Virtual APEC Business Travel Card (VABTC) Documents

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OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 22/12/01090
File Number: FA22/12/01090

Dear Rex Banner,

I refer to your email dated 21 December 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:
I request access to documents relating to the design, procurement, staffing (head count numbers, including contracting but redact names of people), invoices & expenses and any security and/or privacy assessment of the Virtual APEC Business Travel Card (VABTC).

Please note that this request explicitly does not want personal information.

I would be grateful if you could confirm receipt of this request and provide a response within the statutory time frame of 30 days. I agree in advance to a 12 day extension of time if needed.

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:

Please provide a date range for the information you require. For example, January 2022 - November 2022.

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: Rex Banner <[FOI #9757 email]>
Sent: 21 December 2022 6:13 PM
To: FOI <[Department of Home Affairs request email]>
Subject: CM: Freedom of Information request - Virtual APEC Business Travel Card (VABTC) Documents

Dear Department of Dear Home Affairs,

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).

I request access to documents relating to the design, procurement, staffing (head count numbers, including contracting but redact names of people), invoices & expenses and any security and/or privacy assessment of the Virtual APEC Business Travel Card (VABTC).

Please note that this request explicitly does not want personal information.

I would be grateful if you could confirm receipt of this request and provide a response within the statutory time frame of 30 days. I agree in advance to a 12 day extension of time if needed.

Yours sincerely,

Rex Banner

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Unsolicited commercial emails MUST NOT be sent to the originator of this email.

hide quoted sections

OFFICIAL: Sensitive
Personal-Privacy

In reply please quote:
FOI Request: FA 22/12/01090
File Number: FA22/12/01090

Dear Rex Banner,

Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Access request

This letter acknowledges that on 21 December 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:
I request access to documents relating to the design, procurement, staffing (head count numbers, including contracting but redact names of people), invoices & expenses and any security and/or privacy assessment of the Virtual APEC Business Travel Card (VABTC).

Please note that this request explicitly does not want personal information.

On 22 December 2022 you amended the scope of this FOI request to:
The privacy impact assessment of the Virtual APEC Business Travel Card (VABTC) in the date range 2020-01-01 to 2022-12-22

I would be grateful if you could confirm receipt of this request and provide a response within the statutory time frame of 30 days. I agree in advance to a 12 day extension of time if needed.

Your request has been allocated FOI request number FA 22/12/01090. 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.

The Department has accepted your offer to extend the due date of this FOI request to 1 February 2023. Thank you.

Your review rights in relation to your request are available on 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 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 [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 [Department of Home Affairs request email].