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Freedom of Information

The ACT Freedom of Information Act 1989 gives individuals the legal right to:

access documents held by ACT Ministers and their Directorates
ask for personal information to be changed if it is incomplete, out of date, incorrect or misleading
appeal against a decision not to grant access to a document or amend or annotate a personal record.

The FOI Act also requires agencies to make available information about the:

way they are organised
functions they have
types of decisions they make
arrangements they have for public involvement in their functions
documents they hold and how they can be accessed and
policies and procedures which are used in making decisions which affect members of the public.

FOI Requests

Those seeking information are encouraged to seek access by contacting the Directorate before resorting to the more formal FOI procedure. A request should be made in writing (by letter or by using the FOI application form) requesting access to documents under the FOI Act. The request should:

identify the document/s sought
provide as much information as possible about the document/s requested to assist in processing the request and
supply a contact telephone number and postal address.

All FOI requests should be directed to:

The FOI Coordinator
Legal Liaison
Information, Communications and Governance Branch
ACT Education and Training Directorate

GPO Box 158
CANBERRA ACT 2601

Phone  02 6207 6846
Fax  02 6205 9453
TTY  02 6205 9314
Website http://www.det.act.gov.au/

Exemptions

The FOI Act sets out certain types of documents which may not be accessible (called exempt documents). Exemptions are generally used to protect essential public interests, confidential matters or the private or business affairs of others.

If the Directorate decides not to grant access to the documents requested, it will provide written reasons for the decision and advise the applicant of their rights of appeal.

Appeal Rights
If individuals are unhappy with the initial decision they may:

request the agency reconsider its initial decision (this is known as an internal review);
seek an independent review of the decision by the ACT Administrative and Civil Appeals Tribunal (ACAT review) if the individual is not satisfied after the agency has conducted an internal review;
complain to the Ombudsman about the agency's decision or action (Ombudsman review); and
also appeal if the agency does not provide reasons for the decisions made on your request or delays in informing the applicant.

Costs

There is no longer an application fee for Freedom of Information requests. However processing charges may be applied in certain circumstances.