commercial information about a third party, that party
binding decision. All decisions are published on the
may similarly apply to the agency for an internal review
Commissioner’s website, and usually identify all the
Office of the
Information Commissioner
of that decision.
parties to the complaint.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
What if I disagree with the agency’s
What if I believe that an agency holds
internal review?
incorrect information about me?
If you disagree with the agency’s internal review decision,
If you believe that an agency holds personal information
you can apply to the Information Commissioner for
about you which is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date
external review. The Commissioner is appointed by the
or misleading, you can apply to the agency to have that
Governor and is independent of the Government and the
information amended. However, an agency generally
public service. The Commissioner undertakes impartial
cannot obliterate or destroy information about you in
external reviews of agency decisions based on the merits
response to such a request. The agency may decide to
of each case and the relevant provisions of the FOI Act.
amend the information, for example by altering it or
There are no fees for an external review.
inserting additional information to correct the record.
The Commissioner can review any decision made by an
The procedure for applying for the amendment of
Accessing Government
agency about an FOI application.
personal information is broadly similar to the procedure
for accessing documents outlined above. Again, the best
To apply for an external review, you need to write to
Documents
approach is to talk to the agency in the first instance to
the Office of the Information Commissioner; give an
discuss your options.
address to which notices can be sent; give particulars of
in Western Australia
the decision you want reviewed; attach a copy of that
decision; and lodge the application at the Office of the
Further Information
Information Commissioner. Applications can be lodged
For information about access to documents, speak to the
by mail, fax or email.
agency which holds the documents you want. A list of all
The Freedom of
government agencies is available at www.wa.gov.au.
If you are the access applicant, you must apply within
If you have any general enquiries about the FOI process,
Information Act 1992
60 days from being given the agency’s decision. If
please see our website or contact our office:
you are a third party affected by the decision of the
agency, you must apply within 30 days. In exceptional
circumstances, the Commissioner may allow a
Office of the Information Commissioner
complaint to be lodged after these periods have elapsed.
Telephone: (08) 6551 7888
Country callers: 1800 621 244 (toll free)
How does the Information Commissioner
Facsimile: (08) 6551 7889
review my complaint?
Email: xxxx@xxx.xx.xxx.xx
The Commissioner will decide the best way of
Internet: www.foi.wa.gov.au
dealing with your complaint. Usually this will involve
inspecting the documents concerned and forming an
Address: Albert Facey House
opinion on whether they are exempt from disclosure
469 Wellington Street, Perth WA 6000
under the FOI Act. The Commissioner will give you,
the agency and any other relevant parties an opportunity
to present their case.
If a dispute cannot be resolved by conciliation, the
Commissioner will finalise the dispute with a formal
Printed on 100% recycled paper
Some agencies have a specific form you can use for
Introduction
making a FOI request, but this is not mandatory.
How long will it take?
The Western Australian
Freedom of Information Act
Once an agency receives a valid application, it must
The more specific you can be about which documents
deal with it as soon as practicable, but in any event
1992 (the FOI Act) gives the public a right to access
you want, the more likely it is that you will receive
within 45 days. Within that time, the agency must give
government documents, subject to some limitations.
speedy access. If your request is poorly defined, it may
you a written notice of its decision on whether to give
The right applies to documents held by Ministers, most
take longer to process. If the scope of your request
you access.
State government agencies (such as Departments, public
is unreasonably large and you refuse to reduce it to a
manageable level after assistance from the agency, the
If you are refused access or only given partial access to
hospitals, public universities and State government
the documents, the agency has to explain why particular
authorities) and local government. Together, these bodies
agency may even refuse to deal with it.
documents or parts of documents cannot be released.
are referred to as
agencies. The access rights under the
FOI Act do not apply to documents which are already
Will it cost me any money?
Will the agency give me access to all the
publicly available for inspection or purchase.
No fees or charges apply if you only wish to access
documents I asked for?
personal information about yourself (such as your
Documents accessible under the FOI Act include
Under the FOI Act, particular types of documents
medical records or details of your employment).
paper records, plans and drawings, photographs, tape
are exempt from disclosure to protect certain public
recordings, films, videotapes or information stored in a
If your application is not limited to personal information
interests. These include documents which would reveal
about yourself, you must pay an application fee
personal information about other people, or documents
computerised form.
(currently $30) and possibly other charges for the time
which would reveal certain information about the
Individuals can also apply to have personal information
spent by officers of the agency in processing your
commercial or business affairs of others. Documents
about them in government documents amended if that
request. Currently, these charges are $30 per hour,
may also be exempt if their disclosure would pose a
20 cents per photocopy and any actual cost incurred
threat to public safety or law enforcement, or would
information is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date
breach particular confidentiality obligations.
or misleading.
by the agency for preparing a copy of a tape, film
or computerised information, or arranging delivery,
The full list of exemptions is contained in the FOI Act.
How do I apply for documents?
packaging and postage of documents.
If the documents for which you have applied contain
You can ask the agency for an estimate of charges when
exempt information, the agency may still be able to give
The best approach is to talk to someone from the agency
you lodge your application. If the charges are likely to
you a copy, but with the exempt information deleted
which holds the documents you are seeking, as you may be
exceed $25, the agency must give you an estimate of
or obscured.
able to access the documents without a formal application.
charges and ask whether you want to proceed with the
Depending on the nature of the agency, this can be done by
application. In some cases the agency may ask you to
What can I do if I disagree with the
telephone, email or in person. If the agency declines access
pay a deposit.
agency’s decision?
or asks you to apply under the FOI Act, you will need to
Refining or reducing the scope of your application may
You can apply to the agency for an internal review of
lodge an application which has to:
significantly reduce the work for the agency and the cost
its original decision. There are no charges for this. If
to you. If you think that the documents you are seeking
you wish to apply for an internal review, you must write
• be in writing;
may contain personal or commercial information about
to the agency within 30 days of receiving its notice of
• give enough detail to identify the requested documents;
others, and you are not interested in that information, let
decision.
• give an Australian address (including a telephone number
the agency know when you lodge your application.
The internal review will be carried out by another
or email address can lead to a faster response);
This will save the agency from having to consult with
officer in the agency who is not subordinate to the
• be lodged at an office of the agency that you expect
those parties, which means that you should get the
person who made the original decision. The agency has
would hold the documents; and
documents faster.
15 days to complete the internal review and advise you
in writing of the outcome.
• include an application fee in certain cases
Advise the agency if you are financially disadvantaged, as
– see next section.
you may be entitled to have charges reduced or waived.
Where the agency proposes to disclose personal or
