Dear J Pemberton
 
Thank you for your email to the Attorney-General’s Department Freedom of
Information (FOI) section.
 
Your correspondence relates to a specific question and is not considered
to be a valid request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), as it does not contain sufficient detail
to allow the department to identify the documents to which you are seeking
access.  If you wish to make a request for documents held by the
department, please provide information about the documents to which you
seek access.
 
Sections 15(1) and (2) of the FOI Act provide that:
(1)          …a person who wishes to obtain access to a document of an
agency … may request access to the document
(2)          The request must …
(b) provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably
necessary to enable a responsible officer of the agency to identify it …
 
Furthermore, part 3.47 of the Guidelines issued by the Australian
Information Commissioner states that – The request must provide such
information as is reasonably necessary to enable a responsible officer of
the agency or the minister to identify the document that is requested (s
15(2)(b)) (see [3.109]).
 
In order to submit a valid FOI request, please ensure that the request:
•             be in writing (email is sufficient),
•             state that the request is an application for the purposes
of the FOI Act,
•             describe the documents you seek in enough detail to allow
the decision-maker to identify and find them, and
•             provide an address for reply.
 
Regards
 
FOI Case Officer
 
Freedom of Information and Parliamentary | Strategy and Governance Branch
Attorney-General’s Department
T: 02 6141 6666| E: [AGD request email]
 
 
 

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