Access to information
We make a range of information available for public access. You can formally request access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to documents we hold. Alternately we can give you certain information if you request it through other access arrangements we have set up, as outlined below.
Requesting information or documents
Most requests for information or copies of documents can be dealt with informally and quickly – a phone call or email may be all that is required.
MoAD encourages interested individuals to contact the Governance team, via governance@moadoph.gov.au, or (02) 6270 8297, to discuss information that can be released by administrative arrangements before making an FOI request.
Information relating to the operations of MoAD and personal information held about current or former staff, customers, or clients by MoAD will be considered for administrative release. Where requests for personal information are made, MoAD will request applicants provide proof of identity, through two forms of ID, at least one being photo ID. If requests for personal information are made on behalf of a third party, evidence of the authority to act must also be provided.
MoAD will acknowledge and process administrative access requests within 30 days of the receipt of the access request.
MoAD will adhere to all record keeping requirements of the agency when handling administrative access.
Administrative access arrangements do not prevent FOI applications. If individuals would like to make a formal FOI request, instead of requesting information administratively, MoAD will process the FOI in accordance with the FOI Act.
If applicants are dissatisfied with MoAD's performance whilst providing administrative access, they may submit a complaint under the Complaint Handling Policy. Applicants may also complain to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
The Access to Information system, including administrative access to documents, is reviewed to ensure it is operating effectively and to identify any information that is routinely requested and could be published on MoAD's IPS.
Personal information – agency clients and customers
You can ask to see or be given a copy of any personal information we hold about you. Please email your request to governance@moadoph.gov.au or phone (02) 6270 8297. You will be asked to provide proof of identity in accordance with the Requesting information or documents section above.
Section 15A of the FOI Act requires you to use this procedure before making a request under the FOI Act. You may make an FOI request after 30 days if you are not satisfied with our response.
Personal information – current and former agency employees
Current and former agency employees can obtain access to their employment record by emailing hr@moadoph.gov.au.
Section 15A of the FOI Act requires you to use this procedure before making a request under the FOI Act. You may make an FOI request after 30 days if you are not satisfied with our response.
Information Publication Scheme
As required by the FOI Act, we have an Information Publication Scheme entry that provides information on our structure, functions, appointments, annual reports, consultation arrangements, FOI officer, information we routinely release following FOI requests, and information we routinely provide to Parliament.
FOI disclosure log
Our FOI disclosure log lists information in response to requests made under the FOI Act.
DATA Scheme
The Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022 established a new, best practice scheme for sharing Australian Government data, the DATA Scheme.
Accredited users under the Scheme may access data created or collected by Australian Government agencies, including MoAD. MoAD encourages accredited users to request data from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sports and the Arts on the Dataplace portal. Accredited users may also request data by emailing governance@moadoph.gov.au.
Other information we hold
MoAD publishes its corporate documents, including its Strategic Plan, Corporate Plan, and Annual Reports, online in the About section of its website.
Titles of files created by MoAD is available at the Indexed List of Agency Files (often known as the 'Harradine Report') section of the website, once per quarter.
Business purchases in MoAD's procurement contracts are published on AusTender. Reports are published on the Senate Order for Entity Contracts, (often known as the 'Murray Motion') section of the website twice per annum to comply with the Order.
The Gift Register is available online and updated once per quarter.
Freedom of information requests
Your rights
The FOI Act gives any person the right to:
access copies of documents (except exempt documents) we hold
ask for information we hold about you to be changed or annotated if it is incomplete, out of date, incorrect or misleading, and
seek a review of our decision not to allow you access to a document or not to amend your personal record
You can ask to see any document that we hold. We can refuse access to some documents, or parts of documents that are exempt. Exempt documents may include those relating to national security, documents containing material obtained in confidence and Cabinet documents, or other matters set out in the FOI Act.
How to make an FOI request
Your request must:
be in writing
state that the request is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act
provide information about the document(s) you wish to access so that we can process your request
provide an address for reply
You can send your request:
By post:
FOI Contact Officer
Governance Section
Old Parliament House
PO Box 3934 MANUKA ACT 2603
By email: governance@moadoph.gov.au
If you are making an FOI request on behalf of another person, you need to provide a specific, written authority from that person to send copies of documents to you or to allow you to inspect copies of documents containing information about the other person.
If you require assistance with your request, please contact the FOI Contact Officer on (02) 6270 8297 or by email at governance@moadoph.gov.au.
Fees and charges
There is no application fee for an FOI request.
There are no processing charges for requests for access to documents containing only personal information about you. However, processing charges may apply to other requests. The most common charges are:
Fees and charges for processing FOI requests
| Activity item | Charge |
| Search and retrieval: time we spend searching for or retrieving a document | $15.00 per hour |
| Decision making: time we spend in deciding to grant or refuse a request, including examining documents, consulting with other parties, and making deletions | First five hours: Nil Subsequent hours: $20 per hour |
| Transcript: preparing a transcript from a sound recording, shorthand or similar medium | $4.40 per page of transcript |
| Photocopy | $0.10 per page |
| Inspection: supervision by an agency officer of your inspection of documents or hearing or viewing an audio or visual recording at our premises | $6.25 per half hour (or part thereof) |
| Delivery: posting or delivering a copy of a document at your request | Cost of postage or delivery |
If we decide to impose a charge, we will give you a written estimate and the basis of our calculation. Where the estimated charge is between $20 and $100, we may ask you to pay a deposit of $20, or where the estimated charge exceeds $100, we may ask you to pay a 25% deposit before we process your request.
You can ask for the charge to be waived or reduced for any reason, including financial hardship or on the grounds of public interest. If you do so, you should explain your reasons and you may need to provide some evidence.
What you can expect from us
We will tell you within 14 days that we have received your request. We will also give you an estimate of the charges that apply to your request. We will give you our decision within 30 days unless that time has been extended. If a document contains information about a third party, we will need to consult them and may need to extend the time to give you our decision by another 30 days. We may also seek your agreement to extend the time by up to 30 days if your request is complex.
If you disagree with our decision
When we have made a decision about your FOI request, we will send you a letter explaining our decision and your review and appeal rights.
You can ask for the following decisions to be reviewed:
if we refuse to give you access to all or part of a document or if we defer giving you access
if we impose a charge
if we refuse to change or annotate information about you that you claim is incomplete, incorrect, out of date or misleading
A third party who disagrees with our decision to give you documents that contain information about them can also ask for our decision to be reviewed.
Internal review
You can ask in writing that we reconsider our decision (internal review). An internal review will be conducted by another officer in our agency. We will advise you of our new decision within 30 days of receiving your request.
Information Commissioner review
You can ask the Australian Information Commissioner to review our original decision or our decision on internal review within 60 days of the date of decision (or 30 days after you are notified if you are an affected third party). The Information Commissioner can affirm or vary the decision or substitute a new decision. The Information Commissioner may decide not to conduct a review in certain circumstances. More information is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your request, you can complain to the Australian Information Commissioner who may investigate our actions. More information is available from the OAIC. The Commonwealth Ombudsman- external site can also investigate complaints about our actions. However, the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the Information Commissioner will consult to avoid the same matter being investigated twice.
Assistance with your request
If you require assistance with your request, please contact the FOI Contact Officer on (02) 6270 8297 or by email at governance@agency.gov.au.
Additional information
If you require more information, please contact the FOI Contact Officer on 02 6270 8297 or by email at governance@moadoph.gov.au.
Certain documents that we have released under the FOI Act can be obtained at our FOI disclosure log page.
Information about our Information Publication Scheme can be obtained on the OAIC website.
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