Freedom of Information
Every person has the right under the Act to obtain access to documents of an agency other than an exempt document. The Council is an agency under the Act. Please download the following document for a full list of documents available for public inspection.
Documents Available for Inspection (21KB)
A request for access to documents of Council, shall be in writing and contain such information regarding the documents as is reasonable for Council to identify the document. A request must be accompanied by a fee of $23.40 before it becomes a formal request under the provisions of the Act. Note: the fee may be waived or reduced if the payment would cause hardship.
The following charges apply to Freedom of Information requests:
- A charge of $0.20 for each A4 photocopy page
- $20 per hour or part thereof for search time
- $5 per quarter hour or part thereof for supervised inspection of documents
- A charge for making a written transcript of a tape, listening to or viewing a tape, or for providing access in a form other than a photocopy.
If the access charges exceed $50.00, you will be contacted by the FOI Officer and asked if you wish to proceed. If so, you will be required to pay a deposit before continuing with the request. Fees and charges may be waived on grounds of hardship or impecuniosity. If you seek waiver on those grounds, you should provide evidence of such hardship (eg a copy of a current health care or pension card, income details etc).
Council is to assist an applicant as is necessary to make the request in a manner that complies with the Act. Council cannot refuse a request on the grounds that it does not comply without giving the applicant a reasonable opportunity to consult with the Council with a view to making the request in a form that does comply.
If possible, access will be given in the form requested by the applicant. Access may be given by way of inspection, a provision of photocopy, written transcript, hearing sounds or viewing visual images. Exceptions relative to granting access in the requested form are, infringement of copyright, document preservation and unreasonable interference with the operations of the agency.
Applicants will be notified of a decision "as soon as practicable". At the latest, the applicant will be notified on the 45th day after the request and the accompanying payment was received by Council, being the maximum period permitted by the Act.
The Freedom of Information Application Form can be downloaded below.