23 Marcus Clarke Street
Canberra ACT 2601
GPO Box 3131
Our ref:
PRJ1008213
Canberra ACT 2601
Contact officer:
FOI Team
Contact phone:
02 6243 1244
tel: (02) 6243 1111
fax: (02) 6243 1199
4 July 2025
www.accc.gov.au
Edward Pellew
Sent via email to: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Edward,
Charges for processing your freedom of information request
I refer to your web submission dated 18 June 2025 in which you request access,
under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), to:
‘In relation to alleged breaches of the Energy Retail Code by Diamond Energy, I seek
the fol owing documents:
1. The investigation report (final version) 2. The three infringement notices 3. An
account (or equivalent) statement that demonstrates payment of the penalties 4. If
created, the brief, report or email provided to any Commonwealth Minister about the
outcome of this investigation and planned public announcement.
I agree to exclude the personal affairs information of individuals (e.g. names, emails,
telephone numbers) identified in these documents as information irrelevant to this
request. However, this does not extend to job positions or domain names (e.g.
@accc.gov.au).’
In accordance with s.29 of the Act, I have decided that you are liable to pay a charge
in respect of the processing of your request. My preliminary assessment of that
charge is
$308.38 (AUD).
Please note that this charge is for the processing of your FOI request. Unless waived
or otherwise not imposed, charges imposed are payable irrespective of whether the
documents are released.
What you are required to do
Within 30 days of receipt of this notice, you are required to do one of the following or
your request will be taken to be withdrawn:
(a) agree to pay the charge and forward the deposit; or
(b) contend that the charge -
(i) has been wrongly assessed, or
(ii) should be reduced, or
(iii) should not be imposed, or both; or
(c) withdraw your request.
Option 1: Agree to pay the charge and pay the deposit
You must notify us of your agreement to pay the charge in respect of the
processing your request. You can notify us by email (xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx). Please
also advise the method by which you will make payment and when you have made
payment.
As the charge exceeds $25, a deposit of 25 percent of the estimate is required in
order for your request to proceed. If you agree to pay the charge as assessed above,
you should forward the deposit of
$77.10 (AUD).
You can pay the deposit online or electronically.
To pay online, please go to www.accc.gov.au/payments. In the payment type please
select
Freedom of Information request. In the payment description please include
FOI – (PRJ1008213).
To pay electronically, please use the following information:
Account Name: ACCC Official Departmental
BSB:
032
730
Account:
146593
Reference:
FOI – (PRJ1008213)
Option 2: Ask us to reduce or not impose the charge
You may request that we reduce or not impose the charge, but you will need to
provide information to support that claim. Usually we will only reduce or not impose a
charge on financial hardship or public interest grounds. We are also able to take into
account other matters if they are relevant.
Financial Hardship
If you would like the ACCC to consider a waiver/reduction based on financial
hardship, please provide further details of your financial situation, such as:
• your income, debts and assets (an estimate is sufficient and you do not need
to provide copies of supporting documentation)
• any other supporting information about your financial situation.
Public Interest
If you consider reducing or waiving the charges would be in the public interest, you
will need to make clear submissions as to:
• why you believe the release of the material is in the public interest
• how the information would come to the attention of the public
• how the information would inform public debate on the subject
You should also advise whether there is any commercial benefit to you associated
with the release of the documents.
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Payment of the deposit is not required if you choose this option, but you may do so if
you wish for us to keep processing your request while we consider the issue of
charges. Any deposit paid will be refunded if we decide not to impose the charge.
Option 3: Contend that the charges have been wrongly assessed
If you believe the charges have been wrongly assessed you need to tell us now and
explain the basis for your belief.
Payment of the deposit is not required if you choose this option, but you may do so if
you wish for us to keep processing your request while we consider your contentions.
Any deposit paid will be refunded if we decide not to impose the charge.
Option 4: Withdraw your request
Please notify us if you wish to withdraw your request.
Calculation of charges
We calculated the estimate of the charge as required in the
Freedom of Information
(Charges) Regulations 2019. You can only be required to pay a higher charge if more
work is involved than we anticipated and we give full access to all of the documents
sought. If the final charge is less than the estimate, you will only have to pay the
lesser amount.
Please note you will have to pay the balance of the charge
regardless of the decision made in relation to the documents.
The above estimate includes approximately 3 hours finding the documents covered
by your request. It also includes approximately 19 hours examining the documents
and making a decision. There are approximately 8 documents, comprising of
approximately 80 pages, within the scope of your request.
Please note, the estimated decision making time is significant as we expect that
approximately 5 third parties need to be consulted. The recommended time for this
task is two hours per party.
Timeframes
Under s.31 of the Act, the statutory timeframe for processing your request is on hold
until there is an agreed outcome on any charges. This means that the 30 day limit for
processing your request is on hold from the day that you receive this notice and
begins again on either:
• the day you pay the deposit sought; or
• if applicable, the day on which the ACCC makes a decision not to impose a
charge.
Yours sincerely
Rebecca Fenech
FOI Manager
Specialist Advice and Services Division
Sent by email 4/07/2025
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Attachment
Information on rights of review of cost estimate
Contention of Estimate
This cost estimate is only a preliminary assessment of expected charges at this time.
Please note that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will
only charge you for the time actually spent processing your application. This estimate
works as a cap of these charges.
If you do not agree with the cost estimate provided to you, please contact the ACCC
within 30 days of receipt of this letter. You may claim that we have wrongly assessed
the charge, or that we should reduce or not impose the charge (i.e. waiver of charge
due to financial hardship or public interest in access). You will need to provide
information to support your claim.
Please send correspondence to the FOI Team by either:
Email:
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Post:
GPO Box 3131, Canberra ACT 2601
Complaint to the Information Commissioner
You may complain to the Information Commissioner regarding the ACCC’s actions in
connection with the cost estimate prepared in relation to your FOI request. The
Information Commissioner will consider your complaint and, if appropriate, conduct
an investigation. Any investigation will be completely independent.
Is there a charge?
There is no charge payable for making a complaint to the IC.
Lodging an IC complaint
You must lodge your complaint in writing and give a clear and brief description of
each issue you’re complaining about and what outcome you’d like.
You can lodge a complaint in one of the following ways:
Online: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/make-an-
foi-complaint
Post:
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Fax:
+61 2 9284 9666
Email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
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