Freedom of Information Request

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) provides members of the public with a legal right of access to documents held by Council. Members of the public are entitled to seek access to:

• Documents about their personal affairs, regardless of the age of the documents.
• Documents held by a Council, not older than 1 January 1989.

The Act does not apply to documents which are available for a fee as part of a public register or are documents which are available for purchase.

 

The term 'document' is broad and includes information in many formats, whether printed or in electronic form, photographs, letters, maps, film, reports, audio and video recordings.

 

The protection of the public interest and private and business affairs may cause some documents to be exempted from access.

 

Making a Request

 

Requests for access to information under the FOI Act must be:

• in writing and accompanied by a non-refundable application fee of $24.40.

• provide sufficient information to enable the documents to be identified.  Where possible this should include the approximate date range of the documents sought, if known.

FOI Request forms can be viewed and printed by following the link below.

 

All applications for access to information under the FOI Act are to be addressed to:

 

Freedom of Information Officer,

Wyndham City Council,

PO Box 197, WERRIBEE VIC 3030

 

Timeframe

 

On receipt of a valid request, the FOI Officer has 45 days to respond to the applicant with a decision.  Where a decision is made to deny or defer access, the applicant will be notified in writing of the reasons for the denial and the procedures available to appeal the decision.

 

Under the FOI Act, Council may deny access to ‘exempt’ documents.  Examples of ‘exempt’ documents include:

• confidential matters considered by Council law enforcement documents  
• some internal working documents  
• documents covered by legal professional privilege, such as legal advice  
• documents obtained in confidence or containing personal information about other people  documents containing "Commercial in-confidence" information or trade secrets

Other Costs

 

Where an application for access is granted, costs will be incurred by the applicant (in addition to the application fee) to access the documents. These charges are levied under with the Freedom of Information (access charges) Regulations 2004 and relate to:

• Search charges - $20 per hour or part of an hour.
• Inspection supervision charges - $5 per quarter hour.

• Photocopying charges - 20 cents per black and white A4 page.   Colour copies and paper sizes other than A4 are set at a reasonable cost incurred by Council in providing the copy.

Where it is anticipated that the costs will exceed $50, the applicant will be advised and requested to pay a deposit. The applicant will also be asked if they wish to continue with the request or narrow the terms of the request to reduce costs.

 

For further information on the FOI Act and procedures please contact the FOI Officer on 9742 0743.

 

Files

• FOI Application Form (PDF, 123.66 KB)