Ordering of Citizenship Ceremony Attendance for Those Who Have Their Citizenship Application Approved
Dear Department of Home Affairs,
Under Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request responses to the following. For those who have their citizenship application approved, what is the decision making process for their invitation to attend a ceremony? Particularly, how are those in the waiting list ordered (within the same council area)?
Additionally, for two individuals who do not have any special requests to get a priority ceremony attendance, is it possible for Individual One, whose citizenship application was approved *after* that of Individual Two, to be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony *before* Individual Two? If so, why and how does that align with Australian rights and values?
Yours faithfully,
James
** 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.
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
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If your email is not specific an FOI request or FOI related matter, the
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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
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FOI requests are generally processed in the order they are received.
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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
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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-...
Dear Department of Home Affairs,
I would like to clarify the following in regards to my earlier request. For the scenario described for two individuals waiting to attend a citizenship ceremony in my earlier request, the individuals are assumed to reside in the same city council (so they are part of the same city council waiting list).
Yours faithfully,
James
** 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.
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 22/10/01273
File Number: OBJ2022/28020
Dear James,
I refer to your email dated 23 October 2022 in which you request access to documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
I am writing to advise that your request is not valid for the purposes of section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act in its current form, and to provide you with an opportunity to revise your request so that it is a valid request. This is called a ‘request consultation process’. Please respond to this notice in one of the ways set out below.
Scope of Request
You have requested access to the following:
Under Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request responses to the following. For those who have their citizenship application approved, what is the decision making process for their invitation to attend a ceremony? Particularly, how are those in the waiting list ordered (within the same council area)?
Additionally, for two individuals who do not have any special requests to get a priority ceremony attendance, is it possible for Individual One, whose citizenship application was approved *after* that of Individual Two, to be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony *before* Individual Two? If so, why and how does that align with Australian rights and values?
I would like to clarify the following in regards to my earlier request. For the scenario described for two individuals waiting to attend a citizenship ceremony in my earlier request, the individuals are assumed to reside in the same city council (so they are part of the same city council waiting list).
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 if either (or both) of the following applies:
(a) the work involved in the processing of the request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the Department from its other operations
(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.
Reasons for practical refusal
The Department has considered the scope of this request and its capacity to conduct searches of relevance based on the current scope. It is my preliminary view that your request, in its current form, is not specific enough to enable the Department to identify documents in scope of your request.
In order to process your request in a timely manner, FOI and the relevant business area require your assistance to clarify the scope of your request.
Please clarify the following points of the scope of your request:
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 provides the right to obtain access to 'a document of an agency'. As such, it is not possible for the Department to provide responses to questions under the FOI Act.
Please identify the document/s you require access to.
Request Consultation Process
You now have an opportunity to revise your request to enable it to proceed.
Your request is currently not a valid request for the purposes of section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act. As part of this practical refusal consultation, you have 14 days to do one of the following:
• make a revised request;
• indicate that you do not wish to revise your request;
• withdraw 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, the Department will deem your request to be withdrawn.
Contact
Should you wish to revise your request or have any questions in relation to this process, please do not hesitate to contact the FOI section at [Department of Home Affairs request email]
Kind regards,
FOI Officer - Geoff
Freedom of Information
Department of Home Affairs
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]
Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
-----Original Message-----
From: James <[FOI #9488 email]>
Sent: 23 October 2022 3:16 PM
To: FOI <[Department of Home Affairs request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Ordering of Citizenship Ceremony Attendance for Those Who Have Their Citizenship Application Approved
Dear Department of Home Affairs,
Under Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request responses to the following. For those who have their citizenship application approved, what is the decision making process for their invitation to attend a ceremony? Particularly, how are those in the waiting list ordered (within the same council area)?
Additionally, for two individuals who do not have any special requests to get a priority ceremony attendance, is it possible for Individual One, whose citizenship application was approved *after* that of Individual Two, to be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony *before* Individual Two? If so, why and how does that align with Australian rights and values?
Yours faithfully,
James
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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.
Dear FOI Officer,
Thank you for your response. I'm writing this to revise and clarify my request.
In many city councils, the number of people in the citizenship ceremony waiting list is (significantly) above the capacity of the next ceremony. Therefore, there is a need to select a relatively small set of people for the next available ceremony. Let us take City of Casey as an example and assume that there are 1000 people in the waiting list and each ceremony session can accommodate 200 people (I'm making up the numbers; the point is the former numerical value is strictly larger than the latter).
For simplicity, let us also assume that those with special circumstances for priority ceremony attendance are excluded from the above numbers. So, everyone among 1000 people in the waiting list is in the same position: citizenship application approved, no special circumstance regarding ceremony attendance and just awaiting for ceremony to officially become an Australian citizen. Now, the Department must select 200 people out of 1000 to decide on those who will attend the next ceremony session. My question is how does the Department make the selection? Note that there has to be a method the Department employs as such a selection is being made constantly in many council areas.
An approach to making the selection would be to apply the 'first in first out' principle where those with citizenship application approval first would be the first to attend the ceremony. More precisely, those in the waiting list would be sorted by the citizenship application approval date (taking into account those who requested to attend the ceremony together) and the first 200 would be invited to the next ceremony. Is this the approach taken by the Department? If not, how does the Department make the selection?
Yours sincerely,
James
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy
In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 22/10/01273
File Number: OBJ2022/28020
Dear James,
Thank you for your response.
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 provides the right to obtain access to 'a document of an agency'. As such, it is not possible for the Department to provide responses to questions under the FOI Act.
You must identify the specific document/s you require access to in order for this FOI request to be valid.
Questions of the type in your scope may be best answered by the Citizenship area via 131 881.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer - Geoff
Freedom of Information
Department of Home Affairs
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]
Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
-----Original Message-----
From: James <[FOI #9488 email]>
Sent: 28 October 2022 10:57 AM
To: FOI <[Department of Home Affairs request email]>
Subject: CM: Re: FA 22/10/01273 – FOI Request – Practical Refusal Notice [SEC=OFFICIAL:Sensitive, ACCESS=Personal-Privacy]
Dear FOI Officer,
Thank you for your response. I'm writing this to revise and clarify my request.
In many city councils, the number of people in the citizenship ceremony waiting list is (significantly) above the capacity of the next ceremony. Therefore, there is a need to select a relatively small set of people for the next available ceremony. Let us take City of Casey as an example and assume that there are 1000 people in the waiting list and each ceremony session can accommodate 200 people (I'm making up the numbers; the point is the former numerical value is strictly larger than the latter).
For simplicity, let us also assume that those with special circumstances for priority ceremony attendance are excluded from the above numbers. So, everyone among 1000 people in the waiting list is in the same position: citizenship application approved, no special circumstance regarding ceremony attendance and just awaiting for ceremony to officially become an Australian citizen. Now, the Department must select 200 people out of 1000 to decide on those who will attend the next ceremony session. My question is how does the Department make the selection? Note that there has to be a method the Department employs as such a selection is being made constantly in many council areas.
An approach to making the selection would be to apply the 'first in first out' principle where those with citizenship application approval first would be the first to attend the ceremony. More precisely, those in the waiting list would be sorted by the citizenship application approval date (taking into account those who requested to attend the ceremony together) and the first 200 would be invited to the next ceremony. Is this the approach taken by the Department? If not, how does the Department make the selection?
Yours sincerely,
James
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy
In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 22/10/01273
File Number: OBJ2022/28020
Dear James,
I refer to your email dated 23 October 2022 in which you request access to documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
I am writing to advise that your request is not valid for the purposes of section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act in its current form, and to provide you with an opportunity to revise your request so that it is a valid request. This is called a ‘request consultation process’. Please respond to this notice in one of the ways set out below.
Scope of Request
You have requested access to the following:
Under Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request responses to the following. For those who have their citizenship application approved, what is the decision making process for their invitation to attend a ceremony? Particularly, how are those in the waiting list ordered (within the same council area)?
Additionally, for two individuals who do not have any special requests to get a priority ceremony attendance, is it possible for Individual One, whose citizenship application was approved *after* that of Individual Two, to be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony *before* Individual Two? If so, why and how does that align with Australian rights and values?
I would like to clarify the following in regards to my earlier request. For the scenario described for two individuals waiting to attend a citizenship ceremony in my earlier request, the individuals are assumed to reside in the same city council (so they are part of the same city council waiting list).
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 if either (or both) of the following applies:
(a) the work involved in the processing of the request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the Department from its other operations
(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.
Reasons for practical refusal
The Department has considered the scope of this request and its capacity to conduct searches of relevance based on the current scope. It is my preliminary view that your request, in its current form, is not specific enough to enable the Department to identify documents in scope of your request.
In order to process your request in a timely manner, FOI and the relevant business area require your assistance to clarify the scope of your request.
Please clarify the following points of the scope of your request:
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 provides the right to obtain access to 'a document of an agency'. As such, it is not possible for the Department to provide responses to questions under the FOI Act.
Please identify the document/s you require access to.
Request Consultation Process
You now have an opportunity to revise your request to enable it to proceed.
Your request is currently not a valid request for the purposes of section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act. As part of this practical refusal consultation, you have 14 days to do one of the following:
• make a revised request;
• indicate that you do not wish to revise your request;
• withdraw 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, the Department will deem your request to be withdrawn.
Contact
Should you wish to revise your request or have any questions in relation to this process, please do not hesitate to contact the FOI section at [Department of Home Affairs request email]
Kind regards,
FOI Officer - Geoff
Freedom of Information
Department of Home Affairs
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]
Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #9488 email]
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:
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Dear FOI Officer,
Thank you for your response.
Based on your response, am I correct to understand that the Department of Home Affairs does *not* have any written procedure in place to decide on who should attend the next citizenship ceremony session (despite having tens of thousands of people in the waiting lists)?
Yours sincerely,
James
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy
In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 22/10/01273
File Number: OBJ2022/28020
Dear James,
With your consent, the FOI section can ask Departmental officers to search for documents which satisfy the phrase 'any written procedure in place to decide on who should attend the next citizenship ceremony session'.
This is extracted from your email below. I look forward to your response.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer - Geoff
Freedom of Information
Department of Home Affairs
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]
Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
-----Original Message-----
From: James <[FOI #9488 email]>
Sent: 31 October 2022 4:05 PM
To: FOI <[Department of Home Affairs request email]>
Subject: CM: Re: FA 22/10/01273 – FOI Request – Consultation [SEC=OFFICIAL:Sensitive, ACCESS=Personal-Privacy]
Dear FOI Officer,
Thank you for your response.
Based on your response, am I correct to understand that the Department of Home Affairs does *not* have any written procedure in place to decide on who should attend the next citizenship ceremony session (despite having tens of thousands of people in the waiting lists)?
Yours sincerely,
James
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy
In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 22/10/01273
File Number: OBJ2022/28020
Dear James,
Thank you for your response.
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 provides the right to obtain access to 'a document of an agency'. As such, it is not possible for the Department to provide responses to questions under the FOI Act.
You must identify the specific document/s you require access to in order for this FOI request to be valid.
Questions of the type in your scope may be best answered by the Citizenship area via 131 881.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer - Geoff
Freedom of Information
Department of Home Affairs
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]
Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #9488 email]
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:
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
FOI Request: FA 22/10/01273
File Number: OBJ2022/28020
Dear FOI Officer,
Thank you for your response. It would be appreciated if the Departmental officers could search for a written procedure for what I described in my earlier emails. However, searching for exactly the same phrase 'any written procedure in place to decide on who should attend the next citizenship ceremony session' may not be the most suitable way to go about it. I do not know what terminology is being used by the Department (and there is no information on the Department's website regarding the decision making process I described), and therefore, I believe the officers would need to search for the keywords used within the Department for the decision making process I described. If that can be done, I would appreciate it.
Yours sincerely,
James
OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy
In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 22/10/01273
File Number: OBJ2022/28020
Dear James,
Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request
This letter acknowledges that on 23 October 2022 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:
On 2 November 2022 you amended the original scope of your request to:
any written procedure in place to decide on who should attend the next citizenship ceremony (within the same council area)
Original Scope:
Under Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request responses to the following. For those who have their citizenship application approved, what is the decision making process for their invitation to attend a ceremony? Particularly, how are those in the waiting list ordered (within the same council area)?
Additionally, for two individuals who do not have any special requests to get a priority ceremony attendance, is it possible for Individual One, whose citizenship application was approved *after* that of Individual Two, to be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony *before* Individual Two? If so, why and how does that align with Australian rights and values?
I would like to clarify the following in regards to my earlier request. For the scenario described for two individuals waiting to attend a citizenship ceremony in my earlier request, the individuals are assumed to reside in the same city council (so they are part of the same city council waiting list).
Your request has been allocated FOI request number FA 22/10/01273 . Please include your FOI request number in all correspondence with the Freedom of Information Section.
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FOI Officer - Geoff
Freedom of Information
Department of Home Affairs
E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]
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OFFICIAL: Sensitive
-----Original Message-----
From: James <[FOI #9488 email]>
Sent: 23 October 2022 3:16 PM
To: FOI <[Department of Home Affairs request email]>
Subject: CM: Freedom of Information request - Ordering of Citizenship Ceremony Attendance for Those Who Have Their Citizenship Application Approved
Dear Department of Home Affairs,
Under Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request responses to the following. For those who have their citizenship application approved, what is the decision making process for their invitation to attend a ceremony? Particularly, how are those in the waiting list ordered (within the same council area)?
Additionally, for two individuals who do not have any special requests to get a priority ceremony attendance, is it possible for Individual One, whose citizenship application was approved *after* that of Individual Two, to be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony *before* Individual Two? If so, why and how does that align with Australian rights and values?
Yours faithfully,
James
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OFFICIAL
In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 22/10/01273
File Number: OBJ2022/28020
Dear James,
On 23 October 2022, the Department of Home Affairs (the Department)
received a request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your
request for access under the FOI Act.
1 Scope of request
You have requested access to the following documents:
Amended Scope:
any written procedure in place to decide on who should attend the next
citizenship ceremony
Original Scope:
Under Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request responses to the
following. For those who have their citizenship application approved, what
is the decision making process for their invitation to attend a ceremony?
Particularly, how are those in the waiting list ordered (within the same
council area)?
Additionally, for two individuals who do not have any special requests to
get a priority ceremony attendance, is it possible for Individual One,
whose citizenship application was approved *after* that of Individual Two,
to be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony *before* Individual Two? If
so, why and how does that align with Australian rights and values?
I would like to clarify the following in regards to my earlier request.
For the scenario described for two individuals waiting to attend a
citizenship ceremony in my earlier request, the individuals are assumed to
reside in the same city council (so they are part of the same city council
waiting list)..
On 25 October 2022 the Department issued you a notice under section 24AB
of the FOI Act.
Any written procedure in place to decide on who should attend the next
citizenship ceremony (within the same council area).
2 Authority to make decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make
decisions in respect of requests to access documents or to amend or
annotate records.
3 Relevant material
In reaching my decision I referred to the following:
· the terms of your request
· the FOI Act
· Guidelines published by the Office of the Information
Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act (the FOI Guidelines)
· advice from Departmental officers with responsibility for
matters relating to the documents to which you sought access.
4 Documents in scope of request
The Department has undertaken reasonable searches in relation to the
documents you have requested to access. Reasonable searches included
consultation with the business area with responsibility for Citizenship.
5 Decision
Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that the Department may refuse a
request for access to a document if all reasonable steps have been taken
to find the document and the Department is satisfied that the document
does not exist.
I am satisfied that the Department has undertaken reasonable searches in
relation to your request and that no documents were in the possession of
the Department on 23 October 2022 when your FOI request was received. As
such, I am refusing your request based on the application of section 24A
of the FOI Act.
6 Additional Information
Citizenship advice that approved applicants generally receive ceremony
invitations in the order of their date of approval. Invitations will be
sent about four weeks before the event. The wait time may differ depending
on which state or local government area the applicant resides in. Demand
in your local government area, or having family member linked to your
application may affect your wait time. You may refer to [1]Ceremonies
wait times for the citizenship ceremony wait times for their local
government council.
7 Legislation
A copy of the FOI Act is available at
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2.... If you are unable to
access the legislation through this website, please contact our office for
a copy.
8 Your Review Rights
Internal Review
If you disagree with this decision, you have the right to apply for an
internal review by the Department of this decision. Any request for
internal review must be provided to the Department within 30 days of you
being notified of the decision. Where possible please attach reasons why
you believe a review of the decision is necessary. The internal review
will be carried out by an officer other than the original decision maker
and the Department must make a review decision within 30 days.
Applications for review should be sent to:
By email to: [2][email address]
OR
By mail to:
Freedom of Information Section
Department of Home Affairs
PO Box 25
BELCONNEN ACT 2617
Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
You may apply directly to the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (OAIC) for a review of this decision. You must apply in
writing within 60 days of this notice. For further information about
review rights and how to submit a request for a review to the OAIC, please
see
[3]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....
9 Making a Complaint
You may complain to the Australian Information Commissioner about action
taken by the Department in relation to your request.
Your enquiries to the Australian Information Commissioner can be directed
to:
Phone 1300 363 992 (local call charge)
Email [4][email address]
There is no particular form required to make a complaint to the Australian
Information Commissioner. The request should be in writing and should set
out the grounds on which it is considered that the action taken in
relation to the request should be investigated and identify the Department
of Home Affairs as the relevant agency.
10 Contacting the FOI Section
Should you wish to discuss this decision, please do not hesitate to
contact the FOI Section at [Department of Home Affairs request email].
Yours sincerely
[Electronically signed]
Phil
Position 60157242
Authorised FOI Officer - Freedom of Information
FOI and Records Management Branch | Legal Group
Department of Home Affairs | [5]www.homeaffairs.gov.au
Email [6][Department of Home Affairs request email]
[7]cid:image002.jpg@01D85BA0.642F5C30
OFFICIAL
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References
Visible links
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4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/
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