Our reference: RQ22/03953
Agency reference: LEX 54130
Ms Verity Pane By email
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
cc:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Extension of time under s 15AB
Dear Ms Pane
On 31 October 2022, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (the Department) applied to the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for further time to make a decision
on your FOI request of 1 October 2022 under s 15AB of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act).
This application was made on the basis that the processing period is insufficient to deal
adequately with your FOI request, because it is complex and voluminous.
The Department attempted to obtain an agreement under s 15AA of the FOI Act for an
extension of time from you. The Department did not receive a response from you.
Contact with you
On 23 November 2022, Noah Harris of the OAIC wrote to you to seek your view on the
Department’s application.
You were invited to provide any comments by 25 November 2022. You have not responded to
the inquiries.
Decision
As a delegate of the Information Commissioner, I am authorised to make decisions on
applications for extensions of time under s 15AB of the FOI Act.
I have decided to grant the Department an extension of time under s 15AB(2) of the FOI Act
to 2 December 2022. I am satisfied that the Department’s application for an extension of
time is justified, because the request is complex and voluminous. My reasons and
considerations follow:
1300 363 992
T +61 2 9942 4099
GPO Box 5288
www.oaic.gov.au
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
F +61 2 6123 5145
Sydney NSW 2001
ABN 85 249 230 937
• The request is considered to be broad in nature as it is undefined in terms of a date
period and could relate to an undefined number of client records.
• Information is not held in a discrete document and as such, the retrieval of the
requested information requires a manual search and review.
• Further time is required for the business area to provide further detail on the
required process for document retrieval, and to allow for the processing officer to
action the request accordingly.
Based on the information currently before the OAIC, I am satisfied that an extension until
2 December 2022 is appropriate in this circumstance, particularly in consideration of the
complexity of the request; as well as the active steps taken by the Department to progress
your request to the final stages. I have also considered that you have not provided any
objections to the extension when you were contacted to seek your views. I consider the
additional days represent a reasonable amount of time in this circumstance.
If the Department does not make a decision by 2 December 2022, or you are dissatisfied with
the decision you receive, you may wish to seek Information Commissioner review the
Department
here. Further information
on applying for IC review is available on the OAIC
website. An application for IC review would need to be made within 60 days of the Agency’s
decision or deemed decision.
Contact
If you have any questions about this letter, please contact me on 02 9942 4092 or via email to
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. In all correspondence, please include OAIC reference: RQ22/03953.
Yours sincerely
Avanithah Selvarajah
Assistant Review Adviser
FOI Regulatory Group
1 December 2022
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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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