Mr James Smith

Via email: [FOI #2010 email]

IPC Reference: 15/49/SA

Dear Mr Smith

I refer to your email of 20 June 2016, received at [Information and Privacy Commission NSW request email]
by the Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) in relation to a request
for access to information under the Government Information (Public Access)
Act (GIPA) 2009.

I have interpreted your request as being an application for access to:

1. How long does it take on average to complete a Media review?
2. How long does it take on average to complete a member of the public
review?
3. How long does it take on average to complete a Minister review?
4. How long does it take on average to complete a Member of Parliament's
review?

Clarification - The Information Commissioner for NSW has a similar
function to the Australian Information Commissioner, that is it is
responsible for reviewing decisions of agencies in response to GIPA
requests. When the Commissioner receives such a request from the
various people above, what I want to know is how long does it each one
take on average.

I am authorised by the principal officer of the IPC for the purposes of
section 9(3) of the GIPA Act to decide your access application.

Please accept my apologies for not having responded sooner.

Assessment of validity

In accordance with section 51 (1) it is clear that your application is
intended to be an access application under the Government Information
(Public Access) Act 2009. It is however not a valid access application on
two grounds.

1. Under section 41 (1) (d) of the GIPA Act an application “must state a
postal address for correspondence in connection with the
application.” A Postal Address is not provided in your application.

2. Under section 41 (1) (e) an application “must include such
information as is reasonably necessary to enable the government
information applied for to be identified”. You have not met this
requirement as you are seeking answers to questions and not access to
information held by the IPC.

In an NCAT decision ‘Davison v NSW Department of Education and
Training [2013] NSWADT 25; Reasons for decision clause 3’ it is
stated:

“that access requests made under the GIPA Act can only be made in
regard to information that is held by the agency at the time the
request is made. It is not a vehicle for seeking answers to questions
a person might have in regard to administrative action taken by a
government agency, or seeking an explanation by an agency as to why
particular action was taken.”

To render your application valid you would need to:

1. Provide a Postal Address; and

2. Clarify what information you are seeking.

However, I am happy to consider your application as an informal GIPA
application. To enable us to search for the correct information it would
be appreciated if you would contact our office and clarify the details and
scope of your request.

Please contact Mr Peter Donnelly on 02 8071 7006 and he will assist.

Yours sincerely

Samara Dobbins

Right to Information Officer

Information and Privacy Commission NSW | Level 17, 201 Elizabeth Street,
Sydney 2000
GPO Box 7011, Sydney NSW 2001 ph: 1800 472 679 | fax: (02) 8114 3756
email: [Information and Privacy Commission NSW request email] | free call: 1800 IPC NSW (1800 472 679)
website: www.ipc.nsw.gov.au

Please consider the environment before printing. This email and any
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are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or
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the monitoring and recording of that correspondence.

Please consider our environment before printing this email. This email and any attachments may be confidential and contain privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute this communication. If you have received this message in error please delete and notify the sender. When communicating by email you consent to the monitoring and recording of that correspondence.

Dear Mr Smith

Without clarification of the information you are seeking it is not possible to answer your question in relation to whether we intend to collect these data and publish the information on the website. I encourage you to contact our office and clarify the details and scope of your request.

Please contact Mr Peter Donnelly on 02 8071 7006 and he will assist.

Kind regards,
Ken Watt
Enquiry and Promotion Officer

Information and Privacy Commission NSW | Level 17, 201 Elizabeth Street, Sydney 2000
free call: 1800 472 679 | fax: (02) 8114 3756
www.ipc.nsw.gov.au

Please consider the environment before printing. This email and any attachments may be confidential or contain privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute. If you believe you have received this message in error please delete it and notify the sender. When communicating by email you consent to the monitoring and recording of that correspondence.

-----Original Message-----
From: James Smith [mailto:[FOI #2010 email]]
Sent: Friday, 8 July 2016 7:31 PM
To: ipcinfo
Subject: Re: Request for information to the IPC

Dear Information and Privacy Commission NSW,

Thank you for your response. That is fine, it appears that you do not hold the information. Do you know if the IPC intends to collect these statistics and publish them on the website?

Yours faithfully,

James Smith

-----Original Message-----

Mr James Smith

Via email: [FOI #2010 email]

IPC Reference: 15/49/SA

Dear Mr Smith

I refer to your email of 20 June 2016, received at [Information and Privacy Commission NSW request email] by the Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) in relation to a request for access to information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act (GIPA) 2009.

I have interpreted your request as being an application for access to:

1. How long does it take on average to complete a Media review?
2. How long does it take on average to complete a member of the public review?
3. How long does it take on average to complete a Minister review?
4. How long does it take on average to complete a Member of Parliament's review?

Clarification - The Information Commissioner for NSW has a similar function to the Australian Information Commissioner, that is it is responsible for reviewing decisions of agencies in response to GIPA requests. When the Commissioner receives such a request from the various people above, what I want to know is how long does it each one take on average.

I am authorised by the principal officer of the IPC for the purposes of section 9(3) of the GIPA Act to decide your access application.

Please accept my apologies for not having responded sooner.

Assessment of validity

In accordance with section 51 (1) it is clear that your application is intended to be an access application under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009. It is however not a valid access application on two grounds.

1. Under section 41 (1) (d) of the GIPA Act an application “must state a postal address for correspondence in connection with the application.” A Postal Address is not provided in your application.

2. Under section 41 (1) (e) an application “must include such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the government information applied for to be identified”. You have not met this requirement as you are seeking answers to questions and not access to information held by the IPC.

In an NCAT decision ‘Davison v NSW Department of Education and Training [2013] NSWADT 25; Reasons for decision clause 3’ it is
stated:

“that access requests made under the GIPA Act can only be made in regard to information that is held by the agency at the time the request is made. It is not a vehicle for seeking answers to questions a person might have in regard to administrative action taken by a government agency, or seeking an explanation by an agency as to why particular action was taken.”

To render your application valid you would need to:

1. Provide a Postal Address; and

2. Clarify what information you are seeking.

However, I am happy to consider your application as an informal GIPA application. To enable us to search for the correct information it would be appreciated if you would contact our office and clarify the details and scope of your request.

Please contact Mr Peter Donnelly on 02 8071 7006 and he will assist.

Yours sincerely

Samara Dobbins

Right to Information Officer

Information and Privacy Commission NSW | Level 17, 201 Elizabeth Street, Sydney 2000 GPO Box 7011, Sydney NSW 2001 ph: 1800 472 679 | fax: (02) 8114 3756
email: [Information and Privacy Commission NSW request email] | free call: 1800 IPC NSW (1800 472 679)
website: www.ipc.nsw.gov.au

Please consider the environment before printing. This email and any attachments may be confidential or contain privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute. If you believe you have received this message in error please delete it and notify the sender. When communicating by email you consent to the monitoring and recording of that correspondence.

Please consider our environment before printing this email. This email and any attachments may be confidential and contain privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute this communication. If you have received this message in error please delete and notify the sender. When communicating by email you consent to the monitoring and recording of that correspondence.

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