How to request information

Request for information

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) gives members of the public a right of access to documents of an agency and official documents of a Minister, 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 FOI Act allows individuals access to their personal records held by Government and enables them to correct any personal information that is incomplete, incorrect, out of date or misleading. 

The FOI Act also requires an agency to publish information on its operations under the Information Publication Scheme and a disclosure log of information that has been accessed under Freedom of Information requests. A potential applicant may find the information they are seeking is already available in those publications. 

How to apply for access to documents

To make a Freedom of Information request the applicant should be in writing and contain the following: 

• A statement that your requesting documents under the FOI Act 

• Your contact details and contact preferences (you are advised to include a phone number as further details about your request may be needed) 

• A clear description of the information being sought (include any reference numbers or articles that would assist in identifying specific material). 

You can send your request by email to [email protected] or by post to: 

Freedom of Information 
Taxation Ombudsman 
PO Box 551 
SYDNEY NSW 2001 

The request will be valid from the date that the request has been clearly clarified. 

Request process

The Taxation Ombudsman will process all Freedom of Information requests within 30 days unless: 

• the subject matter is more closely connected to another agency, which may result in transfer to the relevant or appropriate agency 

• third party consultations are required, in which case an additional 30 days may be added 

• the applicant agrees to additional time for the processing of the request 

• additional time is requested by the Australian Information Commissioner in cases of complex or voluminous requests 

• a decision has been made to impose charges. 

Once the Freedom of Information request has been completed by us, any available documents will be forwarded to the applicant. If the requested documents or parts of them are within an exemption specified in the FOI Act, the Tax Ombudsman will provide reasons for the decision to exempt. 

The FOI Act requires us to publish a disclosure log of information accessed under Freedom of Information requests, except for personal, business or certain other information set out in section 11C of the FOI Act. 

Charges

There is no application fee for a Freedom of Information request. Processing charges may apply to requests other than documents containing only personal information. The charges are in accordance with regulations made under the Freedom of Information Act. 

If there is a charge, the applicant will receive a written estimate and advice how the charge is calculated. Where the estimated charge is between $20 and $100, we may ask for a deposit of $20, or a 25% deposit where the estimated charge exceeds $100, before the application is processed. 

Applicants can ask for a charge to be waived or reduced for any reason, including financial hardship or on the grounds of public interest. Evidence may be requested. 

Review Rights

Applicants have the right of a review of Freedom of Information decisions made by the Tax Ombudsman. The following options are available: 

• internal review 

• review by the Australian Information Commissioner 

• review by the Administrative Review Tribunal. 

Internal Review

You can request for an internal review in relation to a decision not to grant access to documents or parts of documents. An application for review should be made within 30 days of receiving the decision. This time can be extended in certain circumstances. 

An independent review of the decision will be undertaken and a decision made within 30 days. 

Review by the Australian Information Commissioner

You may apply to the Australian Information Commissioner for a review of the following decisions: 

• an internal review 

• a deemed decision (where a decision was not made in the specified time) 

• an original decision (electing to skip an internal review) 

• a decision to refuse additional time to make an internal review request. 

Applications must be made within 60 days after receiving the decision to be reviewed. The Australian Information Commissioner may extend that time in certain circumstances. 

More information is on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website.

Administrative Review Tribunal

Decisions made by the Australian Information Commissioner may be appealed through the Administrative Review Tribunal. The Australian Information Commissioner will provide information on how to appeal in their response. If you’d like to know more on how to lodge a review, visit the Administrative Review Tribunal website. 

Our Freedom of Information Guidelines 

In considering and processing any requests under the FOI Act, we rely upon the Freedom of Information Guidelines published by the Australian Information Commissioner. 

Additionally, we have also produced short guidelines to instruct our officers on key steps during the process.