link to page 1 link to page 1
OFFICIAL
7 August 2024
John Smith
c/- OpenAustralia Foundation
Right to Know Project
BY EMAIL: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Smith
Freedom of Information (FOI) request – Response
I refer to your request for information dated 1 July 2024 originally received by Services Australia on 1
July 2024 and transferred to Hearing Australia on 16 July 2024 (the
Request).
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a response to your Request.
Scope of the Request
You have requested access to the following documents:
“The NALguide Pro in digital format licensed under NALguide Pro. As listed here1:”
Resources
In reviewing your Request, I have consulted the following:
•
the Commonwealth
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (
FOI Act) [
available at
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A02 562]; and
•
Guidelines published by the Office of the Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI
Act (the
FOI Guidelines).
Access response
The right to obtain access under the FOI Act does not apply to all documents that are in the possession
of agencies subject to the FOI Act.
Accordingly, on 23 July 2024, I wrote to you seeking clarification whether your application for access
was intended to be processed pursuant to the FOI Act. To date, I have not received a response from
you regarding this matter.
Section 12(1)(c) of the FOI Act states that a document is exempt from access if it is ‘
made available for
purchase by the public in accordance with arrangements made by an agency’.
Having regard to your Request and the types of documents that may fall within the scope of your
request, I am satisfied that:
1. The document you requested can be purchased directly from National Acoustic Laboratories (
NAL)
website using the very same li
nk2 as provided in your Request; and
1
https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nal.gov.au%2Fnal_products%2Fnalguide-hearing-aid-features-
explained%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cfreedomofinformation%40servicesaustralia.gov.au%7C6df60607c8c0446e21fb08dc99b8a70f%7C627250e63e294861a084aad68ccfc
ccc%7C0%7C0%7C638554265761378785%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C200
00%7C%7C%7C&sdata=HtZRzOCbKYU3XrNez3ATj51Rss2tkAL2kclmgXOp904%3D&reserved=0. 2 As above.
1
OFFICIAL
2. The document you requested was available for purchase on 1 July 2024, being the date of your
Request.
Therefore, it is my position that the FOI Act is not a suitable avenue for your Request given that the
document is readily accessible for purchase by you and the general public from NAL’s website.
Contacting the Privacy Team
Should you wish to discuss this response letter or are unable to access the FOI Act through the website
provided above, please do not hesitate to contact me
at xxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx.
If you have any difficulties accessing or purchasing the document, please do not hesitate to contact
NAL by telephone on
(02) 9412 7026 or alternatively by visiting their website at https://www.nal gov.au/
contact-us/.
Yours sincerely,
Matthew de Pree
Privacy Officer xxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
2
