Examination of mobile phones and other electronic devices at the airport

** This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email **

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Your email has been received by the Department of Home Affairs Freedom of
Information (FOI) Section. Please note that we will only action and
respond to FOI requests and other matters relating to the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.

If your email is a valid FOI request, the Department will contact you
shortly to acknowledge your request. Please do not send duplicate emails
as this may cause delays in processing times.

For matters not relating to the Freedom of Information Act 1982, please
refer to the information below to assist in the resolution of your
enquiry.

General information regarding travelling to Australia

Information for visitors to Australia can be found [1]here.

Information regarding potential visa options can be found [2]here.

Request for a copy of your Visa Refusal or Visa Grant letter

If you have lost or misplaced correspondence regarding your Visa Refusal
or Visa Grant, or you wish to confirm the authenticity of your Visa
Refusal or Visa Grant, you should contact the office where you lodged your
visa application.

Details of our offices located around the world can be found [3]here.

Queries regarding your current Visa status

You can check your visa details and conditions on the Department’s Visa
Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) portal. If you do not have the
necessary reference numbers to access the VEVO portal, you should contact
the office where you lodged your visa application for further information.

Refund of Visa fees

If you are seeking a refund of fees associated with your Visa, you should
contact the office where you lodged your visa application. Details of our
offices located around the world can be found [4]here.

Making a Visa application

Registered migration agents are authorised to provide immigration advice
or assistance, including advice regarding the lodgement of visa
applications. Further information on migration agents may be found
[5]here. Please note that the Department is unable to assist you in this
regard.

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

Australian Citizenship

If you are seeking evidence of your Australian Citizenship, you should
complete Form 119, which can be found [7]here. Details on where to send
your completed form may be found on page 8 of the Form. This form will
not be actioned by the FOI Section.

Information on how to apply for Australian citizenship, information for
Australian citizens and Australian Citizenship Day can be found [8]here.

Movement Records/Travel History

If you are seeking evidence of your own travel movements/history you
should complete Form 1359, which can be found [9]here. Details on where to
send your request may be found on page 1 and 2 of the Form. This request
will not be actioned by the FOI Section.

Superannuation – Evidence of Immigration Status

If you are seeking evidence of your own immigration status for
superannuation purposes, you should complete Form 1194, which can be found
[10]here. Details on where to send your completed form may be found on
page 1 of the Form. This request will not be actioned by the FOI Section.

Update Passport Details

Information on how to update your address or passport details can be found
[11]here.

Notification of Change in Circumstances

If you have lodged a visa application and your circumstances have changed,
you should submit [12]Form 1022 to the office where you lodged your visa
application. Details of our offices located around the world can be found
[13]here. The FOI Section does not process these forms.

Duty Free concessions

Information relating to duty free concessions can be found [14]here.

General Enquiries

If you have a question, which has not been answered above, and which is
about visa, citizenship, travel or trade, including bringing goods in and
out of Australia, please refer to our general enquiries web form [15]here.

Thank you

Information updated 21 October 2019

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

UNCLASSIFIED

In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 20/01/01226
File Number: OBJ2020/3207

Dear Ms Boon-Kuo,

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

I refer to your correspondence received on 31 January 2020 seeking access to documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

You have requested access to the following:

Any information, records, paper documents, electronic records (or their contents) held or accessible by the Department of Home Affairs (‘DHA’) in relation to the activities of officers (including Electronic Examination officers) or Immigration and Border Protection workers (all collectively referred to as ‘officers’ for the purpose of this request) under the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) or Migration Act 1958 (Cth) or Australian Border Force Act 2015 (Cth) in the examination, copy of contents, extraction of data from, and retention of, mobile phones or other digital devices at the airport, specifically:

1. Any documents including policies, procedures, checklists, protocols or pro forma templates in databases (including the Customs document management system and the pro forma template forms for Information Reports and BAGS reports) guiding the activities of officers in the examination, copy of contents, extraction of data from, and retention of, mobile phones or other digital devices.

2. Any training materials or explanatory documents produced for officers explaining the meaning of provisions under s 186 or s 186A of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) or s 252 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth); explaining the authority of officers to examine, copy contents or extract data from or retain mobile phones or other digital devices; or guiding officers in the appropriate use of these powers.

3. Any documents including policies, procedures, protocols, checklists, or proforma templates or forms in databases guiding or triggering officers to use XRY software to examine and analyse the contents of mobile phones and other digital devices at the airport.

4. Any documents, guidelines or protocols concerning how an alleged breach of migration or customs law that has been identified by examination of a digital device and/or associated action such as interview at the airport is to be dealt with by the DHA or other body (for example, the Australian Federal Police or the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions) when the alleged conduct also amounts to a criminal offence.

5. The total number of mobile phones:

a. examined under s 186 of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) in the period 1 July 2009-30 June 2019, broken down by fiscal year and country of citizenship or nationality.

b. examined under s 252 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) in the period 1 July 2009-30 June 2019, broken down by fiscal year and country of citizenship or nationality.

c. in which officers have made a copy or taken an extract from the device under s 186A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) in the period 1 July 2009-30 June 2019, broken down by fiscal year and country of citizenship or nationality.

6. The total number of electronic devices other than mobile phones:

a. examined under s 186 of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) in the period 1 July 2009-30 June 2019, broken down by fiscal year and country of citizenship or nationality.

b. examined under s 252 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) in the period 1 July 2009-30 June 2019, broken down by fiscal year and country of citizenship or nationality.

c. in which officers have made a copy or taken an extract from the device under s 186A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) in the period 1 July 2009-30 June 2019, broken down by fiscal year and country of citizenship or nationality.

7. A description of action taken following examination of mobile phones and other electronic devices including:

a. The number of visa cancellations following examination in the period 1 July 2009-30 June 2019, the legal provision for that cancellation (e.g. s 116 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth)), and a description of the reason for cancellation, broken down by fiscal year.

b. The number of referrals to the police or other law enforcement agency or Department of Public Prosecutions following examination in the period 1 July 2009-30 June 2019 and the reason for that referral, broken down by fiscal year.

c. The number of prosecutions following examination in the period 1 July 2009-30 June 2019, broken down by the alleged offence prosecuted and fiscal year.

d. The number of travellers taken into immigration detentions under s 189 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) following examination in the period 1 July 2009-30 June 2019 broken down by fiscal year.

e. The number of travellers taken into questioning detention under s 192 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) during or following examination in the period 1 July 2009-30 June 2019 broken down by fiscal year.

8. The total number of complaints made to the Department by travellers in relation to the examination of mobile phones and a description in relation to the examination of mobile phones or other electronic devices, the copying of data or retention of electronic devices; broken down by the country of nationality or citizenship of the complainant and fiscal year.

Your request was received by the Department on 31 January 2020 and has been allocated FOI request number FA 20/01/01226 . 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.

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 exists.

Contacting the FOI Section
Should you wish to discuss your request you may contact the FOI Section at [DIBP request email].

Yours sincerely,

FOI Officer
Freedom of Information National Office
FOI and Records Management Branch
Data Division | Corporate and Enabling Group
Department of Home Affairs | Email: [DIBP request email]

UNCLASSIFIED

-----Original Message-----
From: Louise Boon-Kuo <[FOI #6111 email]>
Sent: Friday, 31 January 2020 12:00 PM
To: FOI <[DIBP request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Examination of mobile phones and other electronic devices at the airport

Dear Department of Home Affairs,

Under Freedom of Information I request any information, records, paper documents, electronic records (or their contents) held or accessible by the Department of Home Affairs (‘DHA’) in relation to the activities of officers (including Electronic Examination officers) or Immigration and Border Protection workers (all collectively referred to as ‘officers’ for the purpose of this request) under the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) or Migration Act 1958 (Cth) or Australian Border Force Act 2015 (Cth) in the examination, copy of contents, extraction of data from, and retention of, mobile phones or other digital devices at the airport, specifically: