What is Freedom of Information (FOI)?

Access to records

The Western Australian Freedom of Information Act 1992 (the FOI Act) gives you the right to apply for access to records held by the Town of East Fremantle.

The Town is required to assist you to obtain access to records at the lowest reasonable cost, and to ensure that personal information held by us is accurate, complete, up-to-date and not misleading.

You can request access to any document held by the Town of East Fremantle that is not already publicly available for inspection or purchase, regardless of its age or your reason for obtaining the information. Examples of documents are below:

• paper files
• computer records
• maps
• plans
• photographs
• tape recordings
• films
• video tapes; and
• electronically stored information.

Making an FOI Request

Is my application for personal or non-personal information?

A personal application is a request for documents containing information or opinion which refers to yourself only.  This can include job applications, correspondence between yourself and the Town or correspondence about you.  Should a document within the scope of a personal application contain both personal and non-personal information, the non-personal information is likely to be removed from the document prior to release.

A non-personal application is a request for any document or record containing information about a third party, commercial information, or any other information which is not purely about yourself as the applicant. Examples include complaints against a property, building plans and applications, and documents relating to dog attacks.

Please note requests for documents relating to your property, business or pet are classified as non-personal applications as the Freedom of Information Act 1992 defines personal information as :

Information or an opinion, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual, whether living or dead - 

(a) whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained from the information or opinion; or 

(b) who can be identified by reference to an identification number or other identifying particulars such as fingerprint, retina print or body sample.

How do you apply to access information?

All Freedom of Information applications must:

• be in writing
• provide enough information so that the documents can be identified
• include a valid Australian postal address to which the documents can be sent
• include a telephone number and email address
• be lodged with the Town with the applicable $30 fee (for non-personal applications only).

It is recommended, that you complete the form below:

Freedom of Information Application Form

and lodge by post, email, or in person.

• email - admin@eastfremantle.wa.gov.au
• In Person, Town of East Fremantle, 135 Canning Highway East Fremantle
• by post FOI Officer, Town of East Fremantle, PO Box 1097 East Fremantle WA 6959

If the request is for "everything" on a particular subject, the Town may ask you to narrow the scope of the application to ensure the work involved is reasonable. Applications are assessed against the FOI Act and a decision is made to allow full, part or refuse access. Applications can take up to 45 days to process.

Fees

Processing Your Application

You will be issued a decision from the Town as soon as practicable - within forty-five (45) days from receipt of your application (or as otherwise negotiated). Once your application has been assessed, you will be provided with a Notice of Decision.

The Notice of Decision provides:

• The date the decision was made
• The name and the designation of the Officer who made the decision
• Process undertaken with your application
• Documents identified as falling within the scope of your application
• What (if any) information is to be withheld due to exemptions
• Options you have available should you be dis-satisfied with the decision.

Copies of the released documents may be included with the decision or provided shortly thereafter.

Withholding Access

Schedule 1 of the FOI Act recognises that some documents require a level of protection, specifically those documents that meet the exemption criteria of Schedule 1 of the FOI Act.

Exemptions should not be claimed unless there is a substantial reason under the FOI Act that prevents disclosure.  The Town is required to give full reasons for denying access to documents detailed in the Notice of Decision.

Freedom of Information Statement

Under section 96(1) of the FOI Act the Town is required to prepare and publish the Information Statement annually which details the structure and functions of the Town, as well as the type of documents held by the Town and how to access them.

Freedom of Information Statement

Further Information

Further information can be obtained by contacting the Town of East Fremantle Administration:

• in person;  
• calling (08) 9339 9339 and request to speak with the Freedom of Information Officer; or
• email admin@eastfremantle.wa.gov.au

If you wish to contact the Office of the Information Commissioner, their details are below:

Phone:              (08) 6551 7888 (WA Country): 1800 621 244

Website:           www.oic.wa.gov.au

E-mail:              info@foi.wa.gov.au

Mail:                 Albert Facey House, 469 Wellington Street, Perth WA 6000