A Users Guide to Freedom of Information
Introduction
The Tasmanian Freedom of Information Act 1991 (FOI Act) gives people the right to be provided with information held by Government agencies (which includes government departments, ministers, local councils and most public authorities) unless the information is exempted from release.
In particular, members of the public have a right of access to records of their personal information and may request to have the records amended if the information about them is incorrect, incomplete, out of date or misleading.
If access to, or amendment of information is refused, the applicant has a right to have the decision reviewed by the head of the agency. If still dissatisfied there is a further right to seek a review of the agency’s decision by the Ombudsman.
This guide is arranged to help you to understand the process of making a request under the Act.
Contents
How to apply for information
Where to send the request
Fees and charges
Access to the information
Appeals - Reviews
- Review of Decisions
- What decisions can be reviewed
- How do I seek an internal review
- What if I am still dissatisfied
Exempt Information - The Ombudsman
Personal Information
- Records of Personal information
- How do I apply for personal information
- How can I seek an amendment to personal information
- Notation of claims
- Personal privacy
What information can I request?
The Act applies to all State government departments and Ministers. It also applies to local councils and a range of other statutory authorities and bodies. These are all referred to in the FOI Act and in this Guide as "agencies".
Information held by any of the departments, ministers, councils or authorities may be requested.
The form in which the information is held does not affect your right to request the information. It may be in the form of written records, or be stored on computer, or be maps, graphs, photographs and the like.
Personal information can be requested regardless of when the records were created but the right of access to records other than those containing personal information records is limited to information which was recorded in an agency's records after 1 January 1988.
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What information will not be available?
You will not normally be able to use FOI to obtain information which can be purchased from an agency or inspected in accordance with another Act or is publicly available.
Not all records are kept indefinitely, and it cannot be guaranteed that every record will still be held as they are disposed of after a period of time in accordance with the Archives Act 1983. That period varies with the type of information concerned but if, when you make a request, the records have already been destroyed the agency will advise you. By contacting the agency before making your request you may be able to ascertain whether it is likely that the information is still being kept.
Some of the information held by agencies must remain confidential, for example:
- information affecting the law enforcement capabilities or national security;
- information affecting the personal privacy of another person; or
- information which could place a business at a competitive disadvantage if the information were released.
There are a number of other reasons under the FOI Act why information which is the subject of an FOI request may be withheld or withheld in part. If requested information is not provided the reasons will be explained in the agency’s reasons for its decision.
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Your request must be in writing and contain sufficient details to enable an agency to identify the information required.
Your request should also be signed and dated and give a postal address and, if possible, a contact telephone number. This will assist the agency to confirm your right to access the information (if it is a request for personal information) and enable them to contact you to clarify the request or update you on the processing of the request.
You should also state whether you simply wish to inspect the documents or wish to have a copy supplied to you.
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 is responding to the request.
Download a FOI Request Form 
Download a FOI Request Form 
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You should send the request to the agency which you believe is holding the information you wish to access. If you are unsure if a particular agency holds the required information, you can ask the agency to provide general details of the type of records it keeps.
Agency websites and annual reports provide a general idea of the range of information the agency might hold. If you are not sure which agency might hold the information or where to send your request contact the FOI officer in the agency which you believe is holding the information.
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What happens if I send a request to the wrong agency?
If the requested information is not held by the agency to which you direct your request, but the agency can, from the request, determine that another agency holds the requested information the request or the appropriate part of the request will be transferred to the other agency. Otherwise the agency will advise you that it is unable to fulfil your request and you may need to clarify your request.
If the information is jointly held by agencies, an agency may transfer your request to the agency which is best able to deal with it or each agency will process its part of the request.
You will be notified of the agency to which your request has been transferred.
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The FOI Act provides for a standard scale of charges to be paid by an applicant. In summary these charges, which are set out in the Freedom of Information (Fees) Regulations 2004 are:
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an hourly fee for the time taken by the agency to find the record containing the information
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an hourly fee for supervising your inspection of any material to which access is given
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a fee for each page for non-coloured A4 pages of photocopy
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a fee per page for supplying written transcripts of tapes
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other reasonable costs associated with making copies of tapes, films, maps etc.
On receiving your application the agency will make an estimate of charges. If the estimate is that the cost will be more than $25 the agency will notify you to find out whether you wish to proceed with the application.
The maximum charge for personal information is $100 and for other information it is $400.
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The agency may require a deposit before going further if substantial work is required to meet your request.
The maximum deposit is $25 if the expected charge is under $100. If the expected charge is greater than $100 then a deposit of 50% of the estimated fee may be required.
The agency may also request full payment of the costs before providing you with the information.
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In certain circumstances charges may be reduced or waived altogether. For example:
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if you are requesting only personal information about yourself the charge will be reduced by $50, so in many cases there will be no charge for providing this information
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if you can show that you have very limited financial means, there will be no charge
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if the agency considers that the request is a routine matter there will be no charge
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if your intended use of the information is for general public benefit then the charge will be reduced by $50
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if you agree to an extension of time for the agency to consider your application then the agency may reduce charges after discussing the matter with you.
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How will I be provided with the information?
If you are granted access to the information you may:
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inspect the records
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receive a photocopy or transcript or copy
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view or hear the information.
If you use the FOI request form to make your request it asks you to indicate whether you wish to merely view the information or require a copy to be sent to you. If you only wish to view the information or it is in a format that makes it difficult or impossible to provide a copy the agency will arrange a suitable time and place for your to view the information.
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When will I get the information I have requested?
Normally you will be notified of the decision about your request as soon as practicable and within 30 days of the agency receiving your request.
In some cases it will be necessary for the agency to contact persons or businesses because the information you have requested is their personal or business information. If such contact does need to be made then the time for responding to your request may be significantly longer as the person or business may have a right to advise whether they agree to the release of the information and also may have a right to seek a review of the agency’s decision to release information about them to you (if they have objected to the release).
If it is likely to take the agency longer than 30 days to process and complete the request you will be contacted to advise you of the delay and if appropriate to discuss whether the request can be reduced or amended so that it can be completed more quickly. By modifying the request the need to seek the views of the other person or business may be able to be avoided and the request satisfied sooner.
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If the agency decides that it cannot not give you access to all or some parts of the information that you have requested it will advise you in writing of the reasons for refusing the request. If information is withheld you have the right to have the decision reviewed either within the agency or by the Ombudsman (see below).
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If your request is wholly or partially refused, the letter giving you the reasons for the decision will also advise you of your review rights.
If you are dissatisfied with a decision made by an agency or a Minister in relation to your FOI request for access to or amendment of information, you are also entitled to have the decision reviewed. The FOI Act uses the term "review" rather than "appeal".
There are two stages to the review process. A review by the head of the agency which first made the decision. This is called an "internal review" and can be initiated by a letter to the head of the agency requesting a review (see below). If this does not resolve the matter then you can seek a review by the Ombudsman who is independent of any agency. This is called an "external review" and is initiated by a letter to the Ombudsman (which will need details of the decision) (see below).
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What decisions can be reviewed?
You can ask for a review of any of the following decisions about your FOI request:
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the agency's estimate of the expected charge for the information.
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the agency's refusal to grant access to all or any part of the information you have requested.
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the agency's refusal to amend personal information which it holds about you.
You can also ask for a review of any decision made to provide:
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information about your personal affairs; or
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certain sensitive business information in the case of a business undertaking
to another person.
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How do I seek an internal review?
Once you have been notified of the agency's decision, you have 28 days in which to apply for an internal review of that decision.
Your application for a review should be in writing addressed to the head (Secretary / Principal Officer) of the agency dealing with the request.
The head (or another person nominated for that purpose by the head of the agency) will consider your application and will notify you within 14 days of the decision. If after the review all the information you have requested is still not released to you, the notice giving you the reasons for the decision will also advise you of your further review rights.
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What if I am still dissatisfied after the internal review?
You are entitled to seek a review (external review) by the Ombudsman of any decision made in relation to your request or the decision on review of your request.
Click here to access information from the Ombudsman's website on how to apply for an external review.
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How do I seek an external review?
Where a decision is made initially by the head of an agency or a Minister, you can apply directly to the Ombudsman for a review. However, in most cases the decisions are made by authorised FOI Officers so seeking a review by the Ombudsman would usually only be used after seeking an internal review by the agency as described above.
You should apply to the Ombudsman in writing no later than 60 days after receiving the decision of the head of agency or his nominee on the internal review.
If you wish to appeal against the proposal to release your personal information to another person (or to release certain sensitive business information if you are a business undertaking) then your application to the Ombudsman must be made within 28 days of being advised of the agency’s intention to release the information.
The Ombudsman will make a decision on your application within 30 days. This period may be extended if you agree to such an extension.
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What are the Ombudsman's Powers on a Review?
The Ombudsman will reconsider the agency's decision in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 1991 the Ombudsman is bound by the FOI Act but may nevertheless come to a different conclusion to that of the agency.
For example, the Ombudsman may decide that although the information you request is confidential it should not be treated as exempt because it would be in the public interest to release it.
In coming to a decision the Ombudsman has wide powers to view the information held by the agency. The Ombudsman will inform the agency of the decision on the external review and the agency, rather than the Ombudsman, will release the information to you after it receives the decision.
The Ombudsman has a number of other powers under the FOI Act including the power to allow an agency further time to deal with a request.
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Records of Personal information
You are entitled to access records held by an agency whenever they were created if the records include your personal information.
An important feature of the Freedom of Information Act 1991 is that having accessed your personal information, you can ensure it is correct by requesting that any information that is inaccurate, incomplete, misleading or out of date is amended or a notation of your concerns is added to the record.
Your personal privacy is protected by restrictions in the Act on the release of information about your personal affairs to other persons and by other safeguards in the Personal Information Protection Act 2004 which deals with the collection, use and dissemination of personal information held by agencies.
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How do I apply for personal information?
A request for personal information is made in the same way as other requests for information.
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How can I seek an amendment to personal information?
If you believe that information held by an agency about your personal affairs is incorrect, incomplete, out of date or misleading, you may request amendment of the information.
There are no charges for dealing with application to amend personal information.
The FOI Act requires that a request to amend information must:
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be in writing
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give an address for notice
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give details of the information which you believe is incorrect, incomplete, out of date or misleading
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specify the amendments you want made.
You do not have to use a particular form but a Request to Amend Personal Information Form can be downloaded from the link below. The same range of information could be included in a letter requesting the changes but the use of the request form will assist in formulating your request and will assist the agency is responding to the request.
You should also supply evidence to substantiate your request. The agency may require you to provide additional substantiation and verification of the information you wish to have amended recorded.
The agency can amend its records by altering the information or by adding a notation.
Download a FOI Request Form
Download a FOI Request Form
Even if the amendment is refused, you can require the agency to add a notation to the record setting out your claims as to why you believe the information in the record is incorrect, incomplete, out of date or misleading.
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The Act has a provision which prevents the unreasonable disclosure of information relating to your personal affairs to another person. If someone requests information about your personal affairs, you will be consulted if at all possible. You will be notified and have the right to appeal against a decision to release your information if you have not agreed to its release. In addition the majority of agencies, authorities and other bodies covered by the FOI Act are also bound by the Personal Information Protection Act 2004 which also provides a number of safeguards on the use and release of personal information.
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Link to Freedom of Information Act 1991 Homepage