Mr Ron Andruff
Right to Know
(via email: foi+request‐4216‐xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx)
11 December 2017
Dear Mr Andruff,
Freedom of Information Request FOI 30‐1718 – s29(1) charge notice
I refer to your email of 25 November 2017 to the Department of Communications and the
Arts (the Department) requesting access to documents under the
Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (
FOI Act).
Notice that you are liable to pay a charge (s 29)
I am writing to advise you of my decision that you are liable to pay a charge in respect of
your request for access to documents. I am an officer authorised by the Secretary under
subsection 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions about requests for access to documents
under the FOI Act. My preliminary assessment of the amount of the charge is at
Enclosure 1.
Basis for my preliminary assessment of the charge
I have assessed the work the Department would need to do to process your request and
have calculated the basis of assessment at Enclosure 1 in accordance with section 29 of the
FOI Act, the
Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 1982, and the Australian
Information Commissioner’s
FOI Guidelines (Part 4 – Charges for providing access).
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, a decision maker must
take into account:
whether the payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause financial hardship to
the applicant, or to a person on whose behalf the application was made;
whether giving access to the document is in the general public interest or in the
interest of a substantial section of the public, and
any other relevant matter.
GPO Box 2154, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia telephone 02 6271 1000 website communications.gov.au
arts.gov.au
2
Payment of deposit
Please pay the deposit indicated at Enclosure 1. Where a charge exceeds $25, a deposit of
$20 will be sought if the charge is imposed. Where a charge exceeds $100, a 25 per cent
deposit will be sought if the charge is imposed.
The deposit is not refundable except in limited circumstances (for example, it may be fully
refundable if the Department 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 time you have to respond and what you need to do
You have 30 days from the date of this notice to respond in writing to this notice. 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, other than any inspection charge, is
paid);
contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed, or should be reduced or not
imposed, and give your reasons; or
withdraw your request.
Please send your response to:
By email
By post
FOI Coordinator
FOI Coordinator
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Office of the General Counsel
Department of Communications and the Arts
GPO Box 2154
Canberra ACT 2601
If you do not provide us with a written response by the due date, 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 a decision maker makes a decision not to impose a charge.
Questions about this notice
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this notice with us, please contact the
Department’s FOI Coordinator by telephone on (02) 6271 1277, or by email to
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
The FOI Act provides for rights of review of decisions. I have attached a copy of the Office
of the
Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI fact sheet 12 – Your review rights.
Yours sincerely
Legal Director
Office of the General Counsel
Position Number 112404
Preliminary Assessment of Charge under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982
Document estimate
Number of relevant documents
2
Number of relevant pages (or other size descriptor)
6
PROCESSING CHARGES
Search and retrieval
Task
Time
Cost @
$15/hr
Search and retrieval of relevant electronic and registry
0.33
$5.00
files
Search and retrieval of relevant pages in file
1.50
$22.50
Preparation of schedule of documents
0.10
$1.50
A. Search and retrieval subtotal
1.93
$29.00
Decision making
Task
Time
Cost @
$20/hr
Examination of documents
0.53
$10.67
Consultation with third parties
6.00
$120.00
Preparation of documents for release
0.17
$3.33
Preparation of notice of access decision
3.10
$61.92
Decision making subtotal (before deduction of 5 hours) 9.80
$195.92
B. Decision making subtotal (after deduction of first 5
4.80
$95.92
hours free)
GPO Box 2154 Canberra ACT 2601 Australia telephone 02 6271 1000 website communications.gov.au
arts.gov.au
ACCESS AND DELIVERY CHARGES
No. of pages Cost
Transcription ($4.40/page)
0
$0.00
Photocopy ($0.10/page)
0
$0.00
Other copies ($4.40/page)
0
$0.00
Cost
Electronic production (actual cost)
0
$0.00
Replay [replaying of sound or film] (actual cost)
0
$0.00
Delivery (actual cost)
0
$0.00
Time
Cost
Inspection (@ $6.25 per half hour)
0.00
$0.00
C. Access and delivery charges subtotal
0.00
$0.00
ESTIMATED TOTALS AND DEPOSIT
ESTIMATED TOTAL (total of A, B and C)
$124.92
REQUIRED DEPOSIT
$31.23
DUE DATE FOR PAYMENT of DEPOSIT*
10 January 2018
* The due date for payment of deposit is 30 days from the date of this notice. The date is
indicated here for your convenience.
Payment by Direct Debit
Account Name: Department of Communications and the Arts
BSB No.:
032‐729
Account No.:
146537
Reference:
FOI 30‐1718
Payment by Cheque or Money Order
Payable to ‘The Cashier – Department of Communications and the Arts’:
By post
By hand
FOI Coordinator
FOI Coordinator
Department of Communications and the Arts
Department of Communications and the Arts
GPO Box 2154
Nishi Building, 2 Phillip Law Street
Canberra ACT 2601
CANBERRA ACT 2601