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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Your email has been received by the Department of Home Affairs Freedom of
Information (FOI) Section. Please note that we will only action and
respond to FOI requests and other matters relating to the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.

If your email is a valid FOI request, the Department will contact you
shortly to acknowledge your request. Please do not send duplicate emails
as this may cause delays in processing times.

For matters not relating to the Freedom of Information Act 1982, please
refer to the information below to assist in the resolution of your
enquiry.

General information regarding travelling to Australia

Information for visitors to Australia can be found [1]here.

Information regarding potential visa options can be found [2]here.

Request for a copy of your Visa Refusal or Visa Grant letter

If you have lost or misplaced correspondence regarding your Visa Refusal
or Visa Grant, or you wish to confirm the authenticity of your Visa
Refusal or Visa Grant, you should contact the office where you lodged your
visa application. 

Details of our offices located around the world can be found [3]here.

Queries regarding your current Visa status

You can check your visa details and conditions on the Department’s Visa
Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) portal.  If you do not have the
necessary reference numbers to access the VEVO portal, you should contact
the office where you lodged your visa application for further information.

Refund of Visa fees

If you are seeking a refund of fees associated with your Visa, you should
contact the office where you lodged your visa application.  Details of our
offices located around the world can be found [4]here.

Making a Visa application

Registered migration agents are authorised to provide immigration advice
or assistance, including advice regarding the lodgement of visa
applications. Further information on migration agents may be found
[5]here.  Please note that the Department is unable to assist you in this
regard.

If you are experiencing technical difficulties in lodging your visa
application through ImmiAccount, you should submit your concerns through
the ImmiAccount Technical Support Form, which is accessible [6]here.

Australian Citizenship

If you are seeking evidence of your Australian Citizenship, you should
complete Form 119, which can be found [7]here.  Details on where to send
your completed form may be found on page 8 of the Form.  This form will
not be actioned by the FOI Section.

Information on how to apply for Australian citizenship, information for
Australian citizens and Australian Citizenship Day can be found [8]here.

Movement Records/Travel History

If you are seeking evidence of your own travel movements/history you
should complete Form 1359, which can be found [9]here. Details on where to
send your request may be found on page 1 and 2 of the Form. This request
will not be actioned by the FOI Section.

Superannuation – Evidence of Immigration Status

If you are seeking evidence of your own immigration status for
superannuation purposes, you should complete Form 1194, which can be found
[10]here. Details on where to send your completed form may be found on
page 1 of the Form. This request will not be actioned by the FOI Section.

Update Passport Details

Information on how to update your address or passport details can be found
[11]here.

Notification of Change in Circumstances

If you have lodged a visa application and your circumstances have changed,
you should submit [12]Form 1022 to the office where you lodged your visa
application. Details of our offices located around the world can be found
[13]here. The FOI Section does not process these forms. 

Notification of incorrect answers

If you wish to correct answers that you have provided to the Department
either:

·         in a visa application

·         on a passenger card or

·         in response to a notice given to you by the Department inviting
you to comment on possible non-compliance with an obligation to correct
incorrect information

You should submit [14]Form 1023 to the Department. Details of our offices
located around the world can be found [15]here. The FOI Section does not
process these forms. 

Duty Free concessions

Information relating to duty free concessions can be found [16]here.

General Enquiries

If you have a question, which has not been answered above, and which is
about visa, citizenship, travel or trade, including bringing goods in and
out of Australia, please refer to our general enquiries web form [17]here.

Thank you

Information updated 8 January 2018

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. http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visi
2. http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1
3. http://www.border.gov.au/about/contact/o...
4. http://www.border.gov.au/about/contact/o...
5. https://www.mara.gov.au/
6. https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Immi...
7. http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents...
8. http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Citi
9. http://www.border.gov.au/FormsAndDocumen...
10. http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents...
11. http://www.border.gov.au/Lega/Lega/Form/...
12. http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents...
13. http://www.border.gov.au/about/contact/o...
14. http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents...
15. http://www.border.gov.au/about/contact/o...
16. http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Ente/Duty-...
17. http://www.border.gov.au/about/contact/m...

UNCLASSIFIED

In reply please quote:

FOI Request:       FA 18/06/00235

File Number:       ADF2018/64780

Dear Mr Doe

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

I refer to your correspondence received on 1 June 2018 seeking access to
documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

Please note that on 20 December 2017 the Home Affairs Portfolio, including
the Department of Home Affairs, was formally established. A request for
access to documents held by the Department of Home Affairs will be limited
to documents held by the Department, and will not include documents held
by other agencies within the wider Home Affairs portfolio, which remain
separate agencies for the purposes of the FOI Act.

You have requested access to the following:

1) Request for Comment Checklist (on the VACCU intranet site)

2) referral template (on the VACCU intranet site)

3) a print screen (or even better, print to a PDF printer) of the VACCU
intranet site.

Your request was received by the Department on 1 June 2018 and has been
allocated FOI request number FA 18/06/00235. Please include your FOI
request number in all correspondence with the Freedom of Information
Section.

Timeframe for receiving your decision

The statutory timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the date
upon which your application was received by the Department.

Exclusion of non-SES staff personal details and SES telephone contact
details

The Department’s policy is to exclude the personal details of officers not
in the Senior Executive Service (SES), as well as the mobile and work
telephone numbers of SES staff, contained in documents that fall within
scope of an FOI request. If you require names and contact details of
non-SES officers, or direct telephone numbers 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.

Publication of document

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.

Contacting the FOI Section

Should you wish to discuss your request you may contact the FOI Section at
[1][DIBP request email].

Sarah Ingram

Administration Officer | Freedom of Information Section

FOI, Privacy and Records Management

Productivity and Compliance Division | Corporate and Enabling Group

Department of Home Affairs
UNCLASSIFIED

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:[DIBP request email]

UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Doe

Thank you for your email enquiring about the progress of your FOI request.

Please be advised that the Department is currently processing a large number of FOI requests. Our staff are working hard and the Department is committed to processing your request as quickly as possible.

Regards

FOI Officer, Freedom of Information Section
Freedom of Information and Records Management Branch
Productivity and Compliance Division
Corporate and Enabling Group
Department of Home Affairs
E: [DIBP request email]

UNCLASSIFIED

-----Original Message-----
From: Jay Doe <[FOI #4620 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 1 August 2018 8:14 AM
To: FOI <[DIBP request email]>
Subject: Re: FOI request - Acknowledgement - References: FA 18/06/00235; ADF2018/64780 [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Dear Officer

Grateful if you could please advise the status of FOI request FA 18/06/00235

Yours sincerely,

Jay Doe

-----Original Message-----

UNCLASSIFIED

In reply please quote:

FOI Request:       FA 18/06/00235

File Number:       ADF2018/64780

Dear Mr Doe

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

I refer to your correspondence received on 1 June 2018 seeking access to documents held by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

Please note that on 20 December 2017 the Home Affairs Portfolio, including the Department of Home Affairs, was formally established. A request for access to documents held by the Department of Home Affairs will be limited to documents held by the Department, and will not include documents held by other agencies within the wider Home Affairs portfolio, which remain separate agencies for the purposes of the FOI Act.

You have requested access to the following:

1) Request for Comment Checklist (on the VACCU intranet site)

2) referral template (on the VACCU intranet site)

3) a print screen (or even better, print to a PDF printer) of the VACCU intranet site.

Your request was received by the Department on 1 June 2018 and has been allocated FOI request number FA 18/06/00235. Please include your FOI request number in all correspondence with the Freedom of Information Section.

Timeframe for receiving your decision

The statutory timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the date upon which your application was received by the Department.

Exclusion of non-SES staff personal details and SES telephone contact details

The Department’s policy is to exclude the personal details of officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES), as well as the mobile and work telephone numbers of SES staff, contained in documents that fall within scope of an FOI request. If you require names and contact details of non-SES officers, or direct telephone numbers 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.

Publication of document

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.

Contacting the FOI Section

Should you wish to discuss your request you may contact the FOI Section at [1][email address].

Administration Officer | Freedom of Information Section

FOI, Privacy and Records Management

Productivity and Compliance Division | Corporate and Enabling Group

Department of Home Affairs
UNCLASSIFIED

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:[email address]

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #4620 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...

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.

hide quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Our references: FA 18/06/00235; ADF2018/64780

Dear Mr Doe,

I refer to your FOI request received on 1 June 2018, seeking access to the
following:

1) Request for Comment Checklist (on the VACCU intranet site)

2) referral template (on the VACCU intranet site)

3) a print screen (or even better, print to a PDF printer) of the VACCU
intranet site.

The Department has made a decision on this request. Please see attached
the signed decision letter and documents released under the FOI Act.    

This request has now been closed.

Yours sincerely

FOI Officer

Freedom of Information and Records Management Branch 

Productivity and Compliance Division

Corporate and Enabling Group

Department of Home Affairs

E: [1][DIBP request email]

UNCLASSIFIED

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:[DIBP request email]

For-Official-Use-Only

Dear Jay Doe

FOI request: FA 18/08/01346

I refer to your FOI request received on 24 August 2018 seeking access to
the following:

1)    Any training material, policy documents/emails, guidelines regarding
the assessment of identity. In particular those regarding the assessment
of identity for stateless people, protection visa applicants and other
cohorts where identity documents are a concern for the department (eg
Afghans, Sri Lankans, etc). To narrow the scope of the search, I am
interested in how citizenship and protection visa processing officers
assess identity and what guidelines/training/policy they have been guided
by.

2)     A copy of and information about an "identity toolkit". This is
mentioned in paragraph 62 of BMF16 v Minister for Immigration and Border
Protection [2016] FCA 1530 (link:
[1]http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewd...)

3)     A copy of the "risk-based quality assurance program" which is used
in the assessment of citizenship applications and any documents associated
with it. This is mentioned in paragraph 86 of the same court case.

This email is to advise you of my intention to refuse access to the
documents sought by you under section 24AA of the FOI Act.  Please find
attached the notice of intent to refuse access letter for further
information.

The FOI Act provides you with 14 days to respond, in writing, to this
notice, which is close of business Friday, 28 December 2018.

Regards

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Section

Freedom of Information and Records Management Branch 

Productivity and Compliance Division

Corporate and Enabling Group

Department of Home Affairs

E: [2][DIBP request email]

For-Official-Use-Only

For-Official-Use-Only

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. http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewd...
2. mailto:[DIBP request email]

UNOFFICIAL

Our references: FA 18/08/01346; ADF2018/182770

Dear Jay Doe,

Freedom of Information Request

I refer to your email dated 24 August 2018 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:

1) Any training material, policy documents/emails, guidelines regarding
the assessment of identity. In particular those regarding the assessment
of identity for stateless people, protection visa applicants and other
cohorts where identity documents are a concern for the department (eg
Afghans, Sri Lankans, etc). To narrow the scope of the search, I am
interested in how citizenship and protection visa processing officers
assess identity and what guidelines/training/policy they have been guided
by.

2) A copy of and information about an "identity toolkit". This is
mentioned in paragraph 62 of BMF16 v Minister for Immigration and Border
Protection [2016] FCA 1530 (link:
<http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewd...>)

3) A copy of the "risk-based quality assurance program" which is used in
the assessment of citizenship applications and any documents associated
with it. This is mentioned in paragraph 86 of the same court case.

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 [1][DIBP request email].

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Section

Freedom of Information and Records Management Branch 

Productivity and Compliance Division

Corporate and Enabling Group

Department of Home Affairs

E: [2][DIBP request email]

UNOFFICIAL

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:[DIBP request email]
2. mailto:[DIBP request email]