Current and Historical Instructions to Airline Employees regarding COVID-19 Outward Travel Restrictions

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

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Information (FOI) Section.

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

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A valid FOI request may be for:

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application

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o Be in writing and state the request is for consideration under the FOI
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Do not send duplicate emails as this may cause longer delays in processing
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[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
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Thank you

Information updated 5 November 2021

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The Department of Home Affairs and ABF respect your privacy and have
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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

-----Original Message-----
From: Regina Jefferies <[FOI #8218 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 21 December 2021 4:30 AM
To: FOI <[Department of Home Affairs request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Current and Historical Instructions to Airline Employees regarding COVID-19 Outward Travel Restrictions

Dear Department of Home Affairs,

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.

Yours faithfully,

Regina Jefferies

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

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #8218 email]

Is [Department of Home Affairs request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Department of Home Affairs? If so, please contact us using this form:
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:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

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.

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

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.

hide 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

-----Original Message-----
From: Regina Jefferies <[FOI #8218 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 30 March 2022 7:43 AM
To: FOI <[Department of Home Affairs request email]>
Subject: CM: Re: FOI Request FA 21/12/00862 - Request for Extension of time [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Dear FOI,

Please provide an update on the status of this FOI request. The extended due date was set as Saturday 19 February 2022, yet there has been no response.

Yours sincerely,

Regina Jefferies

-----Original Message-----

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/

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

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

[FOI #8218 email]

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:

https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

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.

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

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.

hide 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

-----Original Message-----
From: FOI <[Department of Home Affairs request email]>
Sent: Thursday, 31 March 2022 11:51 AM
To: Regina Jefferies <[FOI #8218 email]>
Subject: RE: Re: FOI Request FA 21/12/00862 - Request for Extension of time [SEC=OFFICIAL]

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