Freedom of information and disclosure log

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) provides access to information held by the Australian Government by:

• requiring that agencies publish certain information on their websites (in accordance with the Information Publication Scheme)
• providing for a right of access to documents.

Right of access under the FOI Act

The FOI Act gives any person the right to:

• access copies of documents (except exempt documents) that TEQSA holds
• ask for information that TEQSA holds about them to be changed or annotated if it is incomplete, out of date, incorrect or misleading
• seek a review of a decision not to allow access to a document or not to amend their personal record.

However, we can refuse access to some documents, or parts of documents, that are exempt from release under the FOI Act. Exempt documents may include:

• documents containing material obtained in confidence
• Cabinet documents
• other matters set out in Division 2 of the FOI Act.

Public interest conditional exemptions may also apply to some documents in accordance with Division 3 of the FOI Act. 

Making an FOI application

Requests for access to documents must:

• be in writing (including email)
• state that the application is made under the FOI Act
• provide enough information about the documents sought to enable an officer of TEQSA to identify the documents
• give details of how notices may be sent to the applicant (for example, a postal or email address).

Requests that meet the preceding criteria can be sent to:

• Email: foi@teqsa.gov.au
• Post:
  FOI Coordinator
  Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency
  GPO Box 1672
  Melbourne VIC 3001

Charges

We do not charge application fees for FOI requests, or to process requests for access to documents containing only personal information about an applicant. However, processing charges may be applied to other requests in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019.

After an application is submitted

All applications are processed in accordance with the requirements of the FOI Act. Once a request has been received we will:

• acknowledge receipt of the FOI request
• inform the applicant if they are liable to pay a processing charge (an assessment of the charge will be provided to the applicant)
• make a decision on access to the documents requested
• send the applicant a letter explaining our decision and the applicant's review and appeal rights.

Review of decisions

An applicant can ask for the following decisions to be reviewed:

• refusal to provide access, or deferring access, to all or part of a document
• imposing a charge
• refusal to change or annotate information about an applicant that the applicant claims is incomplete, incorrect, out of date or misleading.

A third party who disagrees with our decision to provide access to documents that contain information about them can also ask for the decision to be reviewed.

Internal review

Applicants can request (in writing) that TEQSA reconsider its decision through an internal review. An internal review will be conducted by another TEQSA officer and applicants are advised of a review decision within 30 days of receiving the request.

Information Commissioner review

Applicants can request the Australian Information Commissioner to review our original decision or decision on internal review within 60 days of the date of decision (or 30 days after an affected third party is notified).

The Australian Information Commissioner can affirm or vary the decision, or substitute a new decision. The Information Commissioner may also decide not to conduct a review in certain circumstances.

More information is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Complaints

If an applicant is unhappy with the way TEQSA has managed an FOI request, they can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

FOI disclosure log

TEQSA is required by the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to publish a disclosure log. This log lists information released by TEQSA in response to FOI access requests.

The disclosure log requirement does not apply to:

• personal information if publication of that information would be unreasonable
• information about the business, commercial, financial or professional affairs of any person if publication of that information would be unreasonable
• other information covered by a determination made by the Australian Information Commissioner if publication of that information would be unreasonable
• any information if it is not reasonably practicable to publish because of the extent of modifications that would need to be made to delete the information listed in the above dot points.

The information described in this disclosure log is available on request. In some circumstances, we may charge for the cost of copying or reproducing information or sending it to you. You will be notified if a charge is payable and you are required to pay the charge before the information is provided.

More information

For more information, contact us at foi@teqsa.gov.au or call 1300 739 585.