Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) gives you a legal right to request access to material held by the Government.
You can lodge an FOI request to access Regional Investment Corporation documents.
Access is only limited by exemptions that protect:
- essential public interests
- private and business affairs of people about whom we hold information
Your documents
Some information will be available to you without an FOI request. For example, documents containing your personal information. This includes copies of your loan application or loan agreement.
Request a copy of your documents through our online contact form.
Publicly available documents
Before you make an FOI request, check what is already publicly available through our:
- FOI disclosure log
- Information Publication Scheme
- operational information on this website
FOI request
To process your request as quickly as possible, at the lowest possible cost, it must:
- be made in writing
- state that you are seeking information under the FOI Act
- specify an address (either email or physical) where we can contact you about the request
- include enough detail about the documents you are requesting
Enough detail means we can identify the:
- scope of your request
- time periods your request falls under
- category of documents sought (reports, minutes, emails)
You may also wish to provide a phone number to make it easier for us to consult with you about your request.
Mail your written FOI request to:
FOI Officer
Regional Investment Corporation
PO Box 653
Orange NSW 2800
Material we do not include
We will assume your request does not include:
- identifying information about individuals and businesses (these need third party consultation to release)
- duplicates of documents
- draft documents
- entire documents that are publicly available
- names, signatures or contact information of non-executive staff
You must request these if you want them included.
Ministerial documents
All portfolio ministers are separate entities under the FOI Act.
You must make FOI requests for ministerial documents directly to the relevant minister.
Find details of:
Processing times
We will tell you within 14 days that we have received your request. We will give you our decision within 30 days unless that time has been extended.
We may also give you an estimate of the charges that apply to your request.
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) update – impact on Freedom of Information Requests
Please note that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we may require additional time to process your request and seek your agreement to an extension of time, or seek this agreement from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. We encourage all applicants to use self-service or administrative access schemes (obtaining information outside of the FOI Act) on our website to access information where possible.
Charges
There is no application fee for any FOI request. You do not pay for requests to access, correct or amend documents containing your personal information only.
Charges may apply for other requests. This is in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 1982.
If charges apply, we will notify you of:
- the estimated charge
- how it is calculated
- options for payment or to contend charges should be waived or reduced
Common charges for FOI requests
|
Activity item |
Charge |
|---|---|
| Search and retrieval—time we spend searching for or retrieving a document. | $15.00 per hour |
| Decision-making—time we spend deciding to grant or refuse a request. Includes examining documents, consulting with other parties, and making deletions. | First 5 hours: Nil Subsequent hours: $20 per hour |
| Transcript—preparing a transcript from a sound recording, shorthand or similar medium. | $4.40 per page of transcript |
| Photocopy | $0.10 per page |
| Inspection—supervision by an agency officer of your inspection of documents or hearing or viewing an audio or visual recording at our premises. | $6.25 per half hour (or part thereof) |
| Delivery—posting or delivering a copy of a document at your request. | Cost of postage or delivery |
If you request that we waive or reduce the charges, we will consider this and provide you with a decision.
Payment
Pay charges by direct deposit, credit card, or cheque or money order made payable to the Collector of Public Money.
We will provide these details to you with the charges notice.
Contact
Contact our FOI Officer:
Freedom of Information Officer
Regional Investment Corporation
PO Box 653
Orange, NSW, 2800