Freedom of Information

Overview

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 ('FOI Act') gives you the right to request documents held by Latrobe City Council.

You are entitled to:

request we amend or remove any incorrect or misleading information about you
access documents about your personal affairs, or
access documents from January 1, 1989 (subject to limitations set out in the FOI Act).

The term 'document' is broad and includes written documents, whether printed or in electronic form, photographs, letters, maps, film, reports, audio and video recordings.

Where appropriate, Council can make arrangements with an applicant to provide information or documents outside of the FOI Act. This avoids the need for processing a formal FOI request. Suitable information for release outside of the FOI Act may include:

information relating only to the applicant including information previously given by, or sent to, an applicant;
information that may have been previously released to another applicant;
publicly available information.

Latrobe City Council promotes a culture of public access to information by:

considering FOI as a last resort for access to information by first considering whether documents and information can be released either proactively or informally.
keeping information statements under Part II of the FOI Act current and publicly available.

Latrobe City Council - Freedom of Information Act Part II Statement

presenting all options for accessing information on Council’s website.

Things to know before you make a request

Before requesting information, ensure you have read Council's Part II Statement;

Latrobe City Council - Freedom of Information Act Part II Statement

Information that is held by other agencies e.g. Victoria Police, Department of Health, Department of Family, Fairness and Housing, Department of Justice and Services Australia. Contact these agencies directly to request the documents you seek
Planning permits or plans relating to your property. Refer to our Planning Services more information.
To apply for Building and Occupancy Permit information please visit our website here.
Any information that relates only to your personal affairs. Contact our customer service team on 1300 367 700 for assistance.
Information that is publicly available.

All fees for FOI requests are non-refundable so please ensure you first check the:

Publicly available documents page
Public Transparency Policy

before paying for your FOI Application.

What documents can you request?

You have a right to request access to documents that are held by Council that are covered by the FOI Act.

This includes documents:

created by Latrobe City Council; or
supplied to the Latrobe City Council by an external organisation or individual;

held by Council since no earlier than 1 January 1989

Document types include:

emails
correspondence (typed or handwritten)
memos
reports
maps
films
diaries
microfiche
photographs
computer discs
tape recordings
videotapes

What documents are not available

We can refuse access to documents, or parts of documents that are exempt under Part IV of the FOI Act 1982. Exempt documents may include:

law enforcement information.
information protected by legal professional privilege.
information about the personal affairs of another individual.
confidential commercial information (of businesses or Council).
information provided in confidence.
documents covered by secrecy provisions in other legislation.

This is not an exhaustive list.

How long does it take once the request is made?

Once a valid application is received, Council has 30 days to inform you of a decision about your request. There may be circumstances where we need to consult with you to extend the 30-day period. All outstanding charges relating to your request will need to be paid before the documents are provided to you.

Council is often required to consult with third parties where their information is included in the scope of the FOI request. Where the third party does not consent to their information being released, the FOI officer considers the third party's lack of consent in the decision-making process, though it is not determinative. If the FOI officer determines that the third party's information falls under an exemption, they may either redact it from the documents or choose not to provide the document in full. In cases where the third party disagrees with the release of their information and the FOI Officer decides to proceed with the release, they have 60 days to apply to VCAT before we can release these documents to you, pending a VCAT decision proceeding being filed or expiration of 60 days.

Freedom of Information Request Fees

Application Fee	$32.70
Access Charges	Access charges relate to the some of the costs incurred in granting access to documents. These charges are made under the Freedom of Information (access charges) Regulations 2004.
Search time fee	$24.50 per hour (or part of)
Supervised viewing of documents	$6.10 per 15 minutes (if applicable)
Photocopying (black & white)	20c per A4 sheet
Providing access in a form other than photocopying	The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in providing the copy.
charge for providing written document	The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in providing the written document.
charge for making a written transcript out of a tape	The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in providing the written transcript.

Access charges, other than photocopying, will be charged depending on the reasonable cost incurred in providing access to documents and supervision (if required).

If it becomes apparent that the access charges associated with a request are likely to exceed $50.00, we will write to you and seek a deposit towards the anticipated charges. We will also suggest practical alternatives you could adopt in an effort to reduce the anticipated charges.

Making a Freedom of Information request

You can make a request yourself, or you can authorise another person (e.g. a solicitor) to make a request on your behalf.

Your application must:

Be in writing
You can apply online

you may download and complete the FOI Application form and email it back to foi@latrobe.vic.gov.au

Freedom of Information Application Form

You can make a request in writing which can be posted to:

Freedom of Information Officer
Latrobe City Council
PO Box 264
MORWELL VIC 3840

Or you can email it to foi@latrobe.vic.gov.au

We recommend you include your contact details (including telephone and email if available) to enable us to contact you promptly if we have any queries about your application.

Clearly describe the documents you are requesting access to:

When submitting your request, it is important that you provide an accurate description of the documents you are seeking access to. Your request can be for a specific document, or it might be for groups or types of documents.

It is recommended that you try to identify a time period and state the type of documents you want (such as reports, letters or permits). For example,

“Documents relating to road maintenance records at this location between X date and Y date”. Avoid phrases like 'all documents in relation to' and ‘including but not limited to’.

If the terms of your request are quite broad, it may result in you receiving and being charged for, documents which you did not intend to seek access to, or your request may be too large or too broad to process.

Be accompanied by the application fee or evidence that you qualify to have the application fee waived (see section 2 of the application form for hardship waiver evidence requirements)

If you make your application online or by email, we will be in touch with you about how you can make payment of the application fee.
Cheques and money orders should be made payable to Latrobe City Council.
Alternatively, the application fee can be paid in person at any Council Service Centre located at Morwell Headquarters, Morwell Library, Moe Library, Traralgon Library or Churchill Library. If you cannot access a service centre please call 1300 367 700 to discuss other payment options. Please see all locations and contact information here.
Provide evidence of your identity (such as driver’s licence) if the documents you seek are about your personal affairs.
Include your written authorisation if a third party (e.g. legal firm) submits the request on your behalf.

Application Process

Once we receive your request, an authorised FOI Officer will review it to make sure that all the necessary information has been included, the documents you are requesting have been clearly identified and payment of the application fee has been made (or a valid request for fee waiver has been received). If any clarification is required, the FOI Officer will contact you.

Upon receipt of a valid request, Council will:

Acknowledge receipt of the Freedom of Information application.
liaise with the relevant work area/s to ascertain the scope of your request.
Request documents from the relevant work areas.
Conduct searches of Council’s electronic record management system.
Review the documents received to ascertain if any additional documents are required.
Remove irrelevant documents that do not fit within the scope of the request or sections of documents.
Consider whether any exemptions could prevent the disclosure of any of the documents.
Consult with external organisations and/or individuals where applicable.
Process the relevant documents.
Compile a decision letter which lists the documents, or parts thereof, which are to be released, any documents which could not be located and any exemptions that have been applied.

Council has 30 days in which to process a valid request, however may be extended up to a further 15 days if third party consultation is required or up to 30 days by consent of the applicant. This commences from when your request is viewed as sufficiently clear for us to process and your application fee has been paid (or sufficient evidence has been provided to waive the fee).

Appeal rights

If you are not satisfied with our decision, you can seek a review from the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC) within 28 days of receiving the decision. For further information visit OVIC’s website here.

Other Relevant Information

Office of Information Commissioner of Victoria (OVIC) FOI information.

Freedom of Information Application Form

Latrobe City Council - Freedom of Information Act Part II Statement

This information is provided from the Latrobe City Council website and is for information purposes only. Although all care has been taken in the preparation and updating of the information, no claim is made as to the accuracy or authenticity of the content. Latrobe City Council, its employees, agents, consultants and representatives do not accept any liability to any person for the information or advice (or the use of such information or advice) which is provided or incorporated into it by reference. The information is provided on the basis that all persons undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance, accuracy and currency of the information. Fees and charges are subject to change without notice.

Overview

Freedom of Information Request Fees

Application Process

Appeal rights

Other Relevant Information

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