Ministerial and Information
Management Branch
Department of Defence
CP1-6-001
PO Box 7910
CANBERRA BC ACT 2610
Tel: 02 626 62200
Fax: 02 626 62112
xxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Our reference: FOI 278/14/15
Mr Culley Palmer
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Palmer
NOTICE OF PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF CHARGES
1.
I refer to your email of 25 February 2015 to Civil Aviation Safety Authority, which was
transferred to Defence under s16 of the FOI Act on 6 March 2015, in which you requested
access, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), to:
“The document I seek is a Risk Assessment or other such report to the same effect,
created in anticipation of a US Global Hawk military drone landing at Melbourne's
Avalon Airport on the night of February 21st 2015.”
Liability to pay charges
2.
In accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act, I decided that you are liable to pay a
charge for processing your request and for giving access to any documents that may be
released to you.
3.
The decision that you are liable to pay a charge does not mean that you are required to
pay now. You will only have to pay if, after consideration of your response to this letter, the
decision is made to impose a charge. We will inform you when such a decision has been made
and will let you know about your rights to seek review of the decision. You may, at any stage
before a charge is imposed, withdraw your request. You would then not be legally required to
pay the charge.
Defending Australia and its National Interests
2
Preliminary assessment of charges schedule
4.
Your request was referred to the relevant area in Defence for an estimate to be made of
the work that would be involved in processing it. An estimate was also obtained of the number
of pages of documents that, if disclosed, would attract a copying charge. The purpose of
obtaining these estimates is to allow a preliminary assessment to be made of the charge that, if
imposed, your request would attract. The preliminary assessment of the charge is as follows:
Search and retrieval time:
1 hour @ $15 per hour
$ 15
.00
Decision-making time:
11 hours @ $20 per hour
22
$ 0.00
Copying of documents:
93 pages @ 10 cents per page
$ 9.30
GST (Exempt):
Nil
Sub total:
24
$ 4.30
Less
5 hours of free decision making time
1
$ 00.00
Total
1
$ 44.30
Deposit required
$ 36
.05
(The rates of charges are set by the Freedom of Information Charges Regulations.)
Basis on which charges are estimated
5.
The basis of the estimates on which this preliminary assessment was made is as
follows:
Search and retrieval time: The area that would be responsible for processing your
request advised that it took one hour to identify, locate and retrieve the requested
document. This involved searching an electronic record management system to
establish the location of relevant files, physically locating and extracting files and
reading their content to locate documents relevant to your request.
Decision-making time:
a. seven hours to examine approximately 93 pages of documents that may fall
within the terms of your request;
b. two hours for consulting with bodies outside Defence in the decision-making
process;
c. one hours to make copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted; and
d. two hours in preparing notices of decision.
This estimate has been adjusted to take into account the free decision-making time
allowed under the FOI charges regulations.
Copying of documents: Photocopying of documents that are disclosed is charged at 10
cents per A4 page. [Please note that, although an estimate has been made of the cost of
providing photocopies of documents in response to your request, no decision to release
Defending Australia and its National Interests
3
any document has been made. This letter should not be taken to mean that your request
for access to documents will be granted.]
Response to this notice
6.
You now have the opportunity to decide whether or not you wish to proceed with your
request. Section 29 of the FOI Act requires that, within 30 days of receipt of this letter, you
must let the Department know whether you wish to:
a. withdraw your request (you will not be required to pay any charges); or
b. agree to pay, in anticipation of its imposition, the charges as set out above in the
preliminary assessment of charges schedule; or
c. contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed, or should be reduced or not
imposed (you should give your full reasons for doing so); or
d. reduce the scope of your request. Defence will offer you one opportunity to
consult our office to reduce the scope of your request and revise the above
preliminary assessment of charges. Upon receipt of the revised preliminary
assessment of charges you will be required to choose from options 6 a; b; or c
above).
7.
If you need more time to respond, please contact this office.
8.
If you do not respond to this letter within 30 days of receiving it (or by a later deadline
if we give you an extension), we will take it that you have withdrawn your request. The 30-day
time limit for processing your request is suspended from the day that you receive this letter and
resumes either:
a. on the day you agree to pay the charge (if no deposit is required);
b. the day Defence receives a receipt of payment for the deposit; or
c. the day on which Defence makes a decision not to impose a charge.
Right to challenge assessment of charges
9.
You may wish to contend that the charge for your request has been wrongly assessed,
or should be reduced or not imposed, as indicated above. The decision maker, when deciding
whether or not to reduce or impose a charge, will consider all relevant reasons, including the
following reasons:
a. whether payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause you financial
hardship; and
b. whether the giving of access to the documents requested is in the general public
interest or in the interest of a substantial section of the public.
Defending Australia and its National Interests
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Adjustment of charges after request processed
10.
After processing your request has been completed, the charge payable may be adjusted
to reflect the actual processing time and the final number of pages of documents, if any, that
are disclosed. However, the amount payable can only be more than the preliminary assessment
if the decision is to release all of the documents requested in full.
Deposit required
11.
If you wish to proceed with your request, and agree to pay the charge, a deposit is
required as indicated above in the preliminary assessment of charges schedule. The deposit is
not refundable except in some limited circumstances (for example, if Defence 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.
12.
Please complete the authorisation form at Enclosure 1 and return it to the FOI
Directorate. This form is an agreement to pay charges and enables the FOI Directorate to
continue processing your request without delay. Upon receipt of the form an invoice will be
generated, which may take up to 5 business days. Details about payment of the invoice are on
the form.
FOI Disclosure log
13.
In accordance with the requirements of section 11C of the FOI Act, Defence is required
to publish, on its website, information released under the FOI Act within 10 working days of
the applicant being given access to documents. Defence will also publish the decision notice,
with personal and business information deleted. The information published does not include
personal information or the business, commercial, financial or professional affairs of any
person if publication of that information would be unreasonable. Other information not
published also includes that which the Australian Information Commissioner determines is
unreasonable to publish.
Further information
14.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has compiled a Fact Sheet on
FOI charges, which is available at: http://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-
resources/freedom-of-information-fact-sheets/foi-fact-sheet-7-freedom-of-information-charges
15.
Please contact me if you have any questions about this matter.
Yours sincerely
Andrea Sansom
Acting Director
Freedom of Information
6 March 2015
Enclosure:
1.
FOI – Agreement to pay charges
Defending Australia and its National Interests
Ministerial and Information
Management Branch
Department of Defence
CP1-6-001
PO Box 7910
CANBERRA BC ACT 2610
Tel: 02 626 62200
Fax: 02 626 62112
xxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST - DEPOSIT AUTHORISATION
FULL NAME or
ORGANISATION
Service or PMKEYS ID (if
applicable)
POSTAL ADDRESS:
CONTACT PHONE
H M B
NUMBERS:
EMAIL:
FOI REFERENCE :
248/14/15
AMOUNT $
36.05
By signing this form you are agreeing to pay the charges notified to you by the Freedom of
Information Directorate. The deposit is not refundable except in some limited circumstances
(for example, if Defence 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:
PLEASE DO NOT SEND CHEQUES OR MONEY ORDERS TO FOI
Once our office receives this form, the Department of Defence will generate an invoice in
order for you to make payment of the agreed charges via one of the payment options
made available.
Our office will not proceed to process your request until a receipt has been received in
our office notifying that the deposit amount has been paid.
Please sign below and return this form by one of the following:
via email to xxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
via fax 02 6266 2112
by post to the address noted above.
Signature: ____________________________________________________
Defending Australia and its National Interests
