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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.

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Once we receive and have registered your FOI request, we will send you an
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FOI requests are generally processed in the order they are received.

We will contact you as soon as the Department has assessed your request
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[2]https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-sup...

You may be able to resolve your enquiry faster using these other resources

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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
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be accessed [5]here

·       If you are experiencing technical difficulties in lodging your
visa application through ImmiAccount, submit your concerns through the
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·       For evidence of your Australian Citizenship please refer [7]here.
The FOI Section does not process these requests.

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process these requests.

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notify the Department [9]here. The FOI Section does not process these
requests.

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Thank you

Information updated 5 November 2021

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References

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OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 21/12/00294
File Number: OBJ2021/35411

Dear Citizenship Aspirant,

I refer to your email dated 6 December 2021 in which you request access to information held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
I am writing to tell you that your request is not valid for the purposes of section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act, 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’. You have 14 days to respond to this notice in one of the ways set out below.

Scope of Request
You have requested access to the following:
I would like to know

1. The reason behind longer waiting time for Citizenship Ceremony in Victoria Park, WA - 6100, compared to many other councils in and around Perth.

From a recent 'Right to Know' request (FOI Request: FA 21/07/00986, File Number: OBJ2021/22165), it is clear that the number of people waiting for Ceremony after their Citizenship approval in Victoria Park council (168) is less than many other suburbs in and around Perth. However the waiting time is much longer than any other council to my knowledge.

For instance,
- One of my friend got Citizenship approval in the month of September and received Citizenship Certificate on 16th November (with nearly 2 months waiting time) in Kwinana Town Council (although, number of aspirants waiting for ceremony is 222 as on 20th July 2021, which is considerably higher than Victoria Park Council).

- One of my colleague from Mount Lawley council, received his Citizenship approval in May 2021, got his certificate in August 2021.

- Another friend of mine from Victoria Park, got approval in August but haven't heard anything from Council yet. We heard from local residents that invites have been sent to Citizenship aspirants for Ceremony on 26th January already. So the wait time is longer than 6 months in most of the cases.

2. What are the corrective actions being taken by Victoria Park council to reduce the waiting time.

3. Frequency of Citizenship ceremonies in Victoria Park council and number of invites sent for each ceremony.

Parts of the scope not valid
Question 1 The Freedom of Information Act 1982 provides a 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.
Question 2 requests a response from the Victoria Park Council. Local governments are not within the jurisdiction of the FOI Act.
Question 3 requires a date range. For example, from 1 August 2021 - 30 October 2021.

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
I do not consider that your request satisfies the requirements of section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act.
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.
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 to.
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 you are seeking access to, so as to enable the Department to identify those documents.
You do not necessarily need to be able to identify the exact document you are seeking, but you need to provide the Department with sufficient information to enable us to identify it. 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 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 you are seeking to access.
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:
• 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, the Department will take no further action with your request.
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

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OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

Dear Citizenship Aspirant,

Unfortunately, the Department cannot amend the scope of an existing FOI request.

However, instead, you may wish to lodge a new FOI request with your amendments as detailed below.

If you decide to lodge a new FOI request, please indicate whether your preference is to proceed with or withdraw the current FOI request FA 21/12/00294.

Kind regards,

FOI Officer - Geoff
Freedom of Information
Department of Home Affairs

E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

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OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

Dear Citizenship Aspirant,

Thank you for your response.

In line with your instructions this FOI request has been withdrawn. No further action is required in relation to this.

Kind regards,

FOI Officer - Geoff
Freedom of Information
Department of Home Affairs

E: [Department of Home Affairs request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

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