Freedom of Information Decisions

Information may be provided in the following ways:

• the applicant may inspect the record;
• the applicant may receive photocopies of the record;
• the applicant may hear tapes or view films; and
• a transcript may be provided.

Where a document contains both exempt and non-exempt information, a copy of the document can be supplied with deletions noted (s22).

Decisions Not to Provide Information

An applicant may be refused access to information for the following reasons:

• the applicant is not entitled to the information, for example, the information sought is exempt under Part IV;
• provision of the information is deferred because it is required to be, and is not yet published, or it is prepared for presentation to Parliament, and is yet to be presented (s21);
• the work involved in giving access would unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from its other operations, having regard to the amount of information and difficulties in identifying, locating or collating the information and difficulties in identifying, locating or collating the information (known as a voluminous request) (s24).

The applicant must be notified in writing of the decision, be given a statement of reasons for the decision and be advised of the right of review.