Our reference: RQ20/03331
Agency reference: LEX2400
Mr John Smith
By email
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Extension of time under s 54D
Dear Mr Smith
On 14 September 2020, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the Department)
advised this office that it had not made a decision on your internal review request of 7
August 2020 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
internal review request and affirmed its original decision.
However, s 54D of the FOI Act allows the Information Commissioner to extend the processing
time for an internal review 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 make a decision on your internal review request.
Decision
As a delegate of the Information Commissioner, I am authorised to make decisions on
applications for extensions of time under s 54D of the FOI Act.
I have considered the Department’s application and have decided to decline an extension.
Based on the information currently before the OAIC, I am not satisfied that the Department
has established that this internal review request requires further time. As such, I do not
consider it appropriate to grant an extension under s 54D of the FOI Act in this circumstance.
The effect of this decision is that the Department is deemed to have affirmed the original
decision. You may wish to seek Information Commissioner review of the Department’s
deemed refusal of your reques
t here. Further information
on applying for IC review is
available on the OA
IC website.
Contact
If you have any questions about this email, please contact my colleague Jasmin Clarke on
(02) 9284 9847 or via email xxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. In all correspondence please include
reference number RQ20/03331.
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
Yours sincerely
Shelley Napper Assistant Director
Freedom of Information
22 September 2020
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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 legally 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 a
t 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 following a decision made under the FOI Act. Complaints
usually 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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