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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

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

The FOI section only responds to valid FOI requests and other matters
relating to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).  Visit the
FOI Information on our Website for more information on what [1]information
can be accessed under the FOI Act 1982.

What is a valid FOI request?

A valid FOI request may be for:

- documents you previously provided to the Department as part of a visa
application

- a copy of a decision record made by the Department

- statistical information held by the Department

- papers or briefings the Department prepared.

If your email is a valid FOI request, the Department will contact you
shortly to acknowledge your request.

A valid FOI request must:

o Be in writing and state the request is for consideration under the FOI
Act.
o Have enough information for us to be able to identify the documents
you are seeking.
o Provide a physical or electronic address where we can send our
decision.

Do not send duplicate emails as this may cause longer delays in processing
times.

What is an invalid FOI request?

Invalid FOI requests may include:

- Making a visa application

- Seeking evidence of your Australian Citizenship

- Seeking information about traveling to or departing Australia.

If your email is not specific an FOI request or FOI related matter, the
FOI section will not respond.

What happens next?

Once we receive and have registered your FOI request, we will send you an
acknowledgment letter by email. Read the acknowledgment letter carefully
for further instructions.

FOI requests are generally processed in the order they are received.

We will contact you as soon as the Department has assessed your request
under the FOI Act.

We’re responding to a large volume of requests

Due to the current high volume of requests, we will not provide progress
up-dates on current FOI requests.  This is to ensure we are able to
process as many requests as possible, including yours.

If processing your request is going to take us a lot of time and because
it is large or unspecific, it may be refused.  

Still have a question or request?

If you still have a question, which has not been answered above, and which
is about the work of the Department, use our general enquiries web page

[2]https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-sup...

You may be able to resolve your enquiry faster using these other resources

We only action and respond to FOI requests that are valid under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982. You may be able to resolve your enquiry
faster by using these resources:

General information about travelling to Australia:

The Department of Home Affairs, “Entering Australia” site
[3]https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/entering...

·       For visa and our requirements for entry to Australia
[4]https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/ge...

For a copy of your visa refusal or visa grant letter you should contact
the office where you lodged your visa application. 

·       To check your current visa details and conditions use the
Department’s Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) portal which can
be accessed [5]here

·       If you are experiencing technical difficulties in lodging your
visa application through ImmiAccount, submit your concerns through the
ImmiAccount Technical Support Form, which is accessible [6]here.

·       For evidence of your Australian Citizenship please refer [7]here.
The FOI Section does not process these requests.

·       For movement records or travel history complete the online
International Movement Records form [8]here. The FOI Section does not
process these requests.

·       To update your details, including your Passport details, you can
notify the Department [9]here. The FOI Section does not process these
requests.

We appreciate your feedback         

We appreciate your feedback to help improve our services.

If you would like to provide feedback to us please use our Compliments,
complaints and suggestions form.
[10]https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-and-...

Thank you

Information updated 5 November 2021

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

Visible links
1. https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/access-an...
2. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-sup...
3. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/entering...
4. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/ge...
5. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/al...
6. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-sup...
7. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizens...
8. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/entering...
9. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/change-i...
10. https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-and-...

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 21/12/00862
File Number: OBJ2021/36548

Dear Ms Jefferies

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

I refer to your correspondence received on 21 December 2021 seeking access to documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

Scope of request

You have requested access to the following:
I respectfully request under FOI the following information from the period of 15 March 2020 until the date of this request (20 December 2021):

(1) A copy of any current instructions or guidance documents provided (or otherwise made available) to airlines and airline employees regarding COVID-19 related Outward Travel Restrictions.

(2) A copy of any historical instructions or guidance documents provided (or otherwise made available) to airlines and airline employees regarding COVID-19 related Outward Travel Restrictions.

Your request was received by the Department on 21 December 2021 and has been allocated FOI request number FA 21/12/00862. 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 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 exist.

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 [Department of Home Affairs request email].

Kind Regards,

Michael
Position number: 60028261
Authorised FOI Officer
FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division
Strategy and National Resilience Group
Department Of Home Affairs
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

show quoted sections

OFFICIAL

Good afternoon Ms Jefferies

I refer to your request received on 21 December 2021 for access to
documents under the FOI Act. 

The current due date for your request is 20 January 2022. 

In order for the Department to complete the process of retrieving all the
documents that fall within the scope of your request the Department will
require additional time to process your request.

The Department holds a number of documents falling with the scope of your
request upon which it will be necessary for our agency to consult with
other Government agencies.  In order to complete the process of that
consultation the Department will require additional time to process your
request.

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 Saturday 19 February 2022.
However, as this date falls on a non-working day, section 36(2) of the
Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that the latest date the Department
may issue a decision would be the next working day, which is Monday 21
February 2022.

It would assist the Department in managing its FOI caseload if you could
provide a response to this request by close of business, Thursday 20
January 2022

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

Regards

Min Ai

FOI Case Officer

FOI Section

FOI and Records Management Branch

Data Division

Strategy & Law Enforcement Group

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

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

Visible links
1. http://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/

OFFICIAL

Dear Ms Jefferies

Please be assured that your request is being progressed. I regret it is not possible to estimate a timeframe at this stage.

Yours sincerely

Guy
Position no. 60103474
Freedom of Information Section
FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division
Strategy & National Resilience Group
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]
Department of Home Affairs - www.homeaffairs.gov.au

OFFICIAL

show quoted sections

OFFICIAL

Dear Ms Jefferies

I regret the delay in processing your case.

In view of the age of the information you are requesting, would you please confirm that you still require access to it?

I would appreciate your response by COB Friday 13 May 2022.

Yours sincerely

Guy
Position no. 60103474
Freedom of Information Section
FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division
Strategy & National Resilience Group
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]
Department of Home Affairs - www.homeaffairs.gov.au

OFFICIAL

show quoted sections

OFFICIAL

Dear Ms Jefferies

FOI request FA 21/12/00862

I refer to your FOI request received on 21 December 2021, seeking access
to the following:

I respectfully request under FOI the following information from the period
of 15 March 2020 until the date of this request (20 December 2021):

(1) A copy of any current instructions or guidance documents provided (or
otherwise made available) to airlines and airline employees regarding
COVID-19 related Outward Travel Restrictions.

(2) A copy of any historical instructions or guidance documents provided
(or otherwise made available) to airlines and airline employees regarding
COVID-19 related Outward Travel Restrictions.

The Department has made a decision on this request. Please find attached
the decision record and documents released under the FOI Act.

Please be aware that, to process your FOI request, the Department needs to
find all related documents across many systems that contain millions of
records and assess each for potential harms, such as privacy and
commercial sensitivity, prior to making a decision.

Given the diversion of resources from other work, the FOI Act allows
Commonwealth Departments to charge you for providing access to documents
that do not contain your own personal information. In this instance, the
Department has not provided your information within the statutory
timeframe and would not be able to charge.

For future FOI applications, if the Department  decides that you are
liable to pay a charge, you will be sent a preliminary assessment of the
charge payable. Any decision to issue charges will be done in accordance
with the FOI Act and the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations
2019. You may pay the charge or tell us why you think the charge has been
wrongly assessed and should be reduced or waived. You may also choose to
withdraw your request. The Department will provide documents to you once
the charge has been paid in full.

For more information about charges, visit our [1]website or review the
[2]information provided by the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner.

This request has now been closed.

Yours sincerely

Guy

Position no. 60103474

Freedom of Information Section

FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division

Strategy & National Resilience Group

E: [3][Department of Home Affairs request email]

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

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

Visible links
1. https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/DsM4CY...
2. https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/zFllCZ...
3. mailto:[Department of Home Affairs request email]
4. http://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/