FOI & PIR Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
On this page
Access to Information FOI & PIR
What documents can I access?
You can request access to a document held by DVA, such as:
- a document that contains your personal information
- a policy-making document
- an administrative decision-making document.
How do I access historical information held by DVA?
The majority of department records enter the open access period after 20 years from the date of creation. Any documents that fall into the open access period are defined as in the care of the National Archives of Australia (www.NAA.gov.au) as part of the Archives Act (1983).
Under the FOI Act, documents open to public access are not available under the FOI access request process.
What is a document?
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) only applies to information an Australian Government agency or minister holds in the form of a document.
The FOI Act defines a document as:
- any paper or other material on which there is writing or a mark, figure or symbol
- electronically stored information
- a map, a plan, a drawing or a photograph
- any article from which sounds, images or writing are capable of being produced.
It also sets out what documents you can access and what documents you can’t access.
You can ask for access to a document in the form you prefer, such as in an electronic form rather than a hard copy.
Do charges apply to non-personal FOI requests?
Under the FOI Act, individuals who make an application for their own personal information will not be subject to fees or charges. All other FOI Act requests may be subject to charges. If your request is going to incur a cost, a notice of fees will be provided before processing.
Requests under other access mechanisms will not be subject to fees or charges, this includes PIR, MRCA, DRCA, APP12, and APP13.
Can I access information about someone else?
If you request documents that include personal information about other people, we may need to consult with those people before deciding whether we can disclose those documents to you.
When we consult with other people about your request, it may be apparent to those people that you have made a request, even though we will not usually disclose your identity.
What are exempt documents?
You can’t access a document an Australian Government agency or minister holds that is:
- exempt under the FOI Act
- conditionally exempt under the FOI Act
- accessible to the public under other arrangements for a fee.
Exemptions
If a document is exempt under the FOI Act, an agency or minister can refuse to disclose it. Exemptions may apply to a document:
- that affects national security, defence or international relations
- of the Federal Cabinet
- that affects law enforcement and public safety
- where the secrecy rules of a law applies (for example, information collected under taxation, child support, gene technology and patent laws)
- where legal professional privilege applies
- that has material collected in confidence
- whose disclosure would be in contempt of parliament or in contempt of court
- disclosing trade secrets or commercially valuable information
- electoral rolls and related documents.
However, an agency or minister may decide to disclose a document even if an exemption applies.
Conditional Exemption
If a document meets a conditional exemption, the agency or minister must also decide if disclosing the document would be against the public interest. They can’t refuse access to a document solely because it meets a conditional exemption, it must also be against the public interest.
Conditional exemptions may apply to a document that has:
- personal information that would be unreasonable to disclose
- information about certain operations of the agency (such as an agency’s operations, audit, examination or employee management)
- information about the deliberative processes relating to an agency or minister’s functions
- information that could damage federal and state government relations
- information that may damage the Australian economy
- information about the Australian Government’s financial or property interests.
Why is my document redacted?
A redaction is a way of censoring a document. It involves obscuring or removing information before it is published. We do this to protect a person’s privacy, or for other reasons including that the information is commercially sensitive, or for security reasons.
Examples of information that might be redacted includes surnames, signatures, and commercially sensitive information such as contracted amounts with a provider.
Redactions are applied according to legislation and guidelines. These include the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), the FOI guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and the Australian Privacy Principles Guidelines (APP Guidelines). Redactions may also apply to information requests made under administrative access or under the MRCA or DRCA.
More information on our processes can be found in our guidelines.
If you are unhappy with the redactions in response to your FOI request, you can request an internal review via email.
Back to topConsent
How to give your consent
You can give consent for your partner, family member, a person or an organisation to access your information. To protect your privacy, we do not have one generic form for consent. There are different DVA consent forms for specific information requests, listed below.
If someone is requesting your personal information from us on your behalf, they will need to have your consent.
Keeping your consent information up to date is important, you should review and update your consent regularly. To check your consent information please contact 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372).
Consent when someone passes away
If you are a family member, advocate or representative of a veteran who has passed away, you may find that you need to access their information.
We understand that this is a difficult time for you and we are here to support you.
Please contact us to talk about the informal ways you can access the personal information of someone who passed away and the evidence needed to show your legal entitlement to the information.
Evidence of legal authority
We will need to consider evidence of your legal entitlement to access this information.
You will need to provide documents that show your legal authority, such as a Will, Grant of Probate, Letter of Administration, and/or other forms.
This must be provided especially in situations where your relationship status with the deceased client is unclear. For example, when there is an absence of a recorded authority from the client’s next of kin.
If there is no evidence of your legal authority to access the deceased client’s information, you will need to provide proof of relationship evidence. This includes a Marriage Certificate, Birth Certificate, Death Certificate, or evidence of shared residency.
Additionally, we will work with advocates, nominated representatives and executors of wills to confirm the deceased client’s existing consent to disclose information.
Where we are unable to release information, we will provide you with clear guidance on the reasons why the information cannot be disclosed and an outline of the next steps or alternative options available to you.
When consent is not required
In some emergency and law enforcement circumstances the Department is able to disclose personal information without consent. This falls under the Australian Privacy Principle 6 and includes circumstances where DVA is served with Court orders or subpoenas or notices to produce information or evidence.
Back to topWebforms
Why is DVA creating new webforms?
Two new webforms, Freedom of Information (FOI) request webform and Personal Information Request (PIR) webform, have been designed to enhance the information request process.
Both forms have been designed to better align with other government departments and streamline the information access request process
What’s changing?
Nothing. Existing arrangements remain in place. The new webforms have been designed to simplify the existing process and will provide an online option for clients and applicants, who wish to use it.
Requests for information can still be made via phone, email and by post.
How will it improve the information request process?
The new webforms capture all the necessary information at the first point of the application process streamlining application process.
Having the applicant’s proof of identity (POI) and consent within the forms means the Information Access officer (IAO) does not need to request the information from the applicant. This reduces the time taken to action and register an information request.
The webforms also provide guidance on what the department CAN release and will assist the applicant to select the documents that are required, clarifying scope.
How long will my request take if I submit a webform request?
FOI – the same legislative requirements will apply to the webforms that currently exist - Information Access Officers have 14 days to acknowledge a request and 30 days to notify the applicant of the department’s decision.
PIR - The department aims to acknowledge all requests promptly and complete the request within 30 days particularly if the request is about the applicant’s own personal information.
Why are you asking for my personal information?
Proof of Identity is only required in order to access personal information.
This ensures:
- That the requesting applicant is who they say they are
- The right information is going to the right person
- That all parties can be protected from the risk of identity fraud.
What about my privacy?
The department is bound by the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles which regulate the collection, storage, use, disclosure and disposal of personal information by Commonwealth agencies.
In general, the department will not disclose the personal information you provide except to enable the processing of your request. This may include disclosing your personal information to contracted service providers.
Access more information about DVA’s Privacy Policy
Back to top