File -IM/03/12
16-004030
SHIRE COUNCIL
15 April 2016
Mr Chris Follett
By email to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Follett
Freedom of information request
I refer to your request to the Buloke Shire Council
("Council") in which you have
sought access to an electronic copy of various documents under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 ("Act").
The Act creates a right of access to documents of an agency. Section 13 of the
Act states that the right of access is to be exercised "in accordance with this
Act". Section 17 of the Act sets out the procedural requirements to be satisfied
for a valid request for access to documents to exist.
One of those requirements is that the request must provide such information
concerning the documents sought as is reasonably necessary to enable the
agency to identify those documents. That is, an applicant must strive to define
with as much precision as possible the documents sought in terms that will
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enable an appropriate officer of the agency to constructively search for those
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documents. If a request is ambiguous, unclear or otherwise ill defined, it does
367 Broadway, PO Box l
not comply with the Act and need not be processed. It should not be for the
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officers of the agency to be left guessing what documents you are actually
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seeking.
Ph: (03) 5478 Ol 00
Fax: (03) 5493 7395
In my view, your request does not provide sufficient information for me to identify
Email: buloke@buloke.�c.gov.ou
the documents you seek. At present your request is ambiguous and unclear for
a number of reasons.
DISTRICT OFFICES
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(a) I assume that part 1 of your request seeks access to a//
documents and
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that the specific types of documents listed in the bullet points under
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paragraphs 1 (a) and (b) are referred to by way of illustration only. As
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you may be aware, the definition of a "document" in the Act is very broad
and effectively includes anything on which information is stored. As such,
any
particular types of documents held by the Council to which you have
referred would be captured in any event. Can you please confirm that my
assumption is correct or else specify the particular types of documents
you seek?
