Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act), gives people a general right to access information held by State and Local Government agencies.

The Act allows access to documents held, including those about your personal affairs.

You can request that agencies amend or delete incorrect or misleading personal information held about you.

You can request access to any documents held by Bayside City Council, but there are some exemptions under the Act. The more common exemptions relevant to Local Government are:

• documents affecting personal privacy (such as names, addresses, telephone numbers) - section
• documents relating to trade secrets (putting a commercial business at an unreasonable disadvantage) - section 34(1)
• documents of copyright status, like plans (building, planning), drawings, photographs - section 23(3)(c)
• documents affecting legal proceedings (legal advice or opinions) - section 32(1)
• documents prepared for and used at a meeting closed to the general public (such as minutes, reports) - section 38A.

How to make a Freedom of Information request

All FOI requests must be made using the  Freedom of Information Request Form (PDF, 19KB) and must be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee of $25.10 which can be paid by either:

• Cash: in person, at Council's Corporate Centre, 76 Royal Avenue, Sandringham (Monday-Friday from 8.30am-5pm)
• Cheque: mail your cheque (together with your Freedom of Information Request Form) to Bayside City Council, PO Box 27, Sandringham 3191

Further charges may be imposed to recover, in part, the cost of accessing the required information and for the time spent by Council officers in providing such information. Your request must clearly describe the document(s) being sought and must include your name, address, contact telephone number(s) and in what form the documents are required (e.g. paper copy of inspection only).

If your request relates to the correction or amendment of your own personal information held by Council, you will need to specify how and why you believe the information about you in incorrect, incomplete, misleading or out of date, by providing details of the amendments that need to be made.

The application fee may be waived or reduced in certain circumstances (e.g. for applicants who hold a current health care or pension card - a copy of the relevant card must be submitted along with the FOI request form). Applicaton fees are reviewed on 1 July each year.

Cost

• Application fee: $25.10
• Search and retrieval of documents: $20 per hour or part of an hour
• Photocopying of documents (black and white): 20 cents per A4 page
• Supervisor inspection of documents: $5 per ¼ hour or part of a ¼ hour

Please note: 

• No charges apply for requests to correct or amend your own personal information.
• You will be notified if charges are likely to exceed $50.
• A deposit of $25 may be required if you want to proceed with the request.

Timeframes

Under the Act, Council has 45 days from receiving a valid request to make a decision on whether to release the document(s) and 30 days to make a decision relating to the correction or amendment of your own personal information. You will be notified, in writing, of this decision.    

Appeal and review

When you receive a decision about your request, you will be advised of your rights to seek an internal review of the decision.

For more information, email foi@bayside.vic.gov.au or call 9599 4444.

Page last updated: 24 Jul 2012