Access to Information:
The Freedom of Information Act 1992 (the 'Act') gives every person the right to seek access to documents held by the City of Mandurah. It is the aim of the City to make information readily available at the least possible cost.
The City is mindful of its obligations and the Act provides general right of access to documents. If possible, the City will initially try to provide you with the documents outside of the FOI process. Please refer to the City's Information Statement for further guidance.
The Act also recognises that some documents require a level of protection and these documents must meet specific exemption criteria in Schedule 1 of the of Act. This includes:
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personal information that identifies a third party;
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information concerning trade secrets; and
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information of commercial value.
Scope of Application:
The City can help you with making your application. The City may descirbe the kinds of documents and records kept to help you narrow the scope of your application. The City is able to reject unreasonable applications.
If you are having difficulties defining the document/s you are seeking please consider the following:
- Specify dates
- Author/officer, if known
- Project title/property address
- Document type.
Access to Personal Information:
Under the Act you have the right to apply to amend your personal information that is contained in a document held by the City of Mandurah, if the information is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading. This provision exists to ensure that the City does not unfairly harm the person referred to, misrepresent facts about them or give a misleading impression.
Your application to amend personal information should be submitted in accordance with Section 46 (1) of the Act.
It must:
- be in writing;
- give enough details to identify the document that needs to be amended;
- give details of matters in relation to which the person believes the information is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading;
- give the persons reasons for holding that belief; or
- give details of the amendment that the person wishes to have made.
The application must state whether the amendment to the information should be made by:
- altering information;
- striking out or deleting information; or
- inserting information.
If you are requesting access to personal information, the City will require you to produce identification. If the information you are applying for is on behalf of another person, the City will require written authorisation from that person.
Third Party:
The City may consult with third parties (i.e. other persons, businesses) identified in documents an applicant is seeking access to. These third parties have the right to respond within a specified timeframe and their opinions will be taken into consideration when making a determination.
