisfy the requirement in paragraph 15(2)(b) (identification of documents)."
which is:
15(2)(b) provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably necessary to enable a responsible officer of the agency, or the Minister, to identify it; and
... the Minister referring to it clearly in a speech multiple times would indicate the Minister would understand your request, thus indicating the FOI officer has misread your original request.
If the refusal was because "correspondence" was not clear enough, maybe there'd be a bit more wriggle room - they'd have to put resources into searching outlook, document systems, etc for particular emails & so forth; plus classifying them; but the response seemed to very much focus on the lack of understanding of which Border Force was meant.
Dear FOI,
I wish to clarify that my request related to the Australian Border Force, which is to be established on the 1 July 2015.
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Robin de Garis
Robin de Garis left an annotation ()
Thanks for the help, I figure I'll start off just clarifying which agency, and add more if they mention the other points you listed.
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/07/00725; ADF2014/25298
Dear Robin de Garis
Thank you for your email, received 26 July 2014 in which you have
clarified the scope of your request.
I have accepted the revision to the scope of your request and have amended
the scope to include:
I would like to request under the FOI act, a copy of correspondence
regarding the decision of naming of "Australian Border Force", the new
DIBP agency which is to be established on the 1 July 2015.
For the sake of clarification I have underlined the amended parts of the
scope. If this is not accurate please write to the department as soon as
possible to advise that the scope has been misinterpreted.
The processing of your request has recommenced and the new due date for
your request is Tuesday 19 August 2014.
This is in accordance with s.24AB(8) of the FOI Act.
Update on request
Following the clarification of the scope of your request the department
has begun the search and retrieval process for documents relating the
naming of the Australian Border Force.
Yours Sincerely
Janelle Raineri
A/g Assistant Director | Authorised Decision Maker
FOI & Privacy Policy Section
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch I Immigration and Border
Protection Portfolio
E: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/07/00725; ADF2014/25298
Dear Robin de Garis
I am writing to give you a progress update on your FOI request, seeking
access to the following:
I would like to request under the FOI act, a copy of correspondence
regarding the decision of naming of "Australian Border Force", the new
DIBP agency which is to be established on the 1 July 2015.
I have been liaising with two business areas across the department to
identify documents that would fall within the scope of your request. The
advice received from both areas is that the department does not hold any
documents that would fall within the scope of your request, being a copy
of correspondence regarding the decision of naming of "Australian Border
Force.
In light of this advice the department ask you to consider withdrawing
this FOI request. Please respond, in writing, to advise how you would like
the department to proceed, by close of business Monday 11 August 2014.
If no response is received by this date the department will continue to
process your request in accordance with the FOI Act.
Yours Sincerely
Janelle Raineri
FOI Inbox Manager
FOI & Privacy Policy Section
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch I Immigration and Border
Protection Portfolio
E: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Janelle,
Perhaps a reclassification of my request would assist in finding relevant documentation.
Please change my FOI request to the following:
Documents & Emails containing any of the terms "Border Force", "Australian Border Force", "ABF", "Border Control Australia", "BCA"; referring to the "Branding", "Naming", "Marketing" or "Positioning" of the ABF dated prior to 09 May 2014 (the announcement) and after the 2013 election (7 September 2013).
and let me know if these parameters produce any results.
Yours sincerely,
Robin de Garis
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Robin de Garis
The department is happy to accept your email below as a new request and
will begin processing. However can you advise if you would withdraw FA
14/07/00725.
You will receive an acknowledgement for your new request within 14 days.
Yours Sincerely
Janelle Raineri
FOI Inbox Manager
FOI & Privacy Policy Section
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch I Immigration and Border
Protection Portfolio
E: [1][email address]
Dear Janelle,
Yes, I am happy to withdraw the former request, FA
14/07/00725.
Yours sincerely,
Robin de Garis
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/08/00396; ADF2014/28290
Dear Robin de Garis
Please find attached the acknowledgement of receipt for your recent FOI
Request.
Yours sincerely
Penelope Robb
FOI Helpdesk
FOI and Privacy Policy Section
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch | Immigration and Border
Protection Portfolio
E: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/08/00396 ; ADF2014/28290
Dear Robin De Garis
I refer to your request for access to documents relating to:
Documents & Emails containing any of the terms "Border Force", "Australian
Border Force", "ABF", "Border Control Australia", "BCA"; referring to the
"Branding", "Naming", "Marketing" or "Positioning" of the ABF dated prior
to 09 May 2014 (the announcement) and after the 2013 election (7 September
2013).
The current due date for your request is Friday 5 September 2014. Due to
the number of requests currently being processed by our office, we may not
be able to finalise your request by the original due date.
The department seeks your agreement (under s.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 Sunday 5 October 2014.
It would assist the department in managing its FOI caseload if you could
provide a response to this request by close of business, Thursday 28
August 2014.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss.
Yours sincerely
Penelope Robb
FOI Helpdesk
FOI and Privacy Policy Section
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch | Immigration and Border
Protection Portfolio
E: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Important Notice: 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. DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au. See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Hi Penelope,
I am happy to extend the due date for my request to Sunday 5 October 2014
Yours sincerely,
Robin de Garis
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/08/00396 ; ADF2014/28290
Dear Robin de Garis
Thank you for your email dated Monday 25 August 2014, agreeing to extend
the timeframe for the processing of your request.
The due date of your request is now Sunday 5 October 2014
We will continue to process your request and keep you informed of its
progress.
Yours sincerely
Penelope Robb
FOI Helpdesk
FOI and Privacy Policy Section
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch | Immigration and Border
Protection Portfolio
E: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/08/00396; ADF2014/28290
Dear Robin de Garis
Re: Your Freedom of Information request
I am writing to inform you that I have been appointed as the authorised
decision maker for your FOI request, seeking access to:
Documents & Emails containing any of the terms "Border Force", "Australian
Border Force", "ABF", "Border Control Australia", "BCA"; referring to the
"Branding", "Naming", "Marketing" or "Positioning" of the ABF dated prior
to 09 May 2014 (the announcement) and after the 2013 election (7 September
2013).
As part of the department’s FOI service standard, I will update you every
14 days regarding the progress of your request, however please do not
hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or wish to discuss the
request in the interim.
I have considered your request and I have interpreted the scope to include
any information contained within documents and email correspondence that
relate to the Branding / Naming / Marketing and/or Positioning of either
of the following names:
· Border Force
· Australian Border Force
· ABF
· Border Control Australia
· BCA
The timeframe for your request includes documents between 7 September 2013
to 9 May 2014.
If I have misunderstood the scope of your request please notify me as soon
as possible, you may contact me on the details below.
Advice from relevant business area
The relevant business area of the department has provided the FOI Section
with documents to be considered against the scope of your request. In
addition they have advised that there is a further document, identified as
Cabinet related material.
This document would be subject to a consultation with the Department of
Prime Minister and Cabinet and would be considered against section 34 of
the FOI Act. The assessment of Cabinet related material would have a
significant impact to the charges assessment and without pre-empting a
decision it is unlikely for Cabinet related material to be released.
Please consider if it was your intention to seek access to Cabinet related
material or if you would consider this type of information outside the
scope of your request.
If you consider Cabinet related material to be outside the scope of your
request please notify me, in writing by close of business Thursday 18
September 2014.
If no response is received I will continue with the processing of your
request, including Cabinet related material.
Yours sincerely
Janelle Raineri
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI & Privacy Policy Section
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch I Immigration and Border
Protection Portfolio
T: 02 6264 1580
E: [1][email address]
Please note I am out of the office from 2:30 PM every Tuesday and Friday
UNCLASSIFIED
Important Notice: 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. DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au. See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/08/00396; ADF2014/28290
Dear Robin de Garis
I am writing in regards to your FOI request seeking:
Documents & Emails containing any of the terms "Border Force", "Australian
Border Force", "ABF", "Border Control Australia", "BCA"; referring to the
"Branding", "Naming", "Marketing" or "Positioning" of the ABF dated prior
to 09 May 2014 (the announcement) and after the 2013 election (7 September
2013).
On Monday 15 September 2014 I wrote to you to confirm my understanding of
the scope of your request and to seek your advice in relation to whether
you considered Cabinet related material to be outside the scope of your
request. Our records indicate that you have not responded to my
correspondence. Therefore I will continue to process your request,
including Cabinet related material.
This email is to advise you of my decision that you are liable to pay a
charge in respect of the processing of your FOI request in accordance with
s.29 of the FOI Act. Please see the attached notice for further
information.
The current due date for your FOI request is 5 October 2014. In accordance
with s.31 of the FOI Act the legislated processing time for your request
is suspended from the date that you are deemed to have been notified of
the charge. Please refer to the attached notice for further details,
including advice on when the processing period for your request would
resume.
Timeframe to respond
The FOI Act provides you with 30 days to respond, in writing, to this
notice, which is close of business Sunday 19 October 2014. However, as
this date falls on a non-working day, s.36(2) of the Acts Interpretation
Act 1901 provides that the latest date you may respond is the next working
day, which is close of business Monday 20 October 2014.
How to pay:
Details on how to make a payment to the department are included in the
notice. Please ensure that you include your FA Reference number and advise
whether you wish to pay the deposit or the full amount. If this
information is not included with your payment details it may delay the
processing of your request.
The deposit or full payment can be paid by cheque, money order, credit
card or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). If you choose to pay via EFT or
send your payment via post, please notify the FOI Section at
[1][email address].
Yours sincerely
Janelle Raineri
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI & Privacy Policy Section
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch I Immigration and Border
Protection Portfolio
T: 02 6264 1580
E: [2][email address]
Please note I am out of the office from 2:30 PM every Tuesday and Friday
UNCLASSIFIED
Important Notice: 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. DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au. See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
Daniel O'Connor left an annotation ()
It may be worth narrowing the scope to only the initial documents (ie: proposal, business case, etc) and narrowing the timeframe.
Robin de Garis left an annotation ()
Thanks Daniel, I'm a little out of my depth here. How does this sound as a clarification?
I would like to clarify the scope of my request, to:
A) Not include cabinet related material
B) Only include initial documents related to the proposal, business case, and strategy of the establishment of the Australian Border Force, related to the
"Branding", "Naming", "Marketing" or "Positioning", and not include later correspondence regarding these documents.
C) Only include documents dated between 09 February 2014 and 09 May
Daniel O'Connor left an annotation ()
Maybe even cut it down to a single document (business case), minus appendixes, approximate budget/costs, timelines, etc.
Though obviously not for a marketing project; I would imagine something similar to http://www.finance.gov.au/sites/default/... was created.
The headings may give you a good guide as to what to ask for/exclude.
By being very clear about what relevant information you are seeking as part of a document; you can no doubt ease the costs for you and the department.
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/08/00396; ADF2014/28290
Dear Robin de Garis
Thank you for your FOI request received on 6 August 2014 for:
Documents & Emails containing any of the terms "Border Force", "Australian
Border Force", "ABF", "Border Control Australia", "BCA"; referring to the
"Branding", "Naming", "Marketing" or "Positioning" of the ABF dated prior
to 09 May 2014 (the announcement) and after the 2013 election (7 September
2013).
Purpose of this email
I am writing to you about the charges notice that I sent to you on Friday
19 September 2014. The notice period under the FOI Act expired at close
of business on Monday 20 October 2014. As you did not respond to me by the
end of the notice period, your request is now deemed to have been
withdrawn by the operation of the FOI Act (s.29(2)).
The attached letter provides more detail. You remain welcome to submit a
new request at any time.
Yours sincerely
Janelle Raineri
Authorised FOI Decision Maker
FOI & Privacy Policy Section
Parliamentary and Executive Coordination Branch I Immigration and Border
Protection Portfolio
T: 02 6264 1580
E: [1][email address]
Please note I am out of the office from 2:30 PM every Tuesday and Friday
UNCLASSIFIED
Important Notice: 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. DIBP respects your privacy and has
obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. The official departmental privacy
policy can be viewed on the department's website at www.immi.gov.au. See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privac...
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Ben Fairless left an annotation ()
It has taken the department 6 pages to ask you to clarify which Border Force you are referring to.
There is already one setup for Customs ("Border Force) and there is one to be announced for DIBP ("Australian Border Force").