The Freedom of Information Act, 1991 (“The Act”) serves to promote openness and transparency in governance and accountability of government agencies, including Councils. To achieve these objectives, it confers on members of the public a legally enforceable right to be given access to information held by the Council, which are received from the public are to be dealt with.
All enquiries concerning the lodgement procedures for Freedom of Information requests, the procedures for inspecting or purchasing the identified Tatiara District Council Documents and Amendments of any Council records concerning the personal affairs of a member of the public are to be directed to:
Freedom of Information OfficerTatiara District CouncilPO Box 346Bordertown SA 5268Phone: (08) 8752 1044Applications will be responded to as soon as possible within the statutory 30 days of Council receiving the appropriately completed Freedom of Information request together with the application and search fee and all other information necessary for a qualified response to be provided.
An application for access to a Council’s document(s):
- Must be in writing.
- Must specify that it is made under this Act.
- Must be accompanied by such application fee as may be prescribed.
- Must contain such information as is reasonably required to enable the document to be identified.
- Must specify an address in Australia to which notices under this Act should be sent.
- Must be lodged at an office of the agency, and may request that access to the documents be given in a particular way.
A member of the public may gain access to Council documents to make amendments concerning their personal affairs by making a request under the Freedom of Information Act. A member of the public may then make application (in the prescribed form) for a correction to any information about themselves that is incomplete, incorrect, misleading or out of date.
To gain access to these Council records, a member of the public must complete a Freedom of Information request as indicated above outlining the records that he/she wishes to inspect.
In accordance with Part 2 of the Act, a Council must, at intervals of not more than 12 months, cause an update to date information statement to be published in a manner prescribed by regulation. A copy of the current information statement can be obtained below.