NSW Information Commissioner publishes new resources on fees and charges under the GIPA Act
The NSW Information Commissioner has published three new resources to provide guidance on fees and charges to entities regulated by the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) and the general public.
Flowing on from the two recent decisions of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal which were summarised in IPC case notes – Shoebridge v Forestry Corporation [2016] NSWCATAD 93 and National Tertiary Education Union v Southern Cross University [2015] NSWCATAD 151 – the Information Commissioner identified that it would be useful for agencies and the general public to have updated guidance on the issues relating to discounting and processing charges.
The IPC has revised and developed the following resources in consultation with our stakeholders:
- Guideline 2 – Discounting Charges (revised) – to assist agencies to decide whether to reduce processing charges on the grounds that the information is of special benefit to the public generally in accordance with section 66(3) of the GIPA Act.
- Fact sheet: GIPA Act fees and charges (revised) – aims to clarify the circumstances in which fees and charges for access to information may be levied, reduced, waived or refunded under the GIPA Act.
- Fact sheet: Substantial and unreasonable diversion of agency resources (new) –aims to clarify what may be considered an unreasonable and substantial diversion of resources and what review rights apply if an agency decides to refuse to deal with an access application.
We hope you find these resources useful and we welcome your feedback – please contact the IPC via free call 1800 472 679 or email ipcinfo@ipc.nsw.gov.au
