Dear Rob

Freedom of Information Request COR/FOI/01554

I refer to the request received by the City of Melbourne (“Council”) on 12
August 2023 in which access is sought under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (Vic) (“FOI Act”) to:

…copies of all communications with the Department of Climate Change,
Energy, the Environment and Water with regard to the calculation and
approval of Melbourne City Councils carbon inventory for FY2022 for
Climate Active Carbon Neutral Certification. 

I note that by email to the Council of the same date you added the
following condition to your request:

As it appears as through the latest Carbon Inventory is FY2021 would you
please supply the inventory and related communications for that year if
FY2022 is not available.

Request must be valid under s 17 of the FOI Act

The FOI Act creates a right of access to documents of an agency, such as
the Council.  Section 13 of the FOI Act states that the right of access is
to be exercised “in accordance with this Act”.  Section 17 of the FOI Act
sets out the procedural requirements to be satisfied before a valid
request for access to documents exists. 

Application fee

One procedural requirement is for a request for access to be accompanied
by an application fee of 2 fee units (s 17(2A), FOI Act). From 1 July 2023
that amount is $31.80. Accordingly can you please forward payment of the
$31.80 application fee as soon as practicable. The following two methods
for payment of the application fee are available:

 1. Credit card payment via online application – Please let me know if
this is suitable and I will set up an online FOI application to enable
this.

 2. Cheque. If this is suitable please forward your cheque to the
following address:

Council Business Team

City of Melbourne

GPO Box 1603

MELBOURNE  VIC  3001

The cheque should be made payable to the City of Melbourne.

Clarification required under s 17

Another requirement is that an FOI request must provide such information
concerning the documents sought as is reasonably necessary to enable the
agency to identify those documents. That is, an applicant must strive to
define with as much precision as possible the documents sought in terms
that will enable an appropriate officer of the agency to constructively
search for those documents. If a request is ambiguous, unclear or
otherwise ill defined, it does not comply with the FOI Act and need not be
processed.

In my view, the request does not provide sufficient information for the
Council to identify the documents sought for the following reasons.

a)    I assume that the request seeks copies of communications sent to or
from the Department to or from the Council. Can you please confirm that my
assumption is correct?

b)    I assume that the request seeks communications with regard to the
calculation and/or approval of the Council’s carbon inventory for Climate
Active Carbon Neutral Certification. Can you please confirm that my
assumption is correct?

c)    It is unclear what is meant by FY2022 in the request. Does this mean
the 2021-22 financial year or the 2022-23 financial year or both?

d)    It is unclear what is meant by FY2021 in the request. Does this mean
the 2020-21 financial year or the 2021-22 financial year or both?

e)    I note that in your first email to the Council you have requested
“communications” however in the second email you have requested the
“inventory and related communications” if FY2022 is not available. Subject
to your clarifications above, can you please confirm whether the latter is
intended to mean communications with regard to the calculation and
approval of the carbon inventory consistent with the documents sought in
your original email or is something else sought in the second email other
than communications and if so what?

Accordingly, I invite you to consult with the Council with a view to
amending or clarifying the request so that it is in a form which complies
with s 17 and provides the information necessary to enable the Council to
identify the documents sought. 

If the matters raised above are not addressed within 21 days (no later
than 25 September 2023) the Council may refuse to comply with the request
by treating the request as having lapsed due to not having been validly
made. Please note that until the request is made in a manner required by s
17 of the FOI Act, it cannot be processed and the 30-day time period
within which a decision must be made on the request has not commenced to
run.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Peter Gannoni | Senior Governance Officer | Governance

City of Melbourne | Town Hall, 90-120 Swanston Street Melbourne 3000 | GPO
Box 1603 Melbourne 3001
T: 03 9658 9103 | F: 03 9658 8084 | E:
[1][email address] | [2]www.melbourne.vic.gov.au 

We value: Integrity | Courage | Accountability | Respect | Excellence

The City of Melbourne respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of
the land, the Boon
Wurrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) peoples of the Kulin Nation and pays
respect to their Elders, past and present.

Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this
email.

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Thank you for your email.

I am currently on leave and will be returning on Monday 25 September 2023.

For any urgent FOI or Privacy queries please email
[Melbourne City Council request email] or [email address] and a staff
member will contact you as soon as possible.

This email is intended solely for the named addressee.
If you are not the addressee indicated please delete it immediately.

Dear Rob

Freedom of Information Request COR/FOI/01554

Thank you for your email below in response to my request for clarification
under s 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (“Act”).

Can you please confirm whether the following accurately captures the terms
of your request in its current form:

…copies of all communications sent to or from the Department of Climate
Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to or from the City of Melbourne
(“Council”) with regard to the calculation and/or approval of the
Council’s carbon inventory for Climate Active Carbon Neutral Certification
for the 2021-22 financial year. If the carbon inventory for the 2021-22
financial is not available then the 2020-21 financial year is intended to
apply to the request instead.

Can you please also forward payment of the $31.80 application fee as soon
as practicable. The following two methods for payment of the application
fee are available:

 1. Credit card payment via online application – Please let me know if
this is suitable and I will set up an online FOI application to enable
this.

 2. Cheque. If this is suitable please forward your cheque to the
following address:

Council Business Team

City of Melbourne

GPO Box 1603

MELBOURNE  VIC  3001

The cheque should be made payable to the City of Melbourne.

If you can confirm that I have accurately captured the terms of your
request, then subject to receipt of the application fee the Council will
treat the request as valid for the purposes of s 17 of the Act and proceed
to deal with the request in its clarified form accordingly.

Yours sincerely

Peter Gannoni | Senior Governance Officer | Governance

City of Melbourne | Town Hall, 90-120 Swanston Street Melbourne 3000 | GPO
Box 1603 Melbourne 3001
T: 03 9658 9103 | F: 03 9658 8084 | E:
[1][email address] | [2]www.melbourne.vic.gov.au 

We value: Integrity | Courage | Accountability | Respect | Excellence

The City of Melbourne respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of
the land, the Boon
Wurrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) peoples of the Kulin Nation and pays
respect to their Elders, past and present.

Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this
email.

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Dear Rob

Freedom of Information Request COR/FOI/01554

Thank you for your email below.

As requested please find attached a payment form with instructions on how
to pay the application fee online through the Council service portal.

Can you please also confirm that the following accurately captures the
terms of your request in its current form:

…copies of all communications sent to or from the Department of Climate
Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to or from the City of Melbourne
(“Council”) with regard to the calculation and/or approval of the
Council’s carbon inventory for Climate Active Carbon Neutral Certification
for the 2021-22 financial year. If the carbon inventory for the 2021-22
financial is not available then the 2020-21 financial year is intended to
apply to the request instead.

Yours sincerely

Peter Gannoni | Senior Governance Officer | Governance

City of Melbourne | Town Hall, 90-120 Swanston Street Melbourne 3000 | GPO
Box 1603 Melbourne 3001
T: 03 9658 9103 | F: 03 9658 8084 | E:
[1][email address] | [2]www.melbourne.vic.gov.au 

We value: Integrity | Courage | Accountability | Respect | Excellence

The City of Melbourne respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of
the land, the Boon
Wurrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) peoples of the Kulin Nation and pays
respect to their Elders, past and present.

Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this
email.

show quoted sections

Dear Rob

Freedom of Information Request COR/FOI/01554

I refer to our communications below in relation to your request for access
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (“Act”).

Thank you for your payment of the $31.80 FOI application fee received on
23 October 2023.

In light of the clarifications provided in your email of 11 September
2023, can you please also confirm that the following accurately captures
the terms of your request in its current form:

…copies of all communications sent to or from the Department of Climate
Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to or from the City of Melbourne
(“Council”) with regard to the calculation and/or approval of the
Council’s carbon inventory for Climate Active Carbon Neutral Certification
for the 2021-22 financial year. If the carbon inventory for the 2021-22
financial is not available then the 2020-21 financial year is intended to
apply to the request instead.

If you can confirm that I have accurately captured the terms of your
request, the Council will treat the request as valid for the purposes of s
17 of the Act and proceed to deal with the request in its clarified form
accordingly.

Yours sincerely

Peter Gannoni | Senior Governance Officer | Governance

City of Melbourne | Town Hall, 90-120 Swanston Street Melbourne 3000 | GPO
Box 1603 Melbourne 3001
T: 03 9658 9103 | F: 03 9658 8084 | E:
[1][email address] | [2]www.melbourne.vic.gov.au 

We value: Integrity | Courage | Accountability | Respect | Excellence

The City of Melbourne respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of
the land, the Boon
Wurrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) peoples of the Kulin Nation and pays
respect to their Elders, past and present.

Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this
email.

From: Peter Gannoni
Sent: Tuesday, 12 September 2023 3:22 PM
To: Rob Cawthorne <[FOI #10557 email]>
Cc: FOI <[Melbourne City Council request email]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Details of Carbon Inventory
and Calculation methods for Melbourne City Councils Climate Active
certification for FY2022 - Freedom of Information Request COR/FOI/1554 -
clarification required

Dear Rob

Freedom of Information Request COR/FOI/01554

Thank you for your email below.

As requested please find attached a payment form with instructions on how
to pay the application fee online through the Council service portal.

Can you please also confirm that the following accurately captures the
terms of your request in its current form:

…copies of all communications sent to or from the Department of Climate
Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to or from the City of Melbourne
(“Council”) with regard to the calculation and/or approval of the
Council’s carbon inventory for Climate Active Carbon Neutral Certification
for the 2021-22 financial year. If the carbon inventory for the 2021-22
financial is not available then the 2020-21 financial year is intended to
apply to the request instead.

Yours sincerely

Peter Gannoni | Senior Governance Officer | Governance

City of Melbourne | Town Hall, 90-120 Swanston Street Melbourne 3000 | GPO
Box 1603 Melbourne 3001
T: 03 9658 9103 | F: 03 9658 8084 | E:
[3][email address] | [4]www.melbourne.vic.gov.au 

We value: Integrity | Courage | Accountability | Respect | Excellence

The City of Melbourne respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of
the land, the Boon
Wurrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) peoples of the Kulin Nation and pays
respect to their Elders, past and present.

Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this
email.

show quoted sections

Dear Rob

Freedom of Information Request COR/FOI/01554

Thank you for your email below confirming your request for access under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (“Act”) to:

…copies of all communications sent to or from the Department of Climate
Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to or from the City of Melbourne
(“Council”) with regard to the calculation and/or approval of the
Council’s carbon inventory for Climate Active Carbon Neutral Certification
for the 2021-22 financial year. If the carbon inventory for the 2021-22
financial is not available then the 2020-21 financial year is intended to
apply to the request instead.

Deposit Required

I have formed the opinion that the charge payable by you in order to have
access to the documents sought may exceed $50.

The estimated charge is $101.60 which has been calculated by me in
accordance with the Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations
2014 (Vic) as follows:

Type of Quantity Amount
charge
Search Time
@ $23.85 per 3 hours $71.60
hour or part
thereof
Photocopying
@ 20 cents
per black 150 $30.00
and white A4
page
Subtotal   $101.60
Deposit   $50.80
required

Please note the charge for search time has been rounded to the nearest 10
cents in accordance with the Monetary Units Act 2004 (Vic).

Under the Act, I am obliged to ask whether in the circumstances you still
wish to proceed with the request. 

If you wish to proceed, please pay the deposit amount of $50.80. A payment
form with instructions on how to pay the deposit online through the
Council service portal is attached to my email.

Can you please ensure the deposit is paid by no later than 23 January
2024.

Please note the 30 day statutory time limit for processing the request
does not commence until the deposit is received. Therefore can you please
let me know when the deposit is paid.

You may contact me to discuss practicable alternatives for altering the
request or reducing the anticipated charges.

If you are not satisfied with my decision, you may seek external review by
writing within 60 days of you receiving this email to the Victorian Civil
and Administrative Tribunal (“VCAT”) which can be contacted at 55 King
Street, Melbourne 3000 on 9628 9755 or by email at
[1][email address].

Please note that the VCAT will only consider the matter if the Office of
the Victorian Information Commissioner (“Information Commissioner”) has
first certified that the matter is one of sufficient importance for the
VCAT to consider. The Information Commissioner may be contacted at PO Box
24274, Melbourne, 3001. Telephone: 1300 006 842. Email:
[2][email address].

Yours sincerely

Peter Gannoni | Senior Governance Officer | Governance

City of Melbourne | Town Hall, 90-120 Swanston Street Melbourne 3000 | GPO
Box 1603 Melbourne 3001
T: 03 9658 9103 | F: 03 9658 8084 | E:
[3][email address] | [4]www.melbourne.vic.gov.au 

We value: Integrity | Courage | Accountability | Respect | Excellence

The City of Melbourne respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of
the land, the Boon
Wurrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) peoples of the Kulin Nation and pays
respect to their Elders, past and present.

Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this
email.

show quoted sections