OFFICIAL

FOI/2021/305

 

Dear Mr Sebastian

 

Thank you for your email dated 23 November 2021 received by the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department),  in which you made a
request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

 

Validity of your request

 

Section 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) entitles a
person to obtain access under the FOI Act to a document of an agency or a
minister.  A valid FOI request must meet requirements outlined in section
15 of the FOI Act, as follows:

-                      The request must be in writing;

-                      It must state it is a request for the purposes of
the FOI Act;

-                      It must provide such information as is reasonably
necessary to enable the agency to identify the document/s.

 

Your request appears to be an inquiry seeking information relating to
travel eligibility for fully vaccinated visa holders, and is not a request
for documents.

As your request is not a valid FOI request under section 15 of the FOI
Act, we will take no further action in processing your request. However,
the Department is able to provide some additional information that we
trust is of some assistance.

 

Information regarding your query

 

We refer to the Prime Minister’s media statement made on 22 November 2021,
regarding “Further Steps to Reopen Australia and Secure our Economic
Recovery”:

 

“From 1 December 2021, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders can come to
Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption.”

 

A copy of the statement in its entirety can be found on the Prime
Minister’s website at
[1]https://www.pm.gov.au/media/further-step....
Since this announcement was originally made, the Australian Government has
decided to pause the next step to safely reopen Australia to international
skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holiday
maker and provisional family visa holders from 1 December until 15
December. The temporary pause will ensure Australia can gather the
information we need to better understand the Omicron variant, including
the efficacy of the vaccine, the range of illness, including if it may
generate more mild symptoms, and the level of transmission.

 

The statement outlines the requirements under these arrangements,
including that travellers must hold a valid visa for one of the eligible
visa subclasses. Further information surrounding eligible visa holders can
be found on the Department of Home Affairs website at
[2]https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/vacci.... At this
stage, the list does not appear to include Subclass 020 Bridging Visa B
(BVB) holders.

 

We would recommend that you direct your query to the Department of Home
Affairs, as the responsible agency for matters relating to visa holders
travelling to Australia. If you wish to make a FOI request to the
Department of Home Affairs, you may do so by emailing
[3][email address].

 

We hope this information has been of assistance to you.

 

Your sincerely

 

Adviser | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [4][email address]  w. [5]pmc.gov.au

[6]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[7]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[8]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Johny Sebastian <[9][FOI #8123 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 23 November 2021 5:17 AM
To: FOI <[10][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Explanation on Prime Minister's
announcement

 

Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,

 

Following the announcement of Prime Minister on November 22, 2021 about
new arrangements for certain eligible visa holders from December 1, 2021,
I seek following clarification -

 

Are fully-vaccinated Subclass 020 Bridging Visa B (BVB) holders able to
travel to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption?

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Johny Sebastian

 

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

[11][FOI #8123 email]

 

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contact us using this form:

[13]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:

[14]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.

 

 

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.pm.gov.au/media/further-step...
2. https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/vacci...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
6. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
7. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...
9. mailto:[FOI #8123 email]
10. mailto:[email address]
11. mailto:[FOI #8123 email]
12. mailto:[DPMC request email]
13. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
14. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

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