Preliminary Assessment of Charge.pdf

1 December 2016

Marlene Lang
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

Dear Ms Lang,

Freedom of Information request
FOI Reference number: 16/17-14
I refer to your request received under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) on 4
November 2016 in which you seek access to the following documents:
Please supply details of all complaints and details of the resulting investigations by the FWC into
the conduct of former FWC Commissioner Barbara Deegan during her 18 years.

I am writing to advise you of my decision that you are liable to pay a charge in respect of the
processing of your request. I am an officer authorised under section 23 of the FOI Act to make
decisions in relation to FOI requests.
In accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act and the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations 1982, my preliminary assessment of the charge you are liable to pay is $1,586.
Basis for my preliminary assessment of the charge
I have assessed the work the Commission would need to do to process your request and have
calculated the following breakdown of charges:
Document estimate
Number of relevant documents
100
Number of relevant pages
379
Number of relevant documents containing your personal
4
information (no charge payable)
Number of relevant pages containing your personal information
7
(no charge payable)
Number of relevant documents not containing your personal
96
information (charge payable)
Number of relevant pages not containing your personal
372
information (charge payable)

11 Exhibition Street
Telephone: (03) 8656 4856
Melbourne VIC 3000
International: (613) 8656 4856
GPO Box 1994
Email: xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Melbourne VIC 3001

PROCESSING CHARGES
Search and retrieval
Task
Time
Cost @
$15/hr
Search and retrieval of relevant electronic and registry files
1 hour
$15
Preparation of schedule of documents (30 minutes per 10
4.8 hours
$72
documents, 96 documents)
A.  Search and retrieval subtotal
5.8 hours
$87
Decision making
Task
Time
Cost @
$20/hr
Examination of relevant pages for decision making (5
31 hours
$620
minutes per page, 372 pages)
Exempted pages (5 minutes extra per page to cover
26 hours
additional consideration of complexity of material and
$520
elements of exemption claims, estimated to cover 312
pages).
Consultation with third parties
14 hours
$280
Preparation and notification of decision (3 hours for
8.95 hours
statement of reasons, plus 4 hours per 250 relevant pages
$179
to complete schedule to record decision)
Decision making subtotal (before deduction of 5 hours)
79.95 hours
$1599
B.  Decision making subtotal (after deduction of first 5 hours
74.95 hours
free)
$1499

ESTIMATED TOTALS AND DEPOSIT
ESTIMATED TOTAL (total of A and B)
$1586
REQUIRED DEPOSIT (25%)
$396.50

Your right to contend the charge
Under the FOI Act, you have the right to contend that the charge:
•  has been wrongly assessed, or
•  should be reduced, or
•  should not be imposed.
In deciding whether a charge should be reduced or not imposed, the decision maker in our
agency must take into account:
•  whether payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause you financial hardship
•  whether giving 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.

link to page 1 Payment of a deposit
As the charge exceeds $100, a 25 per cent deposit ($396.50) will be sought if the charge is
imposed.
The deposit is not refundable except in some limited circumstances (for example, if the
Commission fails to make a decision on your request within the statutory time limit), or may be
refundable in part if the final charge is less than the deposit paid.
The amount due should be paid by cheque or money order made out to the Collector of Public
Monies, Fair Work Commission.
The time you have to respond and what you need to do
You have 30 days to respond in writing to this notice. The due date for a response is therefore 31
December 2016. As 31 December 2016 is a Saturday, the due date is extended to 3 January
2017, being the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or a holiday.1 By that date, you must do
one of the following things in writing:
•  agree to pay the charge (this will mean that you will not be entitled to access the
requested documents until the full charge is paid);

•  contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed, or should be reduced or not
imposed, or both and explain your reasons; or

•  withdraw your request.
Please send your response using the email or postal details below:
            Freedom of Information Officer
Fair Work Commission
Email: xxx@xxx.xxx.xx

Postal address:
GPO Box 1994
Melbourne VIC 3001
If you do not provide a written response in accordance with one of the three options above by 3
January 2017, your request will be taken to have been withdrawn.
The period for processing your request is suspended from the day that you receive this notice
and resumes on either the day you pay the charge (in full or the required deposit) or the day on
which the Commission makes a decision not to impose a charge.
More information about charges under the FOI Act is available in Fact Sheet 7 on the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner’s website: http://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-
information/foi-resources/freedom-of-information-fact-sheets/foi-fact-sheet-7-freedom-of-
information-charges and the Guidelines Issued by the Australian Information Commissioner
under s 93A of the Freedom of Information Act 1982, Part 4 (Charges for providing access):
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-guidelines/part-4-charges-for-providing-
access.
Questions about this notice
Please contact me on (03) 8656 4856 or by email at xxx@xxx.xxx.xx if you would like to discuss
this matter.


1 Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) s 36(2)

Yours sincerely,

Haydar Tuncer
Freedom of Information Officer
Reporting, Planning and Legal
Fair Work Commission
Telephone: (03) 8656 4856
Email: xxx@xxx.xxx.xx