OFFICIAL
Ref: LEX-78014
Ash Roth
Via emai
l: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Ash Roth
Your Freedom of Information request –
Charges and notification of third party consultation
I refer to your request, dated and received by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the
Environment and Water (
department) on 25 August 2024 for access under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (
FOI Act) to the following documents:
‘I am seeking copies of correspondence between the Department and The Australia
Institute, and the Department and Greenpeace, on the topic of the reforms of the EPBC
Act / the Nature Positive reforms, from 1 January 2024 onwards.’
Preliminary assessment of the Charge
In accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act, I have decided that you are liable to pay a charge
for the processing of your request. My preliminary assessment of that charge is $221.83
calculated as follows:
Search and retrieval time: 10 hours at $15.00 per hour
$150.00
Decision-making time: $20.00 per hour
Examining pages, redacting and scheduling documents
$71.83
Consultation with one third party at 2 hours per party
$40.00
Writing statement of reasons
$60.00
Deduction of 5 hours decision-making time*
-$100.00
TOTAL
$221.83
*The FOI Act provides that the first five hours of decision-making time are free of charge and this is reflected in the
calculation.
I am advised that the department has in its possession 30 documents, totalling 65 pages relevant
to your request.
Required action
If you would like the department to continue processing your request, you must notify the
department in writing within 30 days of receiving this notice that you:
• agree to pay the charge;
• wish to contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed or should be reduced or not
imposed or both; or
• withdraw your request.
T +61 2 6274 1111
John Gorton Building
GPO Box 3090
dcceew.gov.au
F +61 2 9094 2221
King Edward Terrace
Canberra ACT 2601
ABN 63 573 932 849
Parkes ACT 2600
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If you do not provide a written response in accordance with one of the above options within 30
days of receiving this notification, your request will be taken to have been withdrawn under
section 29(2) of the FOI Act.
Option – pay the charge
As the charge exceeds $100, you are required to pay a deposit of $55.46. You may, of course,
elect to pay the charge in full at this point.
Payment can be made by direct deposit to:
A/C Name:
DCCEEW Departmental Account
Branch:
London Circuit, Canberra
Bank:
Reserve Bank
BSB:
092 009
A/C No.
147762
ABN No: 63 573 932 849
Please include the FOI reference number (LEX-78014) in the description/reference field when
making payment and send an email with notification of payment
to xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx as soon
as it has been made.
If you are not able to pay by direct deposit, please contact the department for assistance.
Option – seek reduction or non-imposition of the charge
You may contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed, or should be reduced or not
imposed. Section 29(5) of the FOI Act provides that, in deciding whether to reduce or not to
impose a charge, the decision-maker must take into account any relevant reasons, including
whether payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause you financial hardship, and whether
the giving of access to the documents is in the general public interest or in the interest of a
substantial section of the public.
If you wish to contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed or should be reduced or not
imposed, please set out your reasons and the evidence in support of your reasons as clearly as
possible. If you believe that payment of the charge would cause you financial hardship, please
provide sufficient details of your financial circumstances to enable the decision-maker to make a
well-informed decision in this regard.
Option – withdraw your request
If you wish to withdraw your request you may do so in writing.
Time limits for processing your request
Section 31 of the FOI Act provides that where a notice is sent to an applicant regarding the
payment of a charge in respect of a request, the time limit for processing the request is
suspended from the date the notice is received until either:
(a) the day following payment of the charge (in full or the required deposit); or
(b) if applicable, the day following the notification to the applicant of a decision not to
impose the charge.
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Address for correspondence
Please send all correspondence regarding your FOI request to the following address:
FOI Coordinator
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
GPO Box 3090
Canberra ACT 2601
Or by emai
l to xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Publication of information in the FOI disclosure log Information released under the FOI Act may be published in a disclosure log on the department's
website. Section 11C of the FOI Act requires this publication, subject to certain exceptions,
including where publication of personal, business, professional or commercial information
would be unreasonable.
Third party consultation – business documents
Your request covers documents which may contain information concerning the business,
commercial or financial affairs of an organisation, or a person’s business or professional affairs.
As such, the department is required to consult with the person or organisation concerned under
section 27 of the FOI Act before making a decision on the release of those documents.
The consultation mechanism under section 27 applies when the department considers the
person or organisation concerned may wish to contend that the requested documents are
exempt because their release would disclose trade secrets or commercially valuable information
or may adversely affect their business or financial affairs. The department will take into account
any comments we receive from the person or organisation. However, the final decision on
whether to grant you access to the documents requested rests with this department.
Third party consultation – documents affecting personal privacy
Your request also covers documents which contain the personal information of individuals. As
such, the department is required to consult with those relevant third parties under section 27A
of the FOI Act before making a decision on the release of those documents.
The consultation mechanism under section 27A applies when the department considers the
individual or their representative may wish to contend that the requested documents are
exempt for reasons of personal privacy. The department will take into account any comments
we receive from these individuals. However, the final decision about whether to grant you
access to the documents you requested rests with this department.
Time limits for processing your request
To inform the decision on release of documents, the FOI Act requires that the above third parties
are consulted and provides a further time period for the consultation process. Subsection 15(6)
of the FOI Act extends the standard statutory 30-day time limit for processing requests by
another 30 calendar days. Accordingly, this will give the department 60 calendar days within
which to notify you of its decision on access to the documents.
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Further assistance
If you have any questions, please emai
l xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Anna-Liisa Lahtinen
Acting Branch Head
Policy and Legislation Branch
Nature Positive Taskforce
13 September 2024
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