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Freedom of Information
TheFreedom of Information Act 1992, which came into effect on 1 November 1993, created a general right of access to documents held by State and Local government agencies.
The Act requires agencies to make available details about the kind of information they hold and enables persons to ensure that personal information held by government agencies about them is "accurate, complete, up to date and not misleading".
Applications
Members of the public may submit formal Freedom of Information applications for documents held by the Commission, which are not publicly available.
A formal application for information must be:
- in writing;
- give enough detail to identify the requested documents;
- give an Australian address, and where possible, a contact telephone number;
- lodged with the Commission accompanied by a $30 application fee (non-personal information). No fees or charges apply for personal information;
- addressed to our Freedom of Information Coordinator
Applications will be acknowledged in writing and you will be notified of the decision within 45 days.
Contact Details
The contact details for the Commission are:
Freedom of Information Coordinator,
Western Australian Electoral Commission
Level 2
111 St George's Terrace
PERTH WA 6000
Postal Address:
GPO Box F316
PERTH WA 6841
Telephone: 13 63 06 (WA callers) or (08) 9214 0400
Telephone Typewriter (TTY): (08) 9214 0487
Facsimile: (08) 9226 0577
Email: waec@waec.wa.gov.au
Processing Applications
Freedom of Information applications or general enquiries are managed by our Freedom of Information Coordinator. Branch managers who have responsibility for the information being sought are able to make decisions regarding applications.
Fees and Charges
The rate of fees and charges are set under theFreedom of Information Act. Apart from the application fee for non-personal information all charges are discretionary. The charges are as follows:
| Type of fee | |
|---|---|
| Personal information about the applicant | No fee |
| Application fee (for non-personal information) | $30.00 |
| Type of charge | |
| Charge for time dealing with the application (per hour, or pro rata) | $30.00 |
| Access time supervised by staff (per hour, or pro rata) | $30.00 |
| Photocopying staff time (per hour, or pro rata) | $30.00 |
| Per photocopy | $00.20 |
| Transcribing from tape, film or computer (per hour, or pro rata) | $30.00 |
| Duplicating a tape, film or computer information | Actual Cost |
| Delivery, packaging and postage | Actual Cost |
Notice of Decision
As soon as possible but in any case within 45 days you will be provided with a notice of decision which will include details such as:
- the date which the decision was made
- the name and the designation of the officer who made the decision
- if the document is an exempt document the reasons for classifying the matter exempt; or the fact that access is given to an edited document
- information on the right to review and the procedures to be followed to exercise those rights
Refusal of Access
Applicants who are dissatisfied with a decision of the agency are entitled to ask for an internal review by the agency. Application should be made in writing within 30 days of receiving the notice of decision.
You will be notified of the outcome of the review within 15 days.
If you disagree with the result you then can apply to the Information Commissioner for an external review, and details would be advised to applicants when the internal review decision is issued.
