Validity of FOI Requests in Victoria: Practical Hints and Tips from Recent Cases

A morning webinar session

• Do you know all of the requirements of a valid request?
• Did you know there is more required than just compliance with s 17?
• Do you know what hardship means?
• Are you aware of how to determine whether paying the application fee will cause hardship?
• Do you know how to determine whether a request is sufficiently clear?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions or you just want to come up to speed with what VCAT and the Supreme Court are saying about such things, this session is for you.

What is often thought to be a basic and well settled area of dealing with FOI requests is back on the radar of VCAT and the Supreme Court.  It has even caused some contradictory decisions between the, as recently as August 2020.

Recent decisions have revisited the validity requirements and have given rise to some changes in approach taken by the VCAT and Supreme Court when deciding if a request was validly made.

This webinar looks at the following aspects and provides practical hints and tips for you to take away from recent Court and Tribunal decisions:

• what are the validity requirements for a request for access;
• what more is there beyond the formal requirements in s 17;
• when it comes to paying the application fee, what is hardship;
• how is hardship determined;
• if hardship exists, what options are there to agencies;
• how do you go about working out if a request is sufficiently clear;
• if the request is too broad, can it now be invalid.

The answers to these questions are fundamental to dealing with FOI requests.  Without a valid request the right of access to non-exempt documents cannot be exercised.  You cannot afford to miss this session.  Book now to bring your knowledge up to date

What others have said

“Mick discussed a topic that is fundamental to FOI processing in a clear, concise manner.”

“The session was very informative and extremely helpful. I am always amazed by Mick’s knowledge.”

“Mick mentioned that often agencies jump straight into processing requests without being stopping to take the necessary steps regarding payment of the application fee and clarity of the request. A very good point. Stop, think, then act!”

The webinar will be conducted using WebEx (end to end encryption).  For information about how this will work, click here for FAQs.