How to Request Information

Freedom of Information Enquiries

A person has a right to apply for access to government information other than personal information. Who the person is or why they are requesting the information does not affect this right.

Generally, much information is already available without a formal FOI request. However, some documents may contain “exempt material” as defined in the Act and as such may not be available for public release.

Personal Information

A person also has a right to access his/her personal information and to correct his/her information if the information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date. Applicants must provide as much information as possible and reasons as to why they believe that their information should be corrected.

Lodging a Request for Information

A formal application should be made in writing either using the form available on this site or by letter. Applications can be lodged at one of our designated front counters or by posting your application to the Manager, Information Unit. For an application to be accepted it must:

Be in writing
Specify the name of applicant
Provide contact details including an address to which correspondence can be sent regarding the application
Provide sufficient details to identify the information requested
Provide identification to satisfy the organisation as to your identity and
Include payment of application fee (for government information requests only)

Applications can be paid by the following methods:

In person: Cash, cheque (made out to 'Receiver of Territory Monies') or credit card at any DCIS Receiver of Territory Monies (RTM) Office or Territory Business Centre;
Pay by phone: (Mastercard, Bankcard and Visa credit cards only) can only be made to a DCIS RTM in Alice Springs (08) 89 516491 and Darwin (08) 89 991628;
By Post: If posting your application for government information please include a cheque or money order to the value of $30.00 made out to 'Receiver of Territory Monies'. Please do not send cash through the mail.

If making payment in person or by phone, please ensure you include the receipt number when lodging your application.

Notice of Decision

Once an application has been accepted the department has 30 calendar days to consider the application and notify the applicant in writing of the decision made in regard to the application. If an applicant is not notified within 30 days the department is taken to have refused access to the information.

There are some circumstances that can occur during the processing of applications that could lead to delays. These are:

If you are requested under section 19 of the Act to provide more detail additional to that specified on your application to enable the Department to better identify and retrieve the information sought.
Where you are required to pay a deposit, the Department will not process the application further until a deposit is paid and an agreement undertaken to pay the total amount of the estimate provided.
Where an application to waive or reduce fees has been submitted.
Other situations such as where more time is required to search for the information.

There a number of ways to enable the quickest response to your application:

Be as specific as possible. Applications that are too general or vague will require more time to process. If possible, include names, dates, locations or terms that are relevant to the subject. This will facilitate a quicker search and retrieval of the information sought.
The information you require may also be available – perhaps published at intervals. Where the information is available via another process, NRETA will direct you outside of the Information Act process and assist in providing the information. This also applies to where you would normally have previously contacted the Department for the kind of information you are now seeking. The Act does not intend to replace already established regimes for seeking information.
It may be useful to check whether the information you require is not already available before lodging your application. The NRETA website contains information about the Department and contact details for each area as a starting point. The register of information held by NRETA can be otherwise accessed through the link on this site.

The Manager, Information Unit, will make final decisions regarding access. The Information Unit will notify applicants of the decision regarding their application. The Notice of Decision on the application will include a statement as to:

the applicant’s right of review under Division 4 (Review by public sector organisation) and time periods;
the applicant’s rights of complaint under Part 7 (Complaints to the Information Commissioner) and time periods;
state the fee or balance of fee payable;
state the arrangements for access; and

the following information if relevant:

whether access is provided in whole or in part and reasons for the decision
whether edited copies have been provided
whether access has been deferred and the period of deferment
access has been refused because information is exempt
access is refused as unreasonably interferes with operations
more time required to make decision
information cannot be identified, found or does not exist
information not held by organisation
application has been transferred
access denied as information is about a third party

Right of Review

If you disagree with the decision made in relation to an application to access government information or to access/correct personal information you have the right to request that we review the decision.
You must lodge an application for review within 30 days of receiving the decision in relation to the original application. The review process will be conducted within the Department and will not involve the officer who made the original decision. The time frame for us to provide a decision in relation to a review is 30 days.

Right of Appeal

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of a review, you are able to make an appeal to the Information Commissioner. (You would need to do this within 90 days of receiving the decision in relation to the outcome of the review).

Forms

Application to access government information (pdf 68Kb)
Application to access personal information (pdf 64Kb)
Application to correct personal information (pdf 66Kb)
Application to waive or reduce fees (pdf 57Kb)

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Costs

There is no application fee for personal information. However, for other types of requests there is an application fee of $30 (including GST) that must be made before an application is accepted.

There are also search, processing and copying fees that apply to both applications for government and personal information.

You may be required to pay a deposit on an estimate of processing fee provided by the Department for accessing information. Refer to the Schedule of Fees.

There is provision to apply for a waiver or reduction is fees in certain circumstances. It is strongly advised that this application be lodged with the original request. An application will not be actioned unless an application fee is paid or you have official advice that your application to waive or reduce the application fee has been successful. Where a deposit is required, an application will not be actioned unless the deposit is paid or you have official advice that your application to waive or reduce the processing fee has been successful.

The Department will not charge any amount over and above the estimated amount.

Lodgement Points

Darwin:	Development Assessment Services/ Building Advisory Services Ground Floor 38 Cavenagh Street Darwin NT 0800
Katherine:	Lands 1st Floor Government Centre First Street Katherine NT 0850
Alice Springs:	Lands and Planning First Floor Alice Plaza Todd Mall Alice Springs NT 0870
Remote Communities:	Nearest Police Station
Postal Applications:	Manager Information Unit PO Box 30 Palmerston NT 0831
Fax:	8999 4723

FOI and Privacy