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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

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OFFICIAL

In reply please quote:

FOI Request:       FA21/02/00231

Good morning

Offer to Withdraw Freedom of Information Access Request

I refer to your correspondence of 1 February 2021 seeking access to
documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

Your request has been allocated the FOI reference number referred to
above. Please include your FOI reference number in all correspondence with
the Freedom of Information Section.

As you may be aware, earlier this year the Department launched a dashboard
on its SkillSelect website to provide visa Expression of Interest (EOI)
statistics.  The Department has undertaken a review of the SkillSelect
Dashboard to ensure that there is no reasonable chance of an individual
being re-identified from the EOI statistics. 

The dashboard is now available again and can be accessed via the
Department’s SkillSelect [1]web page and comprises a comprehensive library
of historic and current statistics in relation to Expressions of Interest
(EOIs).  The dashboard is a one-stop shop for SkillSelect EOI statistics
and is freely available on demand, without any need to formally request
the statistics and wait for such a request to be processed. Bypassing the
FOI process will significantly reduce delays in obtaining the same
information as has previously been provided in response to FOI requests.

As this information is now publically available, you may wish to withdraw
you FOI request.  If you do not advise the Department that you wish to
continue with this FOI request within 5 days of this email, your request
will be taken to have been withdrawn. 

Privacy

The Department’s handling of personal information is regulated by the
Privacy Act 1988 (the Privacy Act).  Guidance published by the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner is that information will be
de-identified, and therefore not subject to the protections in the Privacy
Act, where the risk of an individual being re-identified is very low. 
De-identification is not a fixed state. Rather, re-identification risks
and their controls require ongoing monitoring and review.

The Department’s view is that the current controls are appropriate to
reduce the risk that an individual can be re-identified from the
statistics accessible from the SkillSelect Dashboard to very low.

Contacting the FOI Section

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

Yours sincerely,

FOI Officer

Freedom of Information Section

FOI and Records Management Branch | Data Division

Strategy & Law Enforcement Group

OFFICIAL

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