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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

 

Your email has been received by the Department of Home Affairs Freedom of
Information (FOI) Section.

 

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

 

What is a valid FOI request?

 

A valid FOI request may be for:

- documents you previously provided to the Department as part of a visa
application

- a copy of a decision record made by the Department

- statistical information held by the Department

- papers or briefings the Department prepared.

 

If your email is a valid FOI request, the Department will contact you
shortly to acknowledge your request.

 

A valid FOI request must:

o Be in writing and state the request is for consideration under the FOI
Act.
o Have enough information for us to be able to identify the documents
you are seeking.
o Provide a physical or electronic address where we can send our
decision.

 

Do not send duplicate emails as this may cause longer delays in processing
times.

 

What is an invalid FOI request?

 

Invalid FOI requests may include:

- Making a visa application

- Seeking evidence of your Australian Citizenship

- Seeking information about traveling to or departing Australia.

 

If your email is not specific an FOI request or FOI related matter, the
FOI section will not respond.

 

What happens next?

Once we receive and have registered your FOI request, we will send you an
acknowledgment letter by email. Read the acknowledgment letter carefully
for further instructions.

 

FOI requests are generally processed in the order they are received.

 

We will contact you as soon as the Department has assessed your request
under the FOI Act.

 

We’re responding to a large volume of requests

Due to the current high volume of requests, we will not provide progress
up-dates on current FOI requests.  This is to ensure we are able to
process as many requests as possible, including yours.

 

If processing your request is going to take us a lot of time and because
it is large or unspecific, it may be refused.  

 

Still have a question or request?

If you still have a question, which has not been answered above, and which
is about the work of the Department, use our general enquiries web page

[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
International Movement Records form [8]here. The FOI Section does not
process these requests.

·       To update your details, including your Passport details, you can
notify the Department [9]here. The FOI Section does not process these
requests.

 

 

We appreciate your feedback         

We appreciate your feedback to help improve our services.

 

If you would like to provide feedback to us please use our Compliments,
complaints and suggestions form.
[10]https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-and-...

 

 

Thank you

Information updated 11 January 2022

 

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. 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 23/05/00562

File Number:        FA23/05/00562

Dear Mark Romei

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

This letter acknowledges that on 9 May 2023 the Department of Home Affairs
(the Department) received your request to access documents held by  the
Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act). This
letter also provides important information about your request.

Scope of request

You have requested access to the following:

Incident logs for the Park Hotel Alternative Place of Detention (APOD),
from December 2020 to July 2022.

Your request has been allocated FOI request number FA 23/05/00562 . Please
include your FOI request number in all correspondence with the Freedom of
Information Section.

Timeframe

 

The timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the day we receive
your request, as set out in the FOI Act.

 

Your review rights in relation to your request are available on [1]the
website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Fees and Charges

Charges do not apply to requests from individuals seeking access to
documents about themselves. However, a charge may apply to all other
requests for access to documents.

Charges are based on the amount of time the Department spends on your
request. Charges can range from $10 to over $1,000 depending on the
complexity and scope of your request. The Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner reported that across the public service, the
average charge notified was $335.50 in 2020-21.

If a charge applies, you will be issued with a Notice of Charge that
explains the charge and your options.

Detailed information about FOI charges that may apply to your FOI request
is available on [2]the Department’s website.

We do not provide personal details of staff

 

The Department’s practice 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. However
names of staff that have previously been released in departmental
correspondence may be disclosed.

We do not provide duplicated 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

Released documents you request may be published to our website

 

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.

 

How to reduce or withdraw your request

 

Reducing the scope of your request can reduce the time and charges
associated with processing your FOI request.

 

To reduce or withdraw your request, contact the FOI section at
[3][Department of Home Affairs request email] and include your FOI request number.

Contacting the FOI Section

 

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

 

Ayesha

Position number: 60100052

Authorised FOI Officer

FOI and Records Management Branch

Legal Group

Department Of Home Affairs

E: [5][Department of Home Affairs request email]

 

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

 

 

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. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
2. https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/access-an...
3. mailto:[Department of Home Affairs request email]
4. mailto:[Department of Home Affairs request email]
5. mailto:[Department of Home Affairs request email]

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

 

16 May 2023

Mark Romei

BY EMAIL:  [FOI #10291 email]

In reply please quote:

FOI Request:       FA 23/05/00562

File Number:        FA23/05/00562    

Dear Mark Romei

I refer to your email dated 9 May 2023, in which you requested 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:

Incident logs for the Park Hotel Alternative Place of Detention (APOD),
from December 2020 to July 2022.

Intention to refuse request

I am writing to advise you that I intend to refuse your request on the
basis that a practical refusal reason exists. However, before I make a
final decision to do this, you have an opportunity to revise your request
to remove the practical refusal reason. This is called a ‘request
consultation process’. You have 14 days to respond to this notice in one
of the ways set out below.

Power to refuse request

Section 24 of the FOI Act provides that if the Department is satisfied
that a practical refusal reason exists in relation to a request, the
Department must undertake a consultation process with you, and if, after
that consultation process, the Department remains satisfied that the
practical refusal reason still exists, the Department may refuse to give
you access to the documents subject to the request.

Practical refusal

A practical refusal reason exists under section 24AA of the FOI Act if
either (or both) of the following applies:

(1)(a)(i) the work involved in the processing of the request would
substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the Department from
its other operations

(1)(b)     the request does not satisfy the requirement in section
15(2)(b) of the FOI Act, which requires you to provide such information
concerning the document you are seeking access to, to enable the
Department to be able to identify it.

I consider that the request does not satisfy the requirements of section
15(2)(b) of the FOI Act, and accordingly that practical refusal reasons
exist under section 24AA(1)(b) of the FOI Act.

Reasons for practical refusal

In order for your request to be valid for the purposes of the FOI Act, it
must provide such information concerning the documents that you are
seeking access to, as is reasonably necessary to enable the Department to
identify the documents.

A request for “all documents” in relation to a particular person and/or
entity does not provide such information concerning the documents you are
seeking access to, to enable the Department to identify them.

The Department is responsible for immigration and customs border policy,
along with the following matters:

·       National security and law enforcement policy

·       Emergency management, including crisis management and disaster
recovery

·       Countering terrorism policy and coordination

·       Cyber security policy and coordination

·       Countering foreign interference

·       Critical infrastructure protection

·       Multicultural affairs

·       Countering violent extremism programs

·       Transport Security

The Department also includes the Australian Border Force (ABF), which
facilitates the movement of people and goods across the border.

A request for documents that relate to a particular individual has the
potential to capture a broad range of documents, including, but not
limited to, documents concerning that individual crossing the border, visa
and/or citizenship applications and documents relating to the import or
export of goods.

A request for documents that relate to a particular business entity also
has the potential to capture a broad range of documents, including, but
not limited to, documents concerning the import/export of goods and
business with the Department.

The Department, including the ABF, has in excess of 14,055 staff across
114 locations around the world[1][1]. It is not reasonably practicable for
the Department to search every system and every staff member’s information
holdings to ascertain whether documents concerning a particular individual
or entity are held within those systems or by those staff members.

Given the broad nature of the activities undertaken by the Department, I
do not consider that you have provided a reasonable description of the
documents to which you are seeking access.

As such, I am satisfied that your request is not valid and a practical
refusal reason exists in this request. You have not provided sufficient
information concerning the document you are seeking to access, to enable
the Department to be able to identify it.

Request Consultation Process

To enable the Department to consider your request for access under the FOI
Act, the Department will require sufficient information concerning the
specific existing documents to which you seek access, in order to enable
the Department to identify those documents. 

You do not necessarily need to be able to identify the exact documents you
are seeking, but you need to provide the Department with sufficient
information to enable us to identify them. Given the very broad nature of
the functions that this Department has responsibility for, at a very
minimum, we will require advice as to which business areas might hold the
documents you are seeking to access. A copy of the Department’s
organisation chart is available on the Department’s website [2]here which
may assist you with this.

In addition, you may wish to consider providing a timeframe for your
request to assist the Department’s officers to reasonably be able to
identify the documents to which you seek access.

You now have an opportunity to revise your request  to ensure it is a
valid request under section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act andto enable it to
proceed.

Under section 24AB(6) of the FOI Act, you have 14 days to do one of the
following:

·       withdraw your request;

·       make a revised request;

·       indicate that you do not wish to revise your request.

If you do not do one of the three things listed above during the
consultation period (14 days), or you do not consult the contact person
listed below during this period, your request will be taken to have been
withdrawn in accordance with section 24AB(7) of the FOI Act.

Contact

Should you wish to revise your request or have any questions in relation
to this process, please do not hesitate to contact [Department of Home Affairs request email]

 

Ayesha

Position number: 60100052

Authorised FOI Officer

FOI and Records Management Branch

Legal Group

Department Of Home Affairs

E: [3][Department of Home Affairs request email]

 

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

 

 

show quoted sections

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

Dear Mr Romei,

 

Freedom of Information Request

I refer to your email dated 9 June 2023 in which you requested access to
documents held by Department of Home Affairs under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

You specifically requested access to:

Incident logs for the Park Hotel Alternative Place of Detention (APOD),
from December 2020 to July 2022.

On 16 May 2023, Department notified you of its intention to refuse your
request on the basis that the work involved in processing your request in
its current form would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources
of Department from its other operations due to its broad nature, size and
complexity. 

In particular, Department notified you that, within 14 days of receipt of
that letter, you must advise Department that:

·         you wish to make a revised request; or

·         indicate that you do not wish to revise your request; or

·         withdraw your request.

The 14 day period has now expired.  As such, in accordance with section
24AB(7) of the FOI Act, Department considers that your request has been
withdrawn.

If you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please do not hesitate
to contact an FOI officer at FOI.

 

Regards

 

 

Position number: 60007884

Authorised FOI Officer

FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section
FOI & Records Management Branch | Legal Group
Department of Home Affairs

E: [1][Department of Home Affairs request email]

 

 

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

 

 

 

 

 

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. mailto:[Department of Home Affairs request email]