FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

Access our information

Every person has a right to access ACT government information. You can access:

personal information about you
policy-related documents
details about public programs and resources
government expenditure and agency operations
research used in decision-making

Open access

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2016 (‘FOI Act’), the ACT Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (‘ACT ODPP’) must make information proactively available via an open access scheme.

Before submitting an access application, have a look at the Open Access Website to see if what you are looking for is already available.

Request access

Those seeking information are encouraged to contact the ACT ODPP before resorting to the more formal FOI procedure. In many cases it may be possible to access information more quickly and efficiently through such an approach.

Our contact details are as follows.
Phone: 02 6207 5399
Fax: 02 6207 5428
Email: foiactdpp@act.gov.au
Mail: FOI Contact Officer
GPO Box 595
Canberra City
ACT 2601

Formal FOI application

If you have contacted us and still can’t find what you are after, you can make a formal request for information.

Your written request must include:

a clear description of the documents (adequate detail to enable us to identify the information) you are requesting access to
an email or postal address via which we can contact you
evidence of your identity (if you are seeking your personal information)
authority for an agent to act for you (if you have engaged a lawyer or other third party to represent you).

You can send your written request to foiactdpp@act.gov.au or by post to:

FOI Contact Officer
GPO Box 595
Canberra City
ACT 2601

Once we receive your written request, we will conduct an initial assessment. If the request is valid, we will process it. We will contact you if we require further information or clarification.

Processing your application

Once we officially accept your FOI application, we will inform you, in writing, within 10 working days, that we have received your request and the date it was received.

We will give you our decision within 20 working days from the date your application was received, unless that time has been extended.

If a document contains information about a third party, we will need to consult them. We may need to extend our processing time by another 15 working days.
We may also seek your agreement to extend the time if your request is complex.
We can also seek a further extension of 15 working days from the ACT Ombudsman.

Possible outcomes of an FOI application

When we process your FOI application, we may decide to:

release the documents you requested in their entirety; or
release part of the documents you requested; or
release none of the documents you have requested; or
transfer your FOI application to the appropriate agency.

Decision notice

Once we have processed your request, we will send you a letter setting out the decision and the reasons for the decision within 20 working days of your application. This letter will explain what documents were located and why you may have been refused access to documents (or parts of documents) i.e. exempt documents. You should read the decision notice carefully and contact us if you have any questions about the contents of the notice.

The decision notice will include the following information:

an itemisation of any fee/charge payable
that the FOI request, decision notice and information provided in response to the request (other than personal information) will be made available to the public through our disclosure log

The decision notice will also explain your review and appeal rights pertaining to the decision.

Fees

There is no application fee for an FOI request. You will not be charged for access to documents containing personal information about you. Processing charges may apply to requests outside of your personal information. We will tell you if this is the case.

You may be required to pay to access information in accordance with the following schedule:

Schedule	Fee
A fee is payable for each page of information given in response to an application, excluding the first 50 pages, whether provided in printed or electronic format.	$0.35c per page (GST is not applicable)
A fee is payable for giving information to an applicant by post.	The actual cost of postage
A fee is payable for giving a printed copy of a record containing information to an applicant.	The actual cost of printing
A fee is payable for giving information contained in a sound or visual recording on electronic storage media (e.g. by USB, hard drive etc).	The actual cost of the electronic storage media
A fee is payable for information contained in a written transcript of a sound recording or a record in which words are in shorthand writing or in a codified form.	The actual cost incurred by the respondent in giving the information
A fee is payable for information that is not contained in a written record and is retrieved or collated using equipment that is usually available to the agency or Minister.	The actual cost incurred by the respondent in giving the information

Waiving charges

You can ask for the charge to be waived or reduced for any reason, including financial hardship or on the grounds of public interest. You will need to explain your reasons and you may need to provide some evidence.

We must waive the fee if:

the information that is the subject of the request was previously publicly available but is no longer publicly available; or
the information is subject of the request is of special benefit to the public; or
the applicant is a concession holder and demonstrates a material connection with the information requested; or
the applicant is a not for profit organisation and the application relates to the activities or purposes of the organisation; or
the applicant is a member of the Assembly.

Amend personal information

If you believe we hold information about you that is incomplete, incorrect or out of date, you can have this information amended.

Send us a written request with the following information:

include enough detail so we can identify the information to be amended
state how it is incomplete, incorrect, out-of-date or misleading
state the amendments considered necessary
include an email or postal address via which we can contact you.

We will process your request within 20 working days. If we decide to refuse your request, we will contact you first and give you the opportunity to comment and/or provide further information. Only then will we make the final decision.

Send your request to foiactdpp@act.gov.au or by post to:

FOI Contact Officer
GPO Box 595
Canberra City
ACT 2601

When we have made a decision about your request to amend your personal information, we will send you a letter explaining our decision and your review and appeal rights.

Review/Appeal

If you are not satisfied with the decision relating to your FOI request, you may apply to the ACT Ombudsman for a review of the FOI decision. An application for a review must be made in writing within 20 working days from the day the FOI decision is published in the ACT ODPP’s disclosure log.

Disclosure Log

The Director of Public Prosecutions is required to maintain a disclosure log in accordance with section 28 of the Freedom of Information Act 2016. The disclosure log falls under the Open Access Information categories and must be made publicly available.

Information provided to an applicant through an FOI request is published on the disclosure log between three and 10 working days after the decision notice has been sent out to the applicant.

The disclosure log must include:

the FOI application
the decision notice
the documents / information released pursuant to the request

Note: Applications for personal information will not published on the disclosure log.

Disclosure Log

The Director of Public Prosecutions is required to maintain a disclosure log in accordance with section 28 of the Freedom of Information Act 2016. The disclosure log refers to open access information that must be made publicly available. Set out below are descriptions of information requested, notice of decisions and documents that have been released pursuant to the requests. If you wish to obtain copies of these documents, please send an email to foiactdpp@act.gov.au with your request.

Reference number	Date of application	Information Requested	Decision	Date of decision	Fees (paid or waived)	Time spent on application	Ombudsman or ACAT decision (if relevant)	Date of Publication on Disclosure Log
2023-1	07/02/2023	All emails between the DPP Shane Drumgold and Steve Whybrow regarding the matter R v Lehrmann, for the timeframe 15 February 2021 and 2 February 2022 All emails between the DPP Shane Drumgold and Linda Reynolds regarding the matter R v Lehrmann, for the timeframe 15 February 2021 and 2 February 2022 All emails between the DPP Shane Drumgold and Fiona Brown regarding the matter R v Lehrmann for the timeframe 15 February 2021 and 2 February 2022	Decision	02/03/2023				08/03/2023
2022-1 – 200929085	05/12/2022	Any documented complaint made by the DPP about conduct of the police during the matter of R v Lehrmann which was sent to ACT Policing in the months of October or November 2022	Documents Decision	07/12/2022	-	-	-	19/12/2022
2022-2 – 200929085	02/12/2022	All ministerial briefings, correspondence, meeting minutes, text messages or written interactions on any digital communications platforms between the Attorney-General and the DPP between 1 May 2022 and 2 December 2022	Documents Decision	07/12/2022	-	-	-	19/12/2022
MH-200929085	30/08/2018	Documents setting out factors determining an action under the Confiscation of Criminal Assets Act 2003 (ACT)	Documents were uploaded on the ODPP website on 05/09/2018	05/09/2018	-		-	27/05/2020
EL-MLA-200929085	17/03/2021	Request for copies of any correspondence, submissions, briefs or reports from the ODPP, since 1 July 2019, to the ACT Victims Advisory Board and/or the ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner in relation to sentencing for domestic and family violence offences. The request included any responses from the ACT Government, ACT Victims Advisory Board and/or the ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner.	The document released was a letter dated 18 November 2020 from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Victims Advisory Board on the ACT Court of Appeal decision of R v UG [2020] ACTCA 8 and the sentencing of Family Violence Offenders in the ACT.	22/03/2021				01/04/2021