The Freedom of Information Act 1991 (FOI Act) gives you the right to:
Requests for access to or amendment of information need to be made to the department, authority or council holding the relevant information. The links below will take you to the FOI pages of the websites of most Government Departments which contain contact details for the FOI officer in that Department.
Formal requests are not necessary for information which is made generally available to the public and can be obtained by other means. Should you wish to find out if the info you want is available or require assistance in making an FOI request it is suggested that you contact the FOI officer of the relevant Department, Authority or Council.
Requests for information must be in writing and contain sufficient detail to enable the agency to identify the information being requested. While it is not essential to use a particular form, FOI Request Forms are available from all government agencies or can be downloaded from the link below. The same range of information could be included in a letter requesting the information but the use of the request form will assist in formulating your request and also assist the agency in responding to the request.
If the application is declined then the reasons for the refusal to provide the information or to amend information will be provided with the agency’s decision on the request together with details on the right to seek a review of the decision. Some information on reviews by the Ombudsman can be found on the Office of the Ombudsman’s website.
The "Users Guide to Freedom of Information" will provide you with a little more detail on making requests under the FOI Act and how they are processed by the agency to which the request is sent.
You can view, download and print the following Acts and Regulations made available by the Tasmanian Legislation Online website.
Copies of the above legislation can also be purchased from the Printing Authority of Tasmania, 123 Collins Street, Hobart.
The following are links to the Freedom of Information pages on Government Department websites.
Department of Economic Development and Tourism
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Infrastructure Energy and Resources
Department of Primary Industries and Water
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Department of Police and Emergency Management
Department of Tourism, Arts amd the Environment
