Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 1982

relevant agency, in relation to a request, means the agency to which the request has been made or is to be deemed, by virtue of section 16 of the Act, to have been made.

relevant Minister, in relation to a request, means the Minister to whom the request has been made or is to be deemed, by virtue of section 16 of the Act, to have been made.

the Act means the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

written document, in relation to a request, means a document other than:

(a) a document produced for the purposes of the request by an agency by:

(i) the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information; or

(ii) the making of a transcript from a document held in the agency, being a document by which words are recorded in a manner in which they are capable of being reproduced in the form of sound or in which words are contained in the form of shorthand writing or in codified form; or

(b) a document that is an article or thing from which sounds or visual images are capable of being produced.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears, a reference to the time spent by an agency or a Minister in searching for or retrieving a document does not include:

(a) where the document is not found in the place in which, according to the filing system of the agency or of the office of the Minister, as the case may be, (in this subregulation referred to as the ‘relevant filing system’) it ought to be located — any time other than such time as would have been spent by the agency or Minister in searching for or retrieving the document if the document had been found in that place; or

(b) where the relevant filing system ought reasonably to have indicated, but does not indicate, the place in which the document is located — any time other than such time as would have been spent by the agency or Minister in searching for or retrieving the document if the relevant filing system had indicated the place in which the document is located and the document had been found in that place.

(3) For the purposes of these Regulations, time spent by a person in searching for or retrieving an official document of a Minister shall be taken to be time spent by the Minister in searching for or retrieving the document.

3 Liability to pay charges

(1) Where an applicant has made a request for access to a document of an agency or an official document of a Minister, the agency or Minister may make a decision whether the applicant is liable to pay, in respect of the request or in respect of the provision to the applicant of access to the document, any of the charges applicable under these Regulations.

(2) Where an agency or a Minister has, under subregulation (1), made a decision that an applicant is liable to pay a charge, then, except where regulation 8, 9 or 10 applies, the charge is payable by the applicant in the amount or at the rate fixed by, or in accordance with, the Schedule.

4 Charges applicable generally

Subject to these Regulations:

(a) the charges set out in Part I of the Schedule are applicable in respect of a request for access to a document; and

(b) the charges set out in Part II of the Schedule are applicable in respect of the provision of access to a document to which a request relates.

5 Charges not applicable in certain circumstances

(1) There is no charge for a request for, or for the provision of, access to a document that contains information that is the personal information of the applicant.

(2) There is no charge if:

(a) an applicant has not been notified of a decision
on the request within the period mentioned in paragraph 15 (5) (b) of the Act; and

(b) the period has not been extended under subsection 15 (6) or (8), section 15AA or subsection 15AB (2) of the Act.

(3) There is no charge if:

(a) the period for notification of a decision has been
extended under subsection 15 (6) or (8), section 15AA or subsection 15AB (2) of the Act; and

(b) the applicant has not been notified of a decision on the request within the extended period.

(4) In this regulation:

personal information has the same meaning as in subsection 4 (1) of the Act.

8 Liability for charges where access may be provided in more than one form

Where:

(a) access to a document to which a request relates may be provided in any of 2 or more forms;

(b) the applicant has not requested access to the document in a particular form; and

(c) the amount of the charge or charges that, but for this regulation, the applicant would be liable to pay in respect of the request and the provision of access, in the form selected by the relevant agency or the relevant Minister, to the document exceeds the lowest amount (in this regulation referred to as the ‘prescribed amount’) of the charge or charges that the applicant would have been liable to pay in respect of the request and the provision of access to the document if access had been given in some other form;

the amount of the charge or charges that the applicant is liable to pay shall not exceed the prescribed amount.

9 Charges based on estimates of time etc may be fixed in certain cases

(1) Where, at the time (in this subregulation referred to as the ‘relevant time’) that an agency or a Minister proposes to notify an applicant under section 29 of the Act that he is liable to pay a charge in respect of the request that he has made for access to a document, the agency or Minister has not taken any or all of the steps necessary to enable the agency or Minister to make a decision on the request, the agency or Minister may fix, as the amount of the charge, such amount as would be the amount ascertained in accordance with the Schedule in respect of the charge if, at the relevant time, all steps that would, in the opinion of the agency or Minister, be necessary to enable a decision to be made on the request had been taken by the agency or Minister.

(2) Where, at the time (in this subregulation referred to as the ‘relevant time’) that an agency or a Minister proposes to notify an applicant under section 29 of the Act that he is liable to pay a charge (other than a charge in relation to which subregulation (3) applies) in respect of the provision of access to a document, the agency or Minister has not taken any or all of the steps necessary to enable the applicant to be given access to the document, the agency or Minister may fix, as the amount of the charge, such amount as would be the amount ascertained in accordance with the Schedule in respect of the charge if, at the relevant time, all steps that are, or would, in the opinion of the agency or Minister, be, necessary to enable the applicant to be given access to the document had been taken by the agency or Minister.

(3) Where:

(a) access to a document is to be given to an applicant in the form of an opportunity to inspect the document under the supervision of an officer; and

(b) the relevant agency or the relevant Minister makes a decision that the applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect of the period during which the officer is to supervise the inspection;

the relevant agency or the relevant Minister may fix, as the amount of the charge, such amount as would be the amount ascertained in accordance with the Schedule in respect of the charge if:

(c) at the time that the decision is made, the applicant had availed himself of the opportunity so to inspect the document; and

(d) the period during which the officer supervised the inspection was such period as is determined by the agency or Minister to be the period reasonably required for the inspection.

(4) Where an agency or a Minister has, in accordance with subregulation (1), (2) or (3), fixed an amount in respect of a charge that an applicant is liable to pay, the applicant is, subject to regulation 10, liable to pay the charge in the amount so fixed.

(5) In subregulation (3), a reference, in relation to a document, to an opportunity to inspect the document shall, in relation to a document that is an article or thing from which sounds or visual images are capable of being produced, be read as a reference to the arrangements made for the applicant to hear or view those sounds or images and ‘inspection’ shall, in relation to such a document, be construed accordingly.

10 Readjustment of liability for charges in cases where regulation 9 applies

(1) Where:

(a) an agency or a Minister has, in accordance with subregulation 9 (1), (2) or (3), fixed an amount in respect of a charge that an applicant is liable to pay; and

(b) after:

(i) in the case of a charge in respect of a request for access to a document — the agency or Minister has made a decision on the request;

(ii) in the case of a charge (other than a charge in respect of which an amount has been fixed in accordance with subregulation 9 (3)) in respect of the provision of access to a document — the agency or Minister has taken all steps necessary to enable the applicant to be given access to the document; or

(iii) in the case of a charge in respect of the provision of access to a document, being a charge in respect of which an amount has been fixed in accordance with subregulation 9 (3) — the applicant has had access to the document;

it is ascertained that the amount so fixed in respect of the charge does not equal the amount (in this regulation referred to as the ‘prescribed amount’) that, but for regulation 9, the applicant would, under these Regulations, be liable to pay in respect of the charge;

the agency or Minister shall, subject to subregulation (2), fix, as the amount of the charge, an amount equal to the prescribed amount.

(2) Where an agency or a Minister makes a decision not to grant a request for access to a document, the agency or Minister shall not fix, under subregulation (1), an amount in respect of a charge unless the prescribed amount in relation to the charge is less than the amount fixed in respect of the charge in accordance with subregulation 9 (1), (2) or (3), as the case may be.

(3) Where an agency or a Minister has, in accordance with subregulation (1), fixed an amount in respect of a charge that an applicant is liable to pay, the applicant is liable to pay that amount in respect of the charge in lieu of the amount fixed in respect of the charge in accordance with subregulation 9 (1), (2) or (3), as the case may be.

(4) Where an applicant is, under subregulation (3), liable to pay to an agency or Minister in respect of a charge an amount fixed in accordance with subregulation (1), then:

(a) if the applicant has, under subregulation 9 (4), paid to the agency or Minister in respect of the charge an amount that exceeds the first‑mentioned amount — the applicant is entitled to a refund in an amount equal to the amount of the excess; or

(b) if the applicant has, under subregulation 9 (4), paid to the agency or Minister in respect of the charge an amount that is less than the first‑mentioned amount — the amount so paid by him shall be deemed to have been paid as a deposit on account of the charge.

11 Charges to be paid before access is granted

(1) Subject to subregulation (2), where an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect of a request for access to a document or in respect of the provision of access to the document, the charge shall be paid to the relevant agency or the relevant Minister before access is granted to the document.

(2) Subregulation (1) does not apply to or in relation to a charge of a kind referred to in Item 1 of Part II of the Schedule except where the charge is payable in an amount fixed in accordance with subregulation 9 (3).

(3) In this regulation, ‘charge’ does not include a charge or any part of a charge that has been remitted.

12 Deposits

(1) Where:

(a) an agency or a Minister has made a decision that an applicant is liable to pay, in respect of a request or in respect of the provision of access to the document to which the request relates, a charge or charges; and

(b) the amount, or the estimated amount, of that charge or of those charges exceeds $25;

the agency or Minister may make a decision whether the applicant is required to pay a deposit on account of the charge or charges that the applicant is liable to pay under these Regulations.

(2) Where an agency or a Minister has made a decision that an applicant is required to pay a deposit on account of the charge or charges that the applicant is liable to pay under these Regulations, the amount of the deposit is such amount not exceeding:

(a) where the amount, or the estimated amount, of the charge or charges exceeds $25 but does not exceed $100 — $20; or

(b) where that amount or estimated amount exceeds $100 — 25 per centum of that amount or estimated amount;

as is determined by the agency or Minister.

13 Applicant to be notified of liability to pay deposit

(1) Where, by virtue of a decision of an agency or a Minister, an applicant is required to pay a deposit on account of a charge or charges, the agency or Minister shall notify the applicant, in writing, accordingly and shall specify in the notification the amount of the deposit.

(2) A notification under subregulation (1) in respect of a deposit on account of a charge or charges shall be given to the applicant at the same time as the notification under section 29 of the Act in relation to the charge or charges is given to him.

14 Deposit refund conditions

A deposit paid by an applicant for a charge or charges, or any part of a deposit, will be refunded only if:

(a) the agency or the Minister has decided, under section 29 of the Act, to reduce or not impose a charge; or

(b) subregulation 5 (2) or (3) applies.

Schedule

Part I Charges applicable in respect of a request for access to a document

(regulation 4)

Item No	Charge	Amount or Rate of Charge
2	Where the request relates to a document other than a document in relation to which a charge is applicable under item 3 — a charge in respect of the time spent by the relevant agency or the relevant Minister in searching for or retrieving the document	$15.00 per hour
3	Where the request, being a request made to an agency, is in respect of information that is not available in discrete form in documents of the agency — a charge in respect of the production of a document containing the information in discrete form by the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information	an amount not exceeding the actual cost incurred by the agency in producing the document
4	Where (a) the request relates to a document by which words are recorded in a manner in which they are capable of being reproduced in the form of sound or in which words are contained in the form of shorthand writing or in codified form; and	$4.40 per page of transcript
	(b) for the purpose of making a decision on the request, a written transcript of the words recorded or contained in the document is produced, a charge in respect of the production of such a written transcript
5	A charge in respect of the time that is spent (other than on an application under section 54 or 54A of the Act for the review of a decision) by an agency or Minister in deciding whether to grant, refuse or defer access to the document or to grant access to a copy of the document with deletions, including time spent (a) in examining the document; (b) in consultation with any person or body; (c) in making a copy with deletions; or (d) in notifying any interim or final decision on the request	(a) zero for the first 5 hours; and (b) $20 for each subsequent hour

Part II Charges applicable in respect of the provision of access to a document to which a request relates

(regulation 4)

Item No	Charge	Amount or Rate of Charge
1	Where access to the document to which the request relates is given (a) in the form of an opportunity to inspect the document under the supervision of an officer; or (b) in the case of a document that is an article or thing from which sounds or visual images are capable of being produced — in the form of arrangements for the applicant to hear or view those sounds or visual images under the supervision of an officer, a charge in respect of the period during which the officer supervises the inspection, hearing or viewing, as the case may be	if the period does not exceed half an hour — $6.25 if the period exceeds half an hour, for each half‑hour, and any period not exceeding half an hour, included in the period — $6.25
2	Where the request relates to a written document and access to the document is given in the form of the provision of a photocopy of the document — a charge in respect of the number of pages of photocopy provided to the applicant	10 cents per page
3	Where the request relates to a written document and access to the document is given in the form of the provision of a copy (other than a photocopy) of the document — a charge in respect of the number of pages of copy provided to the applicant	$4.40 per page
4	Where (a) the request, being a request made to an agency, is in respect of information (in this item referred to as the ‘relevant information’) that is available in discrete form in a document produced (whether for the purposes of the request or not) by the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information; (b) deletions are made from the document before access to it is given to the applicant; and (c) it is not reasonably practicable to make these deletions otherwise than by the use of a computer or other equipment referred to in paragraph (a), a charge in respect of the production by the computer or other equipment of a copy of the document with those deletions	an amount not exceeding the actual costs incurred by the agency in producing such a copy of the document
4A	A charge for the production by an agency of a copy of a document in the form of a computer tape or a computer disk	an amount that does not exceed the actual costs incurred by the agency in producing the copy of the document
5	Where (a) the request relates to a document that is an article or thing from which sounds or visual images are capable of being produced; and	an amount not exceeding the actual costs incurred by the relevant agency or Minister in respect of those arrangements
	(b) access to the document is given in the form of arrangements for the applicant to hear or view those sounds or visual images, a charge in respect of the arrangements so made other than any arrangements in respect of which a charge is applicable under Item 1
6	Where (a) the request relates to a document that is an article or thing from which sounds or visual images are capable of being produced; and (b) access is given in the form of the provision of a copy of the document, a charge in respect of the production of the copy so provided	an amount not exceeding the actual costs (including, where applicable, the cost of any tape, film or other article or thing provided) incurred by the relevant agency or Minister in producing the copy
7	Where (a) the request relates to a document by which words are recorded in a manner in which they are capable of being reproduced in the form of sound or in which words are contained in the form of shorthand writing or in codified form; (b) access is given in the form of the provision of a written transcript (with or without deletions) of the words recorded or contained in the document; and (c) the applicant has not paid, or is not liable to pay, as a charge in respect of the request for access to the document, a charge in respect of the production of such a written transcript, a charge in respect of the production of that written transcript	$4.40 per page of transcript
8	Where (a) access to the document to which the request relates is to be given in the form of the provision of a copy of the document; and (b) the copy so provided is, at the request of the applicant, to be sent by post or delivered to him, a charge in respect of the posting or delivery of the copy	an amount not exceeding the cost of postage or delivery

Notes to the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 1982

Note 1

The Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 1982 (in force under the Freedom of Information Act 1982) as shown in this compilation comprise Statutory Rules 1982 No. 197 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

The Freedom of Information (Fees and Charges) Regulations were amended by the Freedom of Information Laws Amendment Act 1986. The amendments are incorporated in this compilation.

For application, saving or transitional provisions relating to the amendments see sections 27 and 28 of the abovementioned Act.

Table of Instruments

Year and number	Date of notification in Gazette or FRLI registration	Date of commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions
1982 No. 197	20 Aug 1982	1 Dec 1982 (see Gazette 1982, No. G48)
1985 No. 113 (a)	20 June 1985	20 June 1985	R. 8
1991 No. 320	24 Oct 1991	25 Oct 1991 (see r. 1)	—
2010 No. 269	28 Oct 2010 (see F2010L02781)	1 Nov 2010	R. 4 [see Table A)

(a) Statutory Rules 1985 No. 113 was disallowed by the Senate on
13 November 1985.

Table of Amendments

ad. = added or inserted am. = amended rep. = repealed rs. = repealed and substituted
Provision affected	How affected
R. 1.........................................	am. Act No. 111, 1986
	rs. 2010 No. 269
R. 3.........................................	am. Act No. 111, 1986; 1991 No. 320; 2010 No. 269
R. 5.........................................	rs. Act No. 111, 1986; 2010 No. 269
R. 6.........................................	rs. Act No. 111, 1986
	am. 1991 No. 320
	rep. 2010 No. 269
R. 7.........................................	rep. Act No. 111, 1986
R. 11.......................................	am. Act No. 111, 1986; 1991 No. 320
R. 12.......................................	am. 2010 No. 269
R. 14.......................................	am. 1991 No. 320
	rs. 2010 No. 269
Schedule
Schedule...............................	am. Act No. 111, 1986; 1991 No. 320; 2010 No. 269

Table A Application, saving or transitional provisions

Select Legislative Instrument 2010 No. 269

4 Application

The amendments made by Schedule 1 apply to requests for access made under section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 that are received after 31 October 2010.

Federal Register of Legislation - Australian Government

Primary content

Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 1982