Freedom of Information

The Victorian Freedom of Information Act 1982 gives you the right to request information held by the State Library of Victoria about your personal affairs and the activities of the Library, and the right to request that incorrect or misleading information held by the Library about you be amended or removed.

Categories of documents

Documents that are maintained in the possession of the Library include:

• documents prepared for briefing the Ministers and Government
• internal working papers of the Library
• correspondence from Ministers and Members of Parliament, government departments and agencies, and members of the public and private sector
• records relating to accounts
• personnel and salary records
• organisation and accommodation records.

What information is released?

The Library can refuse to release a document if it contains information that is exempt under the FoI Act. Documents can be exempt in full or exempt parts can be deleted with the remainder of the document released. The FoI Act outlines general categories of documents which are exempt. These include documents containing information relating to the personal affairs of third parties, documents provided in confidence, documents containing information which if released might endanger the lives or physical safety of individuals, documents containing commercial–in–confidence information and internal working documents, the release of which would be contrary to the public interest.

The Act does not entitle applicants access to documents created prior to July 1978, unless those documents relate to the personal affairs of the applicant. It should be noted that certain documents are destroyed in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973.

Access arrangements

Access to documents can only be obtained by written request. Applications should be as specific as possible to enable the Freedom of Information Officer to identify the relevant documents as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Each request should be accompanied by a $22.70 FoI application fee. This fee may be waived in cases where payment would cause an applicant financial hardship. Where an applicant seeks a waiver of this fee, the request should indicate the grounds on which a waiver is being sought.

Applications should be addressed as follows:

Freedom of Information Officer
State Library of Victoria
328 Swanston Street
Melbourne Vic 3000

Assistance can be provided to potential applicants by contacting the FoI Officer.

As required by the Act, all reasonable steps are taken to enable the applicant to be notified of a decision concerning the release of documents as soon as practicable, and not later than 45 days after the day on which the request is received by the Library.

Charges under the Act

• $23.40 non-refundable application fee
• Photocopy fee - $0.20 per A4 page
• Search fee - $20 per hour or part thereof
• Supervision fee - $5 per 15 minutes or part thereof (where a document is inspected by an applicant)
• Deposits – a deposit of $25 may be required if the calculated charge does not exceed $100, or a deposit of 50 percent of the calculated charge, where that charge exceeds $100.

Some charges may be waived in certain circumstances.

Contacts

Principal FoI Officer

CEO and State Librarian
State Library of Victoria
Phone: 03 8664 7000

FoI Officer

Corporate Governance Advisor
State Library of Victoria
Phone: 03 8664 7318
Email: foi@slv.vic.gov.au