Appendix 9 - Freedom of information (FOI)
We have provided the information in this Appendix to comply with section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
Information about us, including our structure, appears earlier in this annual report. Decision-making powers are vested in the Minister and/or the Secretary under various Acts. The Minister or the Secretary may delegate most of their powers to departmental staff.
Generally, we prefer to provide access to documents in the form of copies. Private viewing of personal files may be done by appointment at state and regional offices.
Initial telephone inquiries in relation to freedom of information (FOI) matters can be made through the Client Service Line on 13 18 81.
FOI requests with contact addresses in Victoria should be sent to:
Parliamentary and Public Access Section
DIMA Victoria
GPO Box 241E
MELBOURNE VIC 3001
FOI requests with contact addresses in all
other States and Territories of Australia
should be sent to:
FOI Section
DIMA PO Box 25
BELCONNEN ACT 2616
FOI Documents Maintained
| Type | Description |
| Documents of decision-making bodies * |
Relating to the business of these bodies and including agenda, minutes, and other records. |
| Cabinet documents * | Records of Cabinet matters including Cabinet submissions and Cabinet minutes. |
| Representations to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and the Parliamentary Secretary * | The Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary receive a large number of written representations each year concerning all aspects of migration, population, settlement, citizenship policies, and portfolio administration. |
| Documents on internal departmental administration * | These documents include personnel records, organisation and staffing records, financial and expenditure records, and internal operating documentation such as internal working documents and correspondence. |
| Programme documents * | We hold documents relating to grants provided to various organisations under the programmes we administer and programmes administered under enactments including the Migration Act 1958 and the Australian Citizenship Act 1948. |
| Personal information documents * | We hold personal information about applicants for migration and Australian citizenship as well as information about movements into and out of Australia. This is located on individual files and our databases. |
| Documents available for access or purchase subject to a fee or other charge |
Our annual report is available on the Internet. Our legislation and policy instructions are available for purchase via an online subscription service, LEGENDcom, on our website. The Freedom of Information Handbook is available for purchase from our Freedom of Information units. |
| Documents available free of charge upon request ** |
We hold and make available on request (free of charge) a range of documents including fact sheets, some research documents, general information leaflets (some in a number of languages), and a leaflet about FOI that is published by the Attorney-General's Department. |
* Some records are either not available or only available to the public under the FOI Act, where access may be subject to a charge.
** These are available on our website (www.immi.gov.au) and/ or at the public inquiry counters of our Australian and overseas offices.