Request for Internal Complaints Handling Procedures

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[1]Australian Government Department of Home Affairs logo

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

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

If you have lodged a request for access to documents or amendment to
information, you will receive an acknowledgement letter within 14 days.

Please see our website for more information on submitting a valid request
for access to information. [2]Freedom of information
(homeaffairs.gov.au)

Legal priority: If your situation has changed to the extent that your FOI
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Due to the high volume of requests we receive, we will not be able to
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If processing your request is going to take us a lot of time because the
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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, the ABF and the National Emergency
Management Agency 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

OFFICIAL: Sensitive

In reply please quote:

FOI Request: FA 24/11/00393

File Number: FA24/11/00393

Dear GP

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

This letter acknowledges that on 4 November 2024 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:

Please provide the internal procedures and guidelines utilized by the
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service for addressing public
complaints. I seek to understand how complaints are documented,
investigated, and resolved, as well as how the department ensures
accountability.

Your request has been allocated FOI request number FA 24/11/00393. 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]Freedom
of information reviews | OAIC.

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 or non-public facing
operational email addresses

The Department’s practice is to exclude the personal details of Government
employees, including contractors, 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 as irrelevant under section
22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act. 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][ABF 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
[ABF request email].

Kind Regards,

Tahra

Position number: 60181896

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

E: [4][ABF request email]

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, the ABF and the National Emergency
Management Agency 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:[ABF request email]
4. mailto:[ABF request email]

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

In reply please quote:

FOI Request: FA 24/11/00393

File Number: FA24/11/00393

Dear GP (Right to Know)

I refer to your email dated 4 November 2024, 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).

Scope of Request

You have requested access to the following:

Please provide the internal procedures and guidelines utilized by the
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service for addressing public
complaints. I seek to understand how complaints are documented,
investigated, and resolved, as well as how the department ensures
accountability.

Scope Refinement

The scope of your request list the Australian Custom and Border Protection
Service which was dissolved in 2015 and replaced with the Australian
Border Force (ABF). Please confirm you are seeking current documents of
the ABF.

The Department would like to suggest a rephrasing of your scope to be the
following:

I request current documentation outlining the procedures utilized by the
Australian Border Force for addressing public grievances and complaints.
This includes steps for documenting, investigating, and resolving such
issues.

I request you consider these refinements to your scope and respond to me
by close of business 27 November 2024.

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. You have 14 days to
respond to this notice in one of the ways set out below.

Request Consultation Process

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 the FOI section at
[ABF request email].

Kind Regards

David
Team Leader – Authorised FOI Officer, Freedom of Information
Position Number 60157647

Privacy, FOI and Records Management Branch

Legal Group

Department of Home Affairs

E: [1][ABF request email]

Personal-Privacy
OFFICIAL: Sensitive

-----Original Message-----
From: GP <[FOI #12267 email]>
Sent: Monday, 4 November 2024 12:36 PM
To: FOI <[ABF request email]>
Subject: CM: Freedom of Information request - Request for Internal
Complaints Handling Procedures

Dear Australian Border Force,

Please provide the internal procedures and guidelines utilized by the
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service for addressing public
complaints. I seek to understand how complaints are documented,
investigated, and resolved, as well as how the department ensures
accountability.

Yours faithfully,

GP

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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

[2][FOI #12267 email]

Is [3][ABF request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Australian Border Force? If so, please contact us using this
form:

[4]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:

[5]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, the ABF and the National Emergency
Management Agency 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:[ABF request email]
2. mailto:[FOI #12267 email]
3. mailto:[ABF request email]
4. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
5. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

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