Source: https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-archive/foi-guidelines-archive/part-9-internal-agency-review-of-decisions-original
Timestamp: 2018-05-26 10:09:15
Document Index: 733606417

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 9', 'art 9', 'art 11', 'art 10', 'art 10', 'art 8']

Part 9 — Internal agency review of decisions (original)| Office of the Australian Information Commissioner - OAIC
Part 9 — Internal agency review of decisions (original)
(a) a decision refusing to give access to a document in accordance with a request
(b) a decision giving access to a document but not giving access to all documents to which the request relates
(c) a decision purporting to give, in accordance with a request, access to all documents to which the request relates, but not actually giving that access
(d) a decision to defer the provision of access to a document (except a document that a minister thinks should first be provided to the Parliament in accordance with s 21(1)(d))
(e) a decision under s 29 relating to imposition of a charge or the amount of a charge
(f) a decision to give access to a document to a qualified person under s 47F(5)
(g) a decision refusing to amend a record of personal information in accordance with an application made under s 48
(h) a decision refusing to annotate a record of personal information in accordance with an application made under s 48.
9.8 An access grant decision is a decision to grant access to a document where there is a requirement to consult with a State under s 26A, a business entity under s 27, or an individual or legal personal representative of a deceased person under s 27A. This is spelt out in the table on the following page taken from s 53B of the Act.
(a) the document is not conditionally exempt under s 47B (Commonwealth-State relations); or
(a) the document is neither exempt under s 47 (trade secrets), nor conditionally exempt under s 47G (business documents); or
(a) the document is not conditionally exempt under s 47F (personal privacy); or
was made by a minister (ss 54(1) and 54A(1))
was made personally by the principal officer of an agency (ss 54(1) and 54A(1))
9.10 A person cannot seek internal review of an earlier internal review decision (s 54E(a)). Internal review is also not available to a third party if an agency has decided not to consult the third party under ss 26A, 27 or 27A. However, the third party may make a complaint that an agency failed to consult with them before deciding to release a document. For further information see Part 11 of these guidelines.
Who is an affected third party?
a State that was consulted by an agency under s 26A(2), and a business entity or person who made a submission to an agency under ss 27 or 27A, and
a business entity or person who was invited to make a submission under ss 27 or 27A but did not do so. (If consultation did not occur, an agency is still required to notify an affected third party of its access grant decision under ss 27(6) and 27A(5).) A third party who was not invited to make a submission but believes they should have been invited under ss 27 or 27A may complain to the Information Commissioner.
the application must be in writing (which includes an email or any other form of electronic communication permitted by the Electronic Transactions Act 1999), and
9.22 The agency must notify a decision to the internal review applicant within 30 calendar days of receiving the internal review application (ss 54C(3), 54D). The notice of decision must contain the particulars specified in s 26 (s 54C(4) – see paragraph 9.31 below).
9.23 If the internal review applicant does not receive notice of the internal review decision within 30 days, the principal officer of the agency is deemed to have made and notified a decision on the 30th day affirming the original FOI decision (s 54D(2)). The applicant may then apply to the Information Commissioner to review the agency decision (see Part 10). However, until that occurs, the internal review officer should proceed to make a decision as soon as practicable.
9.25 An agency may apply to the Information Commissioner for an extension of time to decide an application for internal review (s 54D(3)). The FOI Act does not preclude an application being made after the time for deciding the internal review application has expired, although this may weigh against an extension of time being granted.
9.26 The FOI Act does not specify any criteria the Information Commissioner must consider. Generally, the Information Commissioner will consider whether it is reasonable in all the circumstances to grant an extension, having regard to the agency’s reasons for making the request and any views expressed by the internal review applicant.
9.27 In granting an extension, the Information Commissioner can allow further time considered appropriate for the agency to make an internal review decision (s 54D(4)) and impose any condition on the agency (s 54D(5)). During the period of any extension, the agency will not be deemed to have affirmed the original FOI decision (s 54D(6)). However, if the agency fails to make an internal review decision during the period of extension or fails to comply with a condition imposed by the Information Commissioner, the principal officer of the agency is deemed to have affirmed the original FOI decision on the last day of the period of extension (s 54D(7)). The Information Commissioner cannot thereafter grant any further extension to the agency (s 54D(8)).
9.28 The FOI Act does not prescribe any procedure or criteria for the internal review decision. An agency should be guided by the principles put forward by the Administrative Review Council in a Best Practice Guide on internal review, Internal Review of Agency Decision Making, Report No 44 (2000), Chapter 8. Those principles can be adapted to the FOI context as follows:
Internal review is a merit review process (see Part 10 at paragraph 10.12). The internal review officer can decide all issues raised by an applicant’s FOI request, and exercise all the powers available to the original decision maker. For example, the review officer can decide (contrary to the decision reached by the original decision maker) that a document is not an exempt document under the FOI Act, that an exempt document should be provided to the applicant in accordance with s 3A, or that an FOI charge should be reduced or waived.
9.29 As explained above, there is no obligation to undertake further consultation with an affected third party at the internal review stage. Nor does the FOI Act authorise an agency to extend the time for deciding an internal review in order to undertake consultation. An internal review officer should nevertheless consider the need for consultation if none has been undertaken or if an earlier consultation did not address issues that arise in the internal review).
9.30 If the internal review officer decides to release documents that contain the personal or business information of an affected third party or information affecting Commonwealth-State relations, ss 26A(4), 27(7) and 27A(6) may require that access not be given until an affected third party’s review or appeal opportunities have run out (see Part 8).
9.31 An agency must provide written notice of an internal review decision to the internal review applicant (s 54C(4)). The notice of decision must comply with s 26, which also applies to original decisions. In summary, the notice should: