FOI Log 2024-25
Jarred Crowe made this Freedom of Information request to Victorian Department of Transport and Planning
Dear Department of Transport,
I am formally requesting access to the following document under the Freedom of Information Act 1982:
1) FOI log for the period between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025, including:
- internal reference numbers,
- request dates,
- request scopes,
- identified documents,
- the decision outcome for each document (e.g. released in full, released in part, refused), and
- decision dates.
Please note that I am not seeking any personal information, including the names or contact details of requesters or FOI officers involved in processing the requests.
Although payment has been made via the online.foi.vic.gov.au web portal, I kindly ask that all correspondence regarding this request take place in reply to this email.
Yours faithfully,
Jarred Crowe
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 requires all applicants to pay a fee of $33.60. Lodgement of request and payment can be made online via Freedom of Information online portal | Department of Justice and Community Safety Victoria and selecting “Department of Transport” as the agency.
Payment may be waived or reduced if it would cause financial hardship to the applicant. Evidence in support of a claim of hardship would include a copy of a Pension Card or Health Care Card. This can be mailed or emailed through to our office at [email address].
To avoid any further delays clear indication of the documents sought to be provided.
Your request will be processed upon receipt of the above information. Until such time, your request is considered invalid and will not be processed.
Should you have any queries regarding this matter, please feel free to contact this unit by email at [email address].
Regards,
Privacy and Information Access Officer
E [email address]
W dtp.vic.gov.au
DISCLAIMER
The following conditions apply to this communication and any attachments: the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) reserves all of its copyright; the information is intended for the addressees only and may be confidential and/or privileged - it must not be passed on by any other recipients; any expressed opinions are those of the sender and not necessarily DTP; DTP accepts no liability for any consequences arising from the recipient's use of this means of communication and/or the information contained in and/or attached to this communication. If this communication has been received in error, please contact the person who sent this communication and delete all copies. Any personal or sensitive information in this email and attachments must be handled in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.
Dear Department of Transport,
As indicated, payment for this request has been made via online.foi.vic.gov.au.
The payment recipt number is: 4132488867
I ask that all further communications regarding this request continue to please be made in reply to this email.
Kindly,
Jarred Crowe
Dear Department of Transport,
Can you please confirm that you have recived payment for this request?
The recipt number is: 4132488867
I ask that all further communications regarding this request continue to please be made in reply to this email.
Kindly,
Jarred Crowe
Sent a follow up to Victorian Department of Transport and Planning again.
Dear Mr Crowe
Thank you for your email.
The department confirms receipt of your request and payment of the application fee.
We are reviewing your request and will be in touch with you in due course.
Privacy and Information Access Unit
DTP Legal
Department of Transport and Planning
dtp.vic.gov.au
DISCLAIMER
The following conditions apply to this communication and any attachments: the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) reserves all of its copyright; the information is intended for the addressees only and may be confidential and/or privileged - it must not be passed on by any other recipients; any expressed opinions are those of the sender and not necessarily DTP; DTP accepts no liability for any consequences arising from the recipient's use of this means of communication and/or the information contained in and/or attached to this communication. If this communication has been received in error, please contact the person who sent this communication and delete all copies. Any personal or sensitive information in this email and attachments must be handled in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.
Dear Transport FOI Requests (DTP),
As your last message confirmed receipt of both the request and the application fee, this request should be treated as valid. The 30-day period for making a decision therefore commenced on 9 August 2025, in accordance with Section 21(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic).
A decision notification or extension request should be provided by date 8 September 2025.
Kindly,
Jarred Crowe
Dear Mr Crowe
Please find correspondence attached regarding your FOI request with this office.
Privacy and Information Access Unit
DTP Legal
Department of Transport and Planning
dtp.vic.gov.au
DISCLAIMER
The following conditions apply to this communication and any attachments: the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) reserves all of its copyright; the information is intended for the addressees only and may be confidential and/or privileged - it must not be passed on by any other recipients; any expressed opinions are those of the sender and not necessarily DTP; DTP accepts no liability for any consequences arising from the recipient's use of this means of communication and/or the information contained in and/or attached to this communication. If this communication has been received in error, please contact the person who sent this communication and delete all copies. Any personal or sensitive information in this email and attachments must be handled in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.
Dear Mr Bonett,
Thank you for your response regarding my FOI request. I have considered the matters raised and set out below a revised scope together with my response to each point.
--Scope Change--
To clarify the scope and reduce the voluminous nature of the request, I confirm that:
* document schedules attached to individual requests are excluded, and
* personal-interest requests (for example HR matters, infringements, and licensing/Myki disputes) are excluded, consistent with the distinction between “personal” and “non-personal” requests as reported in the OVIC Annual Report.
--Request is Valid--
My request remains valid under section 17,
* It is in writing,
* It sufficiently describes the document sought,
* It was lodged with the required fee,
The above scope change is intended to assist the Department, not to cure invalidity.
--Existence of Log--
The Department must compile FOI statistics annually. This necessitates maintaining an internal record system, whether called a log, register, or database.
If the Department asserts that no such record exists, this would need to be made as a formal decision under section 25A. Any such decision would be subject to review by the Information Commissioner.
--Application of Section 24(1)(a)--
The request details (log) I am seeking are not published in either the Department’s or OVIC’s Annual Report. Those reports contain only aggregated totals, whereas I am requesting the underlying operational FOI log for non-personal requests. While it may be possible to derive statistics from this log similar to those later tabled in Parliament via the Annual Reports, that is incidental. The log itself exists for operational and compliance purposes, and the log itself is not tabled in Parliament. Section 24(1)(a) therefore does not apply.
--Duty to Assist--
Section 17(3) of the Act requires the Department to take reasonable steps to assist applicants to make requests that comply with the Act. The correspondence I received does not propose any concrete path forward, but instead places the onus entirely on me, stating only that I may “offer an alternative phrasing” and warning that the request may not proceed. This is not consistent with the objective of the Act, which is to facilitate access to information, nor with the duty under section 17(3) to provide constructive assistance. With the scope now clarified, there should be no basis for refusal under section 17.
--Commencement Date--
With the revised scope, this request should now be treated as valid from 18 August 2025, with the statutory 30-day decision period commencing on that date.
Kindly,
Jarred Crowe