What has already been released ?
From 1 May 2011, agencies are required under section 11C of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to publish documents or parts of documents that have been provided in response to FOI requests.
These documents must be published within 10 working days of the decision being made.
The only exceptions will be information of the following kinds:
- personal information about any individual, if it would be unreasonable to publish the information;
- information about the business, commercial, financial or professional affairs of any person, if it would be unreasonable to publish the information;
- other information of a kind determined by the Information Commissioner, if it would be unreasonable to publish the information;
- any information if it is not reasonably practicable to publish the information because of the extent of modifications that would need to be made to delete information listed in one of the above dot points.
In addition, DVA will publish routinely requested information which will include the information in documents to which DVA routinely gives access in response to FOI requests. DVA will clearly identify these documents in its disclosure log.
DVA's Disclosure Log Policy
What information is provided on disclosure log?
DVA is required to publish information that has been released in response to each FOI access request on the disclosure log. DVA is not required to publish information in relation to FOI requests relating to personal information or information concerning the business affairs of third parties, as it is considered to be an unreasonable disclosure of such information. The majority of FOI requests made to DVA are for personal information.
DVA has decided to publish information, but not the documents, released in relation to each FOI access request and provide details of how the information may be obtained. This will allow DVA to monitor the number and types of requests for information published on the disclosure log. This information will be used to assist DVA identify areas where it may consider more pro active disclosure of information that is routinely requested.
When will information be uploaded to the disclosure log?
DVA must publish information that has been released in response to each FOI access request (excluding applications regarding personal information or third party business affairs) within 10 working days. DVA will publish information on the disclosure log every second Friday (all information released within the previous fortnight will be uploaded on the same day). This policy is to take effect from 17 June 2011 with the first upload on 24 June 2011.
How to request for information disclosed on the disclosure log
If a document is not available directly through this list, DVA has a dedicated mailbox for requests relating to the disclosure log. Interested individuals should contact the Department at FOI [at] dva.gov.au (FOI). This mailbox is checked daily. DVA will provide information requested from the disclosure log as quickly as possible (depending on the size and type of access requested). At the latest, this will be within five working days.