Annual Report 06-07: Appendix 3
Access Freedom of Information decisions from the 2006-07 annual report, including 18 initial document requests and internal review outcomes.
Summary
During 2006–07, HREOC received 18 initial requests for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act. HREOC was also asked to conduct an internal review of two of those decisions.
Appendix 3
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act gives the general public legal access to government documents.
Freedom of Information statistics
During 2006–07, HREOC received 18 initial requests for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act. HREOC was also asked to conduct an internal review of two of those decisions.
Of the 18 initial requests for information, nine were brought by individuals seeking access to documents relating to themselves.
A total of 18 applications and two internal reviews were processed in this financial year.
Categories of documents
Documents held by the HREOC relate to:
- administration matters, including personnel, recruitment, accounts, purchasing, registers, registry, library records and indices;
- complaint handling matters, including the investigation, clarification and resolution of complaints;
- legal matters, including legal documents, opinion, advice and representations;
- research matters, including research papers in relation to complaints, existing or proposed legislative practices, public education, national inquiries and other relevant issues;
- policy matters, including minutes of Commission meetings, administrative and operational guidelines;
- operational matters, including files on formal inquiries; and
- reference materials, including press clippings, survey and research materials, documents relating to conferences, seminars and those contained in the library.
Freedom of Information procedures
Initial enquiries about access to HREOC documents should be directed to the Freedom of Information Officer by either telephoning (02) 9284 9600 or by writing to:
Freedom of Information Officer Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission GPO Box 5218 Sydney, NSW 2001
Procedures for dealing with Freedom of Information requests are detailed in section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act. A valid request must:
- Be in writing;
- Be accompanied by a payment of $30 application fee;
- Include the name and address of the person requesting the information; and
- Specify the documents to be accessed.