Our Ref:
LEX 1675

MBV
Right to Know
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear MBV

Your Freedom of Information request - Notice of preliminary assessment of charge

I refer to your request, received by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
(department) on 18 July 2025, for access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) to the fol owing documents:
“all documents, including emails, electronic messages and briefing notes about
Geoffrey Watson SC's report (Report into Violence in the Queensland CFMEU) to the
CFMEU Administrator. This includes references to the report by other names, such as
the Watson Report or the Watson Review.
I seek all documents created between 23 August 2024 and 18 July 2025.”
I am an officer authorised under section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to
FOI requests.

Preliminary assessment of charge

I have decided that you are liable to pay a charge in respect of the processing of your
request.

In accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act and the Freedom of Information Charges
Regulations 1982 (Charges Regulations), my preliminary assessment of the charge you are
liable to pay is $1,354.80.

To assist you, I have set out an extract of the relevant section of the FOI Act at
Attachment A.

GPO Box 9828, Canberra ACT 2601 | Phone 1300 488 064 | dewr.gov.au | ABN 96 584 957 427

Basis for preliminary assessment of charge

I have assessed the work the department would need to do to process your request and
have calculated the fol owing breakdown of charges:
  Document estimate
Number of relevant documents
126
Number of relevant pages (or other size descriptor)
321
  PROCESSING CHARGES
Search and retrieval
Task
Time
Cost @ $15/hr
Search and retrieval of relevant documents, including
47
preparation of schedule of documents
$705
A.  Search and retrieval subtotal

$705
Decision making
Task
Time
Cost @ $20/hr
Decision-making time including examination of
35.49
documents, preparation of documents for release and
$709.80
notice of decision
Consultation with 1 third party
2
$40
Decision making subtotal (before deduction of 5 hours)

$749.80
B.  Decision making subtotal (after deduction of first 5

hours free)
$649.80
  ESTIMATED TOTALS AND DEPOSIT
ESTIMATED TOTAL (total of A and B)
$1354.80
REQUIRED DEPOSIT (25% of total)
$338.70

What you need to do

You have 30 days to respond, in writing, in one of the following ways:

1.  Option 1: Pay the deposit or agree to pay the charge in ful
No further work on your request wil  be undertaken until the deposit in the amount
indicated in the table above has been paid. You can elect to pay the deposit and pay
the remaining amount of the charge at a later date. The deposit is not refundable
except in limited circumstances (for example, if the department fails to make a
decision on your request within the statutory timeframe) or may be refundable in
part if the final charge is less than the deposit paid.

You will not be entitled to access the requested documents until the charge is paid
in ful . Please note, the charge is a fee for processing your request, not a payment
for access to documents. Payment of the charge does not guarantee you access to
any or al  of the documents you have requested. Access to documents wil  be
considered by the decision maker in accordance with the FOI Act.

2.  Option 2: Dispute the charge
If you want to contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed, should be
reduced or not imposed or both, you should tell us why and give us evidence to
support your reasons. You may wish to tell us:
•  whether paying the charge, or part of it, would cause you financial hardship
and/or
2

•  whether access to the documents is in the general public interest or in the
interest of a substantial section of the public
•  any other relevant matter.

We must take these matters into account in deciding whether a charge should be
reduced or not imposed.

3.  Option 3: Withdraw your request
Please note, if you do not respond within 30 days, your request wil  be taken to have
been withdrawn by the operation of the FOI Act.

How to pay the deposit or charge in ful

Payment can be made by credit card by completing the Credit Card Authorisation at
Attachment B and sending a copy by email to xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.

If you are unable to pay by credit card, please contact us by sending an email to
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.

Timeframes for processing your request

Under section 31 the FOI Act, the timeframe for processing your request is suspended from
today until the day fol owing payment of the charge (in ful  or the required deposit) or, if
applicable, the day following a decision to reduce or not impose the charge.

Further assistance

As an alternative, you may wish to consider revising the scope of your request. If you would
like to discuss this, please email xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely

Claudia
Authorised decision maker
Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
15 August 2025

3

Attachment A
RELEVANT SECTION OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982

29  Charges

(1)  Where, under the regulations, an agency or Minister decides that an applicant is
liable to pay a charge in respect of a request for access to a document, or the
provision of access to a document, the agency or Minister must give to the
applicant a written notice stating:

(a)  that the applicant is liable to pay a charge; and

(b)  the agency’s or Minister’s preliminary assessment of the amount of the
charge, and the basis on which the assessment is made; and

(c)  that the applicant may contend that the charge has been wrongly
assessed, or should be reduced or not imposed; and

(d)  the matters that the agency or Minister must take into account under
subsection (5) in deciding whether or not to reduce, or not impose, the
charge; and

(e)  the amount of any deposit that the agency or Minister has determined,
under the regulations, that the applicant wil  be required to pay if the
charge is imposed; and

(f)  that the applicant must, within the period of 30 days, or such further
period as the agency or Minister allows, after the notice was given, notify
the agency or Minister in writing:

(i)  of the applicant’s agreement to pay the charge; or

(ii)  if the applicant contends that the charge has been wrongly assessed,
or should be reduced or not imposed, or both—that the applicant so
contends, giving the applicant’s reasons for so contending; or

(iii)  that the applicant withdraws the request for access to the document
concerned; and

(g)  that if the applicant fails to give the agency or Minister such a notice
within that period or further period, the request for access to the
document wil  be taken to have been withdrawn.
…

4

Attachment B
Credit Card Authorisation
Use this form to pay a Freedom of Information charge by credit card
Applicant's details
Name

Phone number

Credit card details
Credit card type

Card holder's name

Credit card number

Expiry date

CCV number

Amount

Signature

Date

Privacy statement
Your personal information is col ected by the Department Employment and Workplace Relations
(department) for the purposes of processing the payment of a charge imposed under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 and related purposes. If you do not provide some or all the information
requested, the department may be unable to process your credit card payment. Your personal
information may be disclosed to other parties where you have agreed, or where it is otherwise
permitted by law. The department's Privacy Policy, including information about how to make a
complaint and access to and correction of your personal information, can be found at
https://www.dewr.gov.au/privacy.
5

Document Outline