Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
OFFICIAL
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982
Request by:
FOI/2223/005 – BE (Right to Know)
Notice of Estimate of Charges
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear BE,
Freedom of information request - FOI/2223/005
1. I refer to your request dated 30 August 2022 to the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for access to the following documents:
Scope
‘I seek documents relating to the meeting and press conference attended by the Prime Minister, Minister
Burney and Shaq O’Neal and press conference held on 27 August 2022 (Press Conference - Sydney | Prime
Minister of Australia (pm.gov.au)).
In particular I seek all communication (including emails, messages, advice, briefings, talking points etc)
between the NIAA and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet; the Prime Minister's Office or
Minister Burney's Office in relation to the meeting or the press conference.’
2. On 7 September 2022, the NIAA wrote to you for clarification on the date range of the documents you seek
access to under the FOI Act. A response was requested by 9 September 2022, however, the NIAA has not
received a reply from you in this regard.
3. I am an officer authorised under section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to FOI requests.
4. 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. My preliminary assessment of the charge you are liable to pay is
$15.00.
5. The reasons for my decision are set out below and at
Annexure A.
Basis for my preliminary assessment of the charge
6. In accordance with section 29 the FOI Act and the
Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019
(Charges Regulations), a charge can be imposed in respect of a request for access to documents under the FOI
Act. The charge is for the search and retrieval of documents, decision making and provision of access to
documents. Payment of the charge does not guarantee access to the requested documents.
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7. I have assessed the work the NIAA would need to do to process your request and have calculated the
breakdown of charges set out at
Annexure A.
8. My assessment has been made with reference to the following:
the hours taken to search for, and retrieve, documents relevant to the request (section 29 the FOI Act)
the number of documents and pages relevant to the request
the hours estimated to make a decision about each document (less the first five hours of decision-making
time, which are free of charge), and
any charge for providing access to the document, other than by personal inspection.
Payment of Estimate of Charges
9. As the estimate of charges does not exceed $25, you are required to pay the charge in full.
10. The charge is not refundable except in some limited circumstances (for example, if the NIAA 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.
Final charges
11. Once your FOI request has been processed, I will determine the actual charge you must pay before the
documents can be provided to you. The final charge for processing your request may be different from the
estimate quoted in this letter.
12. If the final amount of the charge is lower than the estimated amount, I must adjust my preliminary
assessment to the lower amount.
13. However, if the final amount of the charge is higher than the estimated amount, I may adjust my preliminary
assessment to the higher amount.
The time you have to respond and what you need to do
14. You have 30 days to respond to this notice in writing.
15. You may choose to:
pay the full charge amount, and notify the FOI Coordinator in writing,
contend the charge has been wrongly assessed, or should be reduced or not imposed and explain your
reasons, or
withdraw your request.
16. Please send your response
to xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Option 1: Pay the full charge
17. Payment can be made by electronic funds transfer to:
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Account Name:
NIAA Official Departmental Account
BSB:
092-009 Account:
14737-5 Reference:
FOI/2223/005
18. When paying the charge you must:
reference FOI/2223/005 and
notify the FOI Coordinator a
t xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
19. Failure to notify the FOI Coordinator of payment may result in delays to the processing of your FOI request.
20. If you agree to pay the charge in respect of the request, the charge must be paid in full before access to the
documents can be given (see section 11 of the
Freedom of Information Charges Regulations 2019).
Option 2: Your right to contend the charge
21. 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.
22. In deciding whether a charge should be reduced or not imposed, I must take into account:
whether payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause you financial hardship
whether giving access to the document(s) is in the general public interest or in the interest of a
substantial section of the public
any other relevant matter.
23. If you decide to do so, please set out the reasons why you believe that I should reduce or waive the proposed
charge.
24. Should you seek a reduction or waiver of charges on the grounds of financial hardship, it would assist me if
you could provide suitable evidence of financial hardship (for example, evidence of receipt of a pension or
income support payment, or evidence of income, debts or assets).
Option 3: Withdraw your request
25. You may notify the NIAA in writing if you wish to withdraw your request.
26. Alternatively, if you do not provide us with a written response within 30 days of this notice, your request will
be taken to have been withdrawn.
Timeframe for dealing with your request
27. In accordance with section 31 of the FOI Act, the period for processing your request stops from the date you
receive this notice until:
the day you pay the full charge,
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if the amount of the charge is changed following review under the FOI Act, the day you pay the revised
charge, or
if a decision is made not to impose a charge following review under the FOI Act, the day you are notified
of the decision.
28. If you agree to pay the charge, the timeframe for processing your request will resume once payment is
received and the NIAA must provide you with the decision by the due date (including any extensions of time).
However, the NIAA is not obliged to provide the relevant documents (if any are released) until the full charge
has been paid.
Questions about this notice
29. More information about charges under the FOI Act is available on the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner’s website
: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/guidance-and-advice/calculating-
and-imposing-charges-for-foi-access-requests/.
30. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this notice with us, please contact the FOI Coordinator:
Email:
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Post:
Freedom of Information Coordinator
National Indigenous Australians Agency
GPO Box 2191
Canberra ACT 2601
Kind regards,
Simon Gordon
Constitutional Recognition Branch
Empowerment and Recognition Group
16 September 2022
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Annexure A – Notice of Estimate of Charges – FOI/2223/005
Document estimate
Number of relevant documents
5
Number of pages
5
PROCESSING CHARGES
Search and retrieval
Cost @
Task
Time
$15/hr
Search and retrieval of relevant electronic and physical files
1hrs
$15.00
Search and retrieval of relevant pages in file
-
0
Search and retrieval subtotal (A)
1hrs
$15.00
Decision making
Cost @
Task
Time
$20/hr
Examination of documents
0.16
$3.20
Consultation with third parties
2
$40.00
Preparation of documents for release
0.15
$3.00
Preparation of notice of access decision
1
$20.00
Decision making subtotal (before deduction of 5 free hours)
3.31
$66.20
Decision making subtotal (after deduction of 5 free hours)
0
$0
(B)
ESTIMATED TOTALS AND DEPOSIT
ESTIMATED TOTAL
$15.00
REQUIRED DEPOSIT (100 per cent (%))
$15.00
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