C.4 Freedom of Information

Under Sections 7, 8 and 79 of the Freedom of Information Act 1989 (the FOI Act) the Office must report on the FOI requests they receive and handle during the reporting year.

Section 7 Statement

The following statement made pursuant to section 7 of the FOI Act is correct as at 30 June 2013 and replaces all previous statements.

The functions and operations of the Director are described elsewhere in this Report. Prosecution decisions and the conduct of proceedings are guided by the Prosecution Policy and guidelines issued by the Director. The policy and guidelines are reviewed from time to time and professional legal bodies and criminal justice agencies are consulted during the review process. Public comment is also considered in the review.

The following are categories of documents maintained in the possession of the Office:

• case files
• policy files
• administrative and financial records

The following documents are available upon request without charge:

• Annual Reports
• Prosecution Policy

Facilities for the inspection of documents (where appropriate) and preparation of copies or extracts (if required) are available at the Office. Requests may be sent to the Director, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Reserve Bank Building, 20-22 London Circuit, Canberra ACT 2601 (GPO Box 595). Business hours are 8:30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday (public holidays excepted).

Section 8 Statement

Section 8(1) of the FOI Act applies, in respect of an agency, to documents that are provided by the agency for the use of, or are used by, the agency or its officers in making decisions or recommendations for the purposes of an enactment or scheme administered by the agency. The documents that fall within this description are the Prosecution Policy and guidelines, which are available to the public.

Section 79 Statement

During the reporting year:

• there was/were five application(s) to access documents made during the reporting year. Of these applications:
• full access to the documents was granted in 0 case(s)
• partial access to the documents was granted in five case(s)
• access was refused to all documents in 0 case(s)
• there was/were one application(s) made during the reporting year for the internal review of decisions under section 59 which was successful;
• there was/were 0 application(s) made during the reporting year to the Tribunal for the review of decisions;