Freedom of Information Act 1982

PART VIII - MISCELLANEOUS  

Division 2 - General  

SECTION 94   Regulations  

94(1)    
The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act, and, in particular, making provision for or in relation to:

(a) the making of charges of amounts, or at rates, fixed by or in accordance with the regulations in respect of requests for access to documents or in respect of the provision of access to documents (including the provision of copies or transcripts) in accordance with this Act, including requiring deposits on account of such charges; and

(b) the officers who may give decisions on behalf of an agency.

94(2)    
Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), regulations under that subsection making provision for or in relation to the making of charges:

(a) shall not be such that the amount or rate of charge varies according to whether a document is a document of one agency or of an agency included in one class of agency or is a document of another agency or of an agency included in another class of agency;

(b) shall, if a charge is made for time that is spent by an agency or a Minister in undertaking any of the following activities:

(i) searching for or retrieving a document;

(ii) making, or doing things related to making, a decision on a request for access;

provide for the charge in respect of that activity to be calculated at a single hourly rate that shall be applied by the agency or Minister in respect of any request, regardless of the classification or designation of the officer who undertakes the work involved; and

(d) may provide for a charge to be made that takes into account the direct costs incurred by an agency or a Minister in making available an officer to supervise the inspection by a person of any document for which a request for access has been made under this Act.

94(3)    
Where, as a result of a request, access is given to a document in respect of which the applicant would not be entitled to access under this Act, regulations under this Act relating to charges apply as if the applicant had been given access to that document in accordance with an entitlement under this Act.