Decision to publish English subtitled version of 'The Journey'
Dear Department of Immigration and Border Protection,
In relation to the English subtitled version of 'The Journey' which was published on Youtube on 2 May 2016, please provide the earliest document recording a decision by the Department to so publish the video.
The purpose of this request is to identify whether the Department's decision to publish the video pre-dated or was otherwise independent of a concurrent FOI request for the same document. The Department's handling of this video has attracted media interest, and it is not clear whether the Department published the English subtitled version of the movie voluntarily and spontaneously or only when compelled to do so under the FOI Act. Given the importance of 'The Journey' to Commonwealth immigration policy and current public debate, it is therefore in the public interest that the Department release the document showing the earliest date on which the Department decided that the English subtitled video would be published.
Yours faithfully,
Patrick Conheady
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 16/052/01040; ADF2016/20599
Dear Mr Conheady
Please find attached the acknowledgement of receipt for your recent FOI
Request.
Please be aware that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
(the Department) has seen a significant increase in the number of FOI
requests received by this agency. As a result there are expected delays
involved with the processing of FOI requests at the present time.
Generally, requests will be processed in the order that they are received.
The Department will endeavour to finalise your request as quickly as
possible.
Request for an extension of time
For this reason 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.
It would assist the Department in managing its FOI caseload if you could
provide a response to this request by close of business Wednesday, 18 May
2016.
Exclusion of non-SES staff personal details and SES telephone contact
details
The Department’s policy is to exclude the personal details of officers not
in the Senior Executive Service (SES), as well as the mobile and work
telephone numbers of SES staff, contained in documents that fall within
scope of an FOI request. If you require names and contact details of
non-SES officers, or direct telephone numbers 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.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss.
Yours sincerely
Cherryl Bateman
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
E: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
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UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 16/05/01040; ADF2016/20599
Dear Mr Conheady,
I am writing in regards to your FOI request seeking:
In relation to the English subtitled version of 'The Journey' which was
published on Youtube on 2 May 2016, please provide the earliest document
recording a decision by the Department to so publish the video.
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 June 2016. 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.
Timeframe to respond
The FOI Act provides you with 30 days to respond, in writing, to this
notice, which is close of business 1 July 2016.
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. 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].
Kind regards,
Brad Collins
Freedom of Information Officer
Information Management Branch
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
(02) 6264 2110 | [2][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
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.
DIBP respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.
Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this
email.
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Posty left an annotation ()
DIBP say it's going to take 9.77 hours FTE to fulfil this request and thatll cost ~$14.50.
I'm interested in this answer and the delay of arguing for a public interest exception would just be more annoying. Yes, I think it's in the public interest, but I also want an answer quickly. $14.50 is less than the cost of a movie ticket to a film - let's roll :)
This is a reasonably small outlay to get the government to do their job quicker.
If you dont think you can afford this Patrick - I'm happy to help - let me know here and we can find a way to get some money to you or some other form of payment with DIBP.
Dear Brad,
I agree to pay the charges. I will pay by EFT. However, I have a procedural question.
In your letter, you ask that I include the reference 'FA 16/05/01040' in the comment field with the transfer. Unfortunately, my bank will not send a slash in the comment field. Letters, numbers and spaces are OK with them.
If I send the comment as 'FA 16 05 01040', will that still work for you?
Yours sincerely,
Patrick Conheady
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Conheady,
Thank you for your email. Listing your transaction with spaces instead of slashes is fine – as long as we can find the transaction there won't be any issues.
Regards,
Brad Collins
Freedom of Information Officer
Information Management Branch
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
(02) 6264 2110 | [email address]
Dear Brad,
Thanks. I've sent the EFT now. Please let me know if you haven't received it by Wednesday.
Yours sincerely,
Patrick Conheady
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 16/05/01040; ADF2016/20599
Dear Mr Conheady,
Thank you for paying the charge for your FOI request.
The processing of your request has now recommenced in accordance with
section 31(2) of the FOI Act. The due date for your request is Monday 13
June 2016. As this is a public holiday in the ACT (for the Queen’s
Birthday) the due date will move to the next working day, Tuesday 14 June
2016.
Yours sincerely,
Brad Collins
Freedom of Information Officer
Information Management Branch
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
(02) 6264 2110 | [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
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.
DIBP respects your privacy and has 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 Brad,
This request appears to be overdue. Could you please advise the current status?
Yours sincerely,
Patrick Conheady
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Conheady,
Thank you for your email. I apologise for the delay in finalising your request; I had expected it to be ready last week, but I'm still waiting on the business area to finalise the decision before I can send you the document. As I'm waiting on another business area, I'm unable to give you a firm expectation on when they'll get back to me. Having said that, the decision is almost finalised, so I don't think it'll take more than a week or so. Once I have it, I'll get it to you as quickly as I can.
As we've missed the deadline, I'm going to refund the charge you paid previously. I don't want to inadvertently publish your financial details on Right To Know, so if you could please send me an email from a different email address I'll organise the refund. I'll still send the decision and documents to the Right To Know email address. If you would prefer to wait until the decision is finalised before doing that, that's no problem.
Regards,
Brad Collins
Freedom of Information Officer
Information Management Branch
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Email: [email address]
Dear Brad,
Thanks for this information.
I've emailed you my bank details from my personal email address.
I'd be grateful if you could provide a little more detail on the cause of the delay in this case. The statutory timeframe has been in place for a long time, and there are processes available to extend it in exceptional circumstances, so I'm always curious when it is breached.
Yours sincerely,
Patrick Conheady
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Conheady,
Thanks for your email. The refund has been processed, and you should have the money shortly.
The delay is primarily due to the Department seeing a significant increase in the number of FOI requests, resulting in delays with the processing of FOI requests. Generally, requests are processed in the order that they are received, and as I mentioned previously I will endeavour to finalise your request as soon as possible.
Regards,
Brad Collins
Freedom of Information Officer
Information Management Branch
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Email: [email address]
Dear Brad,
Your explanation is generic and difficult to reconcile with your earlier statement that the request is being held up in the business area, not the FOI area. However, even taking your explanation at face value, I am compelled to express my concern, lest it be thought that I accept it as legitimate.
I searched the Right to Know website for the phrase "significant increase" and this is not an uncommon excuse, nor a new one. DIBP has been using it consistently since at least November last year. Other agencies have used it off and on since at least 2012.
The FOI Act provides for a legally enforceable right to access to documents within specified timeframes. There are provisions for a 'practical refusal' to protect the agency's resources, and for extensions with the approval of the OAIC. My legal right is not otherwise qualified. The Department has a duty to devote sufficient resources to satisfying that legal right.
I wish to keep this particular Right to Know page on-topic and therefore do not intend to further probe these side issues here. I have submitted a formal complaint to the Department through the appropriate channel, to give the Department an opportunity to explain itself properly.
I look forward to receiving a finalised decision on this request without any further undue delay.
Yours sincerely,
Patrick Conheady
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 16/05/01040; ADF2016/20599
Dear Mr Conheady,
I refer to your FOI request received on 6 May 2016, seeking access to the
following:
In relation to the English subtitled version of 'The Journey' which was
published on Youtube on 2 May 2016, please provide the earliest document
recording a decision by the Department to so publish the video.
The Department has made a decision on this request. Please see attached
the signed decision letter, decision record, schedule of documents and
documents released under the FOI Act.
This request has now been closed. I apologise for the delay in finalising
your request, and appreciate your understanding.
Regards,
Brad Collins
Freedom of Information Officer
Information Management Branch
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
(02) 6264 2110 | [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
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.
DIBP respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.
Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this
email.
References
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Posty left an annotation ()
Thank you for doing this :D
I'm glad that you too thought FOI's response was a little cheeky. I look forward to the outcome of this.
I also wanted to draw your attention to Josh Drummond's FOI request for a much larger stack of documents that should actually encompass this request.
He's asked for ALL correspondence between the production company and DIBP.
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/a...
this has an earlier deadline than yours, but is significantly larger in scope.
so lets see what gets done first :)