Dear Mr Fairless

 

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request made to the ACT Chief
Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate (CMTEDD).  Under
the Freedom of Information Act 1989 (the Act), you are seeking access to
copies of internal correspondence related to the Skywhale Balloon, which
was unveiled in 2013.

I note that you exclude from your request any document which has been
publicly released already, and do not require a copy of the same document
more than once.

Your request was received in ACT Government on 9 March 2015.  CMTEDD is
required to provide you with a decision on access to documents relevant to
your request within 30 days after the date your request was received. 
Therefore, the due date for a decision on your request is 10 April 2015.

Scope of request

I note that the scope of your request is expressed broadly and without a
defined timeframe.  A preliminary assessment indicates there is,
potentially, a significant volume of documents dating from 2010 to be
retrieved, examined, processed and access decisions determined on.  These
will include documents on electronic directories, emails and hard copy
files.  This would require considerable resources and is likely to incur
charges.

Also, all documents identified as potentially relevant to the scope of
your request would need to be reviewed and recommendations prepared for
the decision-maker on the determination and subsequent removal of
duplicates and already publicly available information.

There has been a considerable amount of information about the Skywhale
Balloon publicly released on the ACT Government Open Government website in
response to previous FOI requests:

[1]FOI - Skywhale Appearances

[2]FOI - special shaped balloon

Therefore, you may wish to consider redefining or narrowing the scope of
your request. A more specific request, indicating the types of documents
or particular documents you seek, should result in you receiving documents
most relevant to your purpose and fewer that are extraneous.

Narrowing the scope of your request may result in a lesser charge, or it
may fall below the 10-hour limit before processing charges apply, and may
reduce the processing time required to provide to you a decision on
release.

Processing Charges

Processing charges may be payable in relation to time spent in searching
for and retrieving relevant documents, decision-making time and
photocopying.  Charging is set by the 1 July 2014 [3]Freedom of
Information (Fees) Determination 2014.

In the event the decision‑maker decides that you are liable to pay a
charge in respect of the processing of your request, you will be notified
of the preliminary assessment of the charge and have full opportunity to
contend that the charge should not be imposed or should be reduced.

Online Freedom of Information (FOI) Policy

Please be aware that under the ACT Government’s Online FOI Publication
Policy, information released to you under this FOI application may be
released on the internet.

Personal information or business affairs information will not be made
available under this policy.  If you think the content of your request
would contain such information, please inform me immediately.

A copy of the policy, with details about what information may be published
on the internet, is available online at: [4]Online FOI Publication Policy.

In the meantime, should you have any queries with regard to your request
please do not hesitate to contact me on (02) 6207 5883 or email
[5][email address]

 

Regards

 

Chris Cole

Manager, Governance and Performance

Corporate | Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development| ACT
Government

Phone: 02 6207 5883 | Fax: 02 6207 5886  | Email: [6][email address]

Level 2, Canberra Nara Centre  |  GPO Box 158 Canberra ACT 2601 | 
[7]www.act.gov.au

 

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References

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3. http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/alt_...
4. http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/__data/assets/...
5. mailto:[email address]
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