The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) gives members of the public a general right of access to documents of Geoscience Australia, other than exempt documents or parts of documents. Exemptions may relate to national security, material obtained in confidence, Cabinet documents, or other matters set out in the FOI Act.

The Act also requires an agency to publish information on its operations under the Information Publication Scheme and a Disclosure log. Information that has been accessed under FOI requests may already available in those publications.

How to Make a Request for Documents under the FOI Act

Requests made under the FOI Act must:

• Be in writing; and
• State that the request is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act; and
• Provide such information concerning the document that will allow the Department to identify it; and
• Provide detail of how notices provided by the Department in relation to the FOI request can be sent to the applicant.

FOI requests to the Department should be sent to:

FOI Coordinator
Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism
GPO Box 1564
Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone: +61 2 6243 7026
Facsimile: +61 2 6243 7037

FOI requests may also be lodged by email to nicola.morris@ret.gov.au

Processing of FOI requests

Upon receipt of your FOI request, Geoscience Australia will provide you with an acknowledgement of receipt within 14 days. In accordance with the FOI Act, a decision must be notified to the FOI Applicant within 30 days of receipt. Some documents may be subject to a third party consultation process, the FOI Act provides Geoscience Australia with the right to extend the applicable timeframe by an additional 30 days. If consultation is required, you will be informed accordingly.