Freedom of Information

Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission Act 1997

The following documents set out our powers and obligations in how we treat information provided to us under the ICRC Act 1997.

Freedom of Information Act

The ACT Freedom of Information Act 2016 (the FOI Act) gives individuals the legal right to:

• access government information unless access to the information would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest
• ask for personal information to be changed if it is incomplete, out-of-date, incorrect or misleading; and
• appeal a decision about access to a document, or a decision in relation to a request to amend or annotate a personal record.

Freedom of Information Requests

Documents available without an FOI access application

Under the FOI Act, the Commissions must make available a range of documents through the ACT Government’s Open Access information site including:

• functional information
• information about the work of the agency tabled in the Legislative Assembly
• the Commission’s reports and policy documents; and
• budget papers.

Each ACT Government directorate (including the Commission) is responsible for responding to FOI requests that relate to their functions or roles and has an FOI Information Officer who can assist you in making your request. Before making a request for access to documents, you should first approach the Commission (or directorate you think may hold the documents relevant to your request).

How to make an FOI application to access ICRC documents

Requests can be made by completing the application form below, or by emailing, posting or delivering your request to the FOI Information Officer.

The request should:

• identify the document(s) sought
• provide as much information as possible about the document(s) requested to assist in processing the request (for example the date the documents were created, or describe in detail the subject matter in which you are interested); and
• provide your contact details – a postal or email address is required. You may also wish to provide a telephone number so we can call you if we need to discuss your request.

The FOI Information Officer:

Or you can contact the Information Officer within the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission on 6205 0799.

Exemptions

The FOI Act sets out certain types of documents which may not be accessible. Exemptions are generally used to protect essential public interests, confidential matters or the private or business affairs of others.

If the Commission decides not to grant access to the documents requested, it will provide written reasons for the decision and advise you (the applicant) of your rights of appeal.

If you are unhappy with the decision you may:

• seek Ombudsman’s review of the Commission’s decision or action (Ombudsman review); and
• if you were a participant in an Ombudsman review apply to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) for a review of the decision made by the Ombudsman;

Charges

There are no application fees for FOI requests to the Commission (or any ACT Government directorate), but processing charges may apply. In order to minimise any charges, please consult with the Commission’s Information Officer to be sure that you are requesting only the documents you need.

If you are advised that charges will be imposed, you may request a fee waiver if:

• the information was previously publicly available but is no longer publicly available
• the information requested is of special benefit to the public
• the applicant is a concession card holder and demonstrates a material connection to the information requested
• the applicant is a not for profit organisation and the application relates to the activities or purposes of the organisation; or
• the applicant is a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Freedom of Information Online

All written documents released under the FOI Act by the Commission will be available on the Commission’s website for online public access. Exceptions to this are documents that are exempt for privacy, commercial confidentiality or copyright reasons.

Disclosure Log

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2016 the Commission is required to have a disclosure log listing FOI requests received by the Commission. Details of requests for personal information are not required to be reported under the Act and therefore are not provided in the disclosure log.

The application, decision and any released documents can be viewed by clicking on the disclosure log link below.