Costs
There are two costs associated with making a FOI request:
- The application fee
- The access charges
The application fee is a fixed cost which is non-refundable. The only exception is for people suffering hardship who can ask the agency to waive the application fee.
Access charges relate to the costs incurred in granting access to the documents that you have requested.
These costs may or may not apply depending on the nature of your request. The following table outlines these costs. All fees and charges are exempt from GST.
Application Fees
- Application fee - $23.40 (non- refundable unless fee is waived)
Access Charges
- Search charges - $20 per hour or part of an hour
- Supervision charges - $5 per quarter hour
- Photocopying charges - 20c per black and white A4 page
- Providing access in a form other than photocopying - The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in providing the copy.
- Charge for listening to or viewing a tape - The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in making arrangements to listen to or view. (Supervision charges also apply)
- Charge for making a written transcript out of a tape - The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in providing the written transcript.
These charges are set by government regulations. You can download a copy of these regulations from Freedom of Information Regulations.