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DPS Information Requests Policy
Date:
12 October 2023
Contact:
Director, Legal and Conduct
Approved: Secretary
File:
D23/217790

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Date of effect
1.  This policy was approved by the Secretary on 12 October 2023.
2.  This policy replaces all previous DPS policies and any other related strategies, local guidance,
or directions on this subject, unless otherwise specified in this policy.
Policy review mechanisms
3.  This document wil  be reviewed every three years or earlier if required.
Intent of policy
4.  This policy is designed to set out DPS’s approach to handling requests for DPS documents.
5.  This policy does not intend to limit or intervene with DPS’s practice in handling of Request
for Information from parliamentarians and other agencies or departments of the
Commonwealth.
Application
6.  This policy applies to al  requests for documents received by DPS.
Policy statement
7.  Parliament amended the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 (PS Act) to confirm the intention of
the Parliament that al  parliamentary departments are excluded from the application of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).The effect of the amending legislation is that from
28 June 2013 the FOI Act is taken to not apply and not to have ever applied to the
parliamentary departments and persons who hold, or perform duties of, an office
established under the PS Act.1
8.  However, DPS recognises the importance of transparency and public accountability, and
supports the principle that administrative documents should be open to scrutiny. For this
reason, DPS wil  provide such documents when requested by a member of the public, subject
to any claim of appropriate immunity or exemptions that would ordinarily apply under the
FOI Act or as otherwise set out in this policy.
Definitions
9.  For the purpose of this policy:
(a)  document includes:
(i)
any of, or any part of, the fol owing thing:

1 The Department of the House of Representatives, the Department of the Senate and the Department of
Parliamentary Services are excluded from the application of the FOI Act, under s 68A of the PS Act. The
Parliamentary Budget Office is exempt from the application of the FOI Act, under s 7(1) and Division 1 of Part I
of Schedule 2 of the FOI Act.
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a.  any paper or other material on which there is writing
b.  a map, plan, drawing or photograph
c.  any paper or other material on which there are marks, figures, symbols, or
perforations having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them.
d.  any article or material from which sounds, images or writings are capable of
being reproduced without the aid of any other article or device.
e.  any article on which information has been sorted or recorded, either
mechanically or electronically, or
f.  any other record of information,
(ii)
any copy, reproduction or duplicate of such a thing, or
(iii)
any part of such a copy, reproduction or duplicate,
It does not include material maintained for reference purposes that is otherwise publicly
available.
(b)  person means a natural person or body corporate, such as a company or organisation.
Applications for access to documents
10. Applications must be received in writing at the address below:
Director, DPS Legal Services
Department of Parliamentary Services
PO Box 2600
Canberra ACT 2600
or via email to the designated DPS Information Requests email address
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx (receipt of the request) with a return email or postal address
provided.
11. In addition, to be a valid request, the document(s) requested must be:
(a)  within the possession or control of DPS, and
(b)  unambiguous and clearly described.
12. An applicant does not have to reside in Australia or be an Australian citizen.
13. A request may be made by one person on behalf of another person, by an organisation on
behalf of a client, or by a person as the agent or representative of a group of individuals or
corporate bodies. However, exemptions may apply to the release of personal information
where a request is made on behalf of an applicant, unless formal authorisation has been
provided.
14. All requests will be coordinated by DPS Legal Services which wil  manage requests and
responses.
15. Access under this policy only applies to existing documents (ie. documents that exist at the
time that the request is made), rather than to information. However, DPS may, in its absolute
discretion, decide to respond to a request for general information or create a new document
in response to a request.
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Exempt documents
16. A decision to give a person access to a document is made on the assumption that the content
of any document that is released is disclosed to the world at large. Accordingly, public access
to documents held by DPS is subject to certain limitations to ensure that information,
including personal, classified, or restricted information is properly protected.
17. A document may fal  into any of the three groups below:
(a)  Group 1 – Consistent with the FOI Act, documents which fall into the following
categories are exempt documents and will not be released:
(i)
documents affecting national security, defence, or international relations.
(ii)
Cabinet documents.
(iii)
documents affecting enforcement of law and protection of public safety,
including the safety of visitors to and occupants of Parliament House.
(iv)
documents to which secrecy provisions in other legislation apply.
(v)
documents subject to legal professional privilege.
(vi)
documents containing material obtained in confidence.
(vii)
documents whose disclosure would be in contempt of Parliament or in contempt
of court including, for the avoidance of doubt, any documents subject to
parliamentary privilege.
(viii)  Parliamentary Budget Office documents.
(ix)
documents disclosing trade secrets or commercially valuable information.
(b)  Group 2 – In addition, access will not be provided to documents which fal  into the
following categories:
(i)
documents relating to, or connected with, the work of the Senate or the House
of Representatives.
(ii)
information, analysis, and advice provided by the Parliamentary Librarian under
section 38B(1)(a) of the PS Act.
(iii)
documents held by parliamentarians and their staff even if the information
resides on facilities provided by DPS.
(iv)
internal deliberative documents, including advice provided to the Presiding
Officers by DPS employees, contractors, and office holders.
(v)
documents that DPS does not have authority to release (e.g. where Presiding
Officer approval would be required prior to release).
(c)  Group 3 – DPS may, in its absolute discretion, determine that access can be granted to
documents which fall into the following categories:
(i)
documents relating to the financial or property interests of the Commonwealth.
(ii)
documents affecting certain operations of agencies.
(iii)
documents that if disclosed under this policy would result in the unreasonable
disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased
person)2

2 In accordance with the relevant DPS policies and procedures, employees may apply for access to their own
personnel file or authorise a third party to access their file.
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(iv)
documents that if disclosed under this policy would disclose information
concerning a person in respect of his or her business or professional affairs or
concerning the business, commercial or financial affairs of an organisation or
undertaking.
Decision makers
18. For the purpose of this policy, decision makers regarding the release or non-release of
documents in response to information requests are:
(a)  the Secretary
(b)  the Parliamentary Librarian
(c)  SES band 2 level officers in the relevant business area
(d)  SES band 1 level officers in the relevant business area
19. While information requests will general y be given to the decision maker in the relevant
business area for a particular issue, in assigning requests regard will be given to the need for
the decision maker to be free of both real and apparent bias.
Identifying, locating, and col ating documents
20. If the decision maker is satisfied that the work involved in processing the request would
substantial y and unreasonably divert DPS resources, if reasonable to do so, the applicant will
be given the opportunity to narrow the scope of the request so that it can be actioned
without unduly diverting resources.
21. Poor record keeping or an inefficient filing system will not of themselves provide grounds for
a claim that identifying or locating documents would be a substantial and unreasonable
diversion of resources. Nor wil  the fact that a large number of documents lie within the
scope of a request be determinative if the documents could be easily identified, collated and
assessed.
Making a decision
22. Decision makers may obtain assistance from other employees and consult with third parties,
and take advice, submissions and recommendations into account, but they remain
responsible for reaching an independent decision and exercising any discretion.
23. Given that DPS cannot rely on the protection the FOI Act affords against civil action and
criminal prosecution for agencies and employees who provide access to documents, a
decision maker should seek appropriate advice from DPS Legal Services. This includes
consideration of potential breach of third-party copyright.
24. In response to a request, a decision maker may decide to:
(a)  allow access to all documents as requested.
(b)  allow access to information, but in a different format to that requested.
(c)  withhold al  requested documents as exempt.
(d)  withhold certain documents as exempt and al ow access to the remainder, which may
include the redaction of information.
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(e)  refuse access on the basis that the document sought does not exist or cannot be found.
(f)  subject to paragraphs 19 and 20, refuse access if satisfied that the work involved in
processing the request would substantial y and unreasonably divert DPS’s resources.
Reasons for decision
25. For reasons of transparency and accountability, if access to documents is withheld, either in
whole or in part, the decision maker should notify the applicant of the reasons for their
decision.
Internal review
26. Persons who are denied access to documents in whole or in part may apply for internal
review of the decision. For the purpose of this policy, the internal reviewers are:
(a)  the Secretary
(b)  the Parliamentary Librarian
(c)  SES Band 2 level officers
27. Upon receipt of an application for internal review, DPS Legal Services will arrange for one of
the officers above, who was not involved in the original decision, to review the decision.
28. The internal review officer may rely on record searches or third-party consultation
undertaken by the original decision maker, or may cause the same work to be undertaken
again.
29. Internal review is not available if the original decision was made personally by the Secretary.
30. A person who remains unhappy with a decision following an internal review process should
seek independent advice about any further review options that may be available to them.
Timeframes
31. All requests for information will be acknowledged within 14 calendar days of receipt of the
request. DPS will endeavour to process the request within 30 calendar days of receipt of the
request, unless third party consultation is required (in which case the request should be
finalised within 60 calendar days).
32. An application for internal review of a decision (under clauses 25-29 of this policy), must be
made in writing (see paragraph 9), within 30 calendar days of being notified of the original
decision.
33. DPS will endeavour to determine a request for internal review of a decision within 30
calendar days of receipt of the request.
34. If the timeframe falls on a weekend or on a public holiday in the Australian Capital Territory,
then the next business day will be the determinative date.
Document consultation and approval
35. As this policy is for an administrative access scheme reflecting a legislative scheme, no
consultation on this document occurred.
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Document Outline