Our reference: RQ19/02671
Agency reference: LEX516
Mr George Porter
Sent by email
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Extension of time under s 15AC
Dear Mr Porter
On 14 October 2019, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Department) advised this
office that it had not made a decision on your FOI request of 8 September 2019 within the
statutory period provided by the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act).
Consequently, the FOI Act deems that the Department has refused your request.
However, s 15AC of the FOI Act al ows the Information Commissioner to extend the
processing time for an FOI request where the initial decision period has ended and the
agency or Minister has not provided the applicant with notice of a decision. The Department
has applied for further time to finalise your request.
The Department advised that the statutory timeframe had been suspended under s 24AB of
the FOI Act.
Decision
As a delegate of the Information Commissioner, I am authorised to make decisions on
applications for extensions of time under s 15AC(5) of the FOI Act.
I have decided to grant the Department further time of 29 days to
8 November 2019 to
process your request. My reasons fol ow:
• The Department identified approximately 1400 pages of material in relation to the
original scope of your FOI request
• On 8 October 2019, the Department issued a notice to you under s 24AB of the FOI
Act
• On 10 October 2019, you revised the scope of your request in response to the notice
issued by the Department under s 24AB of the FOI Act
• Further time is required for the Department to process the revised scope.
This extension of time under s 15AC of the FOI Act means that the deemed refusal is taken
never to have applied if the Department makes a decision on your request by 8 November
2019. Such an extension can only be granted once and cannot be extended by a variation.
1300 363 992
T +61 2 9284 9686
GPO Box 5218
www.oaic.gov.au
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
F +61 2 9284 9666
Sydney NSW 2001
ABN 85 249 230 937
I note that the
Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 1982 provides if an applicant is
not notified of a decision on a request within the statutory time limit (including any
extension of time), the agency or minister cannot impose a charge for providing access, even
if the applicant was earlier notified that a charge was payable (regs 7(2), (3)). This extension
under s 15AC of the FOI Act does not mean that charges can be reimposed and any deposit
you have paid should be refunded.
Contact
If you have any questions about this email, please contact me on (02) 9284 9686 or via email
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. In al correspondence please include OAIC reference number at the top of
this letter.
Yours sincerely
Adie Chang
Assistant Review and Investigation Adviser (Legal)
Freedom of Information Dispute Resolution
30 October 2019
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Review rights
If you disagree with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) decision
you can apply to the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit Court for a review of a
decision of the Information Commissioner if you think that a decision by the Information
Commissioner to grant an extension of time is not legal y correct. You can make this
application under the
Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977.
The Court will not review the merits of your case but it may refer the matter back to the
Information Commissioner for further consideration if it finds the decision was wrong in law
or the Information Commissioner’s powers were not exercised properly.
An application for review must be made to the Court within 28 days of the OAIC sending the
decision to you. You may wish to seek legal advice as the process can involve fees and costs.
Please contact the Federal Court registry in your state or territory for more information, or
visit the Federal Court website at
http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/.
Further information
Further information about how applications to extend the timeframe to process an FOI
request are handled by the OAIC can be found published on our website:
For FOI applicants: How to make an FOI request: Extensions of time
For agencies and ministers: Guidance and advice: Extension of time for processing
requests
The OAIC has the power to investigate complaints about an agency’s actions under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). This is a separate process from asking for an
Information Commissioner review fol owing a decision made under the FOI Act. Complaints
usual y focus on how an agency has handled your FOI request or complied with other
obligations under the FOI Act, rather than the decision itself.
In some cases, the Information Commissioner's investigation of a complaint may lead to the
agency addressing the issues that you have complained about. In other cases, the
Information Commissioner may make suggestions or recommendations that the agency
should implement. The Information Commissioner can only make non-binding
recommendations as a result of a complaint. You and the agency will be notified of the
outcome of the investigation.
FOI complaints to the OAIC must be made in writing. Our preference is for you to use
the online FOI complaint form if at all possible.
Further information about how to make a complaint can be found published on our website:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/reviews-and-complaints/make-an-foi-
complaint/ .
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Document Outline
