Dear Mr Norwood,
 
Request for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982  
 
I refer to your Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) request dated
and received on 6 May 2023, in which you sought access to “a complete copy
of the departments' Freedom of Information (FOI) logs for the period
2013-2023, including any secondary departments controlled by the agency.”
 
Scope of your request
I note that you have sought access to a complete copy of the ACMA’s FOI
logs for the period 2013-2023. If you are seeking access to the FOI
Disclosure Log that the ACMA is required to maintain under the FOI Act, I
can confirm that we have checked and the Disclosure Log that appears on
the ACMA website ([1]www.acma.gov.au) is a complete record of all FOI
matters since 2011, in relation to which the ACMA was required to publish
documents released under the FOI Act on the Disclosure Log. All log
entries since 2013 are still on the website and have not been removed.
 
The Disclosure Log on the ACMA website contains a description of each FOI
request and the documents released. For log entries that are less than 12
months old, the documents released as part of the request can be accessed
directly from the website. Documents that relate to log entries that are
more than 12 months old have been removed from the website in accordance
with guidance from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
(OAIC). 
 
In addition to the matters listed in the Disclosure Log, the ACMA receives
several other FOI requests a year which are not included in the Disclosure
Log for a number of reasons, including where the FOI request was:
        -       withdrawn by the applicant,
        -       held to be invalid,
        -       refused on the grounds that the documents sought do not
exist,
        -       transferred to another agency for processing, or
        -       solely for personal information about the applicant or
another person.
 
There are also instances where the ACMA, in line with OAIC guidance,
provides access to documents outside of the FOI Act.
 
Other than the Disclosure Log, the ACMA does not maintain another ‘log’ of
FOI requests received as such. Further, I can confirm that the ACMA does
not control any other entities.
 
Given the above information, could you please confirm whether you wish to
clarify or reduce the scope of your request?
 
It would be appreciated if you could please provide any clarification of
the scope of your request by Friday 19 May 2023.  If the ACMA does not
receive a response by this time, we will proceed to process your request
as currently framed.
 
Charges
The processing charges which the ACMA is entitled to charge are prescribed
in the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019. 
 
These charges include:
        - searching and retrieving ($15.00 per hour)
        - making a decision on access ($20.00 per hour after the first
five hours, which are for free)
        - photocopying a written document (10 cents per page)
        - making a copy of a written document other than a photocopy
($4.40 per page)
        - postage or delivery (an amount not exceeding cost of postage or
delivery)
        - transcribing ($4.40 per page)
        - supervising, if the applicant wishes to inspect ($6.25 per half
an hour, or part thereof).
 
The ACMA will, in accordance with section 29 of the Act, advise you if you
are liable to pay any charge and provide a preliminary assessment of those
charges.]
 
Time for processing
The statutory timeframe for responding to your request under the FOI Act
is generally 30 days, commencing the day following the day on which the
ACMA received the valid application. 
In accordance with subsection 15(5) of the FOI Act, we will notify you of
a decision regarding your request as soon as practicable, but in any event
by 5 June 2023 unless the timeframe is extended under the FOI Act. 
 
Further information
Further information about the FOI Act, including the ACMA’s publication
obligations, is available on the ACMA’s website at
[2]www.acma.gov.au/freedom-information.
 
Please do not hesitate to contact me by email: [3][ACMA request email] if you
have any questions. 
 
Yours sincerely
 
Dharshi
 
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Watson Norwood <[FOI #10234 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 6 May 2023 11:15 PM
To: Freedom of Information <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Freedom of Information Logs -
FOI Request
 
Dear Australian Communications and Media Authority,
 
I am writing to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act for a
complete copy of the departments' Freedom of Information (FOI) logs for
the period 2013-2023, including any secondary departments controlled by
the agency.
 
I request that this is provided as a document and not a simple redirect to
the agency website as I am of the view that your online disclosure logs do
not actively reflect your FOI requests that you have received in this
period.
 
I would appreciate it if you could provide me with this information in an
electronic format, such as a PDF or spreadsheet, if possible.
 
If there are any fees associated with fulfilling this request, please let
me know in advance so that I can consider my options.
 
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
 
Sincerely,
 
Watson Norwood
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[4][FOI #10234 email]
 
Is [5][ACMA request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Australian Communications and Media Authority? If so, please
contact us using this form:
[6]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
 
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[7]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
 
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
 
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
 
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended
recipient(s)
and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized
review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the
intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy
all
copies of the original message.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.acma.gov.au/
2. http://www.acma.gov.au/freedom-information
3. mailto:[ACMA request email]
4. mailto:[FOI #10234 email]
5. mailto:[ACMA request email]
6. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
7. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

hide quoted sections

Dear Watson Norwood,

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request.

Regards
Dharshi

Dharshi Jeyaseelan
Senior Lawyer

-----Original Message-----
From: Watson Norwood <[FOI #10234 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 6 May 2023 11:15 PM
To: Freedom of Information <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Freedom of Information Logs - FOI Request

Dear Australian Communications and Media Authority,

I am writing to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act for a complete copy of the departments' Freedom of Information (FOI) logs for the period 2013-2023, including any secondary departments controlled by the agency.

I request that this is provided as a document and not a simple redirect to the agency website as I am of the view that your online disclosure logs do not actively reflect your FOI requests that you have received in this period.

I would appreciate it if you could provide me with this information in an electronic format, such as a PDF or spreadsheet, if possible.

If there are any fees associated with fulfilling this request, please let me know in advance so that I can consider my options.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,

Watson Norwood

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #10234 email]

Is [ACMA request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Australian Communications and Media Authority? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s)
and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized
review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the
intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all
copies of the original message.

hide quoted sections