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Deciding
what information is “personal information”
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The kind of information about a person that is
“personal information” under the FOI Act includes, for
example, a name, address and telephone number, medical
information, financial information, marital status and information
about personal relationships and other sensitive, private
information. Other information such as the location, date or time
a complaint was made to a regulatory body may be “personal
information” if the information identifies someone and there is
only one possible source of information.
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When an applicant seeks access to personal
information about himself or herself, the fact that it is personal
information about him or her is a factor in favour of disclosure.
Frequently, personal information about an applicant appears in
context with non-personal information. It is not a requirement
that the non-personal information be deleted before access is
given. Rather, background information and factual information that
puts the personal information into context should be released to
an applicant so that the document is meaningful.
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Non-personal may be deleted if, for example, it
is irrelevant to a request or if it deals with a totally different
subject matter. Non-personal information that is personal
information about a third party should always be deleted unless
consent is given for its disclosure to the applicant. If a third
party knows the identity of an applicant, he or she may consent.
Releasing
documents that may be technically exempt
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Agencies always have a discretion to release
documents that may be technically exempt, where that can
properly be done. If no harm is likely to follow from
disclosure, then it is consistent with the aims and objects of
the FOI Act to give access to documents when a request is
received. Some of the factors that might be relevant to the
exercise of discretion include the age of the documents, whether
the subject matter is current, and the interests of the
applicant. For example, an agency may decide to release a copy
of the applicant's own letter to the agency even though it
contains references to third parties.
Stopping
and starting the clock
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The permitted period of 45 days commences on
the day after the application is lodged with an agency.
Generally, an application is lodged on the date that it is
received, whether it arrives by post, facsimile, email or by
hand. The date shown by a “date received” stamp would
indicate that the permitted starts the following day.
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There will be times when it is necessary for
an agency to “stop the clock”. For example, when an
applicant is given an estimate of charges, the clock stops on
the day on which the notice of the estimate is given and it
restarts the day after the agency has been notified that the
applicant wishes to proceed with the application.
Conducting
proper searches
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If an agency is unable to locate the
documents and there is reason to believe that those documents
should exist, an adequate statement of reasons may reassure an
access applicant that the agency has attempted to meet its
statutory obligations but is unable to do so. The minimum
requirement is a brief explanation of the steps taken by the
agency to satisfy the request. The explanation should include
the locations searched, why those locations were chosen and a
description of how the search was conducted - for example,
computer search, manual search of file series or card index.
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They might have been be misfiled.
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There may be imperfect record keeping
practices used in the agency.
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The application may be ill-defined and not
identify documents clearly enough.
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There may be different record- keeping
systems used in an agency.
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The agency’s policies or guidelines on
document retention might be unclear.
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There may be inadequate training in record
management.
- The documents may simply not exist.
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