Access to Council Records

Requests for Access - Council Records

Requests for access to Council's documents are considered in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act and the Freedom of Information Act. In addition, the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act also sets requirements for councils and their staff relating to disclosure of personal information.

From 1 July 1998, Section 12 of the Local Government Act was amended to generally make Council's documents available for public inspection, free of charge, at the Council office during ordinary business hours.

These amendments toSection 12 of the Local Government Act generally override the need for the submission of a Freedom of Information Act application.

Section 12 - Access to Information

Section 12(1) details what information is publicly available for inspection by everyone free of charge:

• The Council's Code of Conduct    
• The Council's Code of Meeting Practice    
• Annual Report    
• Annual financial reports    
• Auditor's Report    
• Management Plan    
• EEO Management Plan    
• The Council's policy concerning the payment of expenses incurred by, and the provision of facilities to, Councillors    
• Register of Investments    
• Returns of the interests of Councillors, designated persons and delegates    
• Returns as to candidates' campaign donations    
• Agendas and Business Papers for Council and Committee meetings (but not including Business Papers for matters considered when part of a meeting is closed to the public)    
• Minutes of Council and Committee meetings, but restricted (in the case of any part of a meeting that is closed to the public), to the resolutions and recommendations of the meeting    
• Any Codes referred to in this Act    
• Register of delegations    
• Annual reports of bodies exercising delegated Council functions    
• Applications under Part 1 of Chapter 7 for approval to erect a building and associated documents    
• Development Applications (within the meaning of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979) and associated documents    
• Local policies adopted by the Council concerning approvals and orders    
• Records of approvals granted, any variation from local policies with reasons for the variation and decisions made on appeals concerning approvals    
• Records of building certificates under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979    
• Plans of land proposed to be compulsorily acquired by the Council    
• Leases and licences for use of public land classified as community land    
• Plans of Management for community land    
• Environmental planning instruments, development control plans and plans made under Section 94AB of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 applying to land within the Council's area    
• The statement of affairs, the summary of affairs and the register of policy documents required under the Freedom of Information Act 1989    
• Departmental representatives' reports presented at a meeting of the Council in accordance with Section 433.

Exempt Documents Under Section 12

Documents containing the following information are not available under Section 12:

• Personnel matters concerning particular individuals    
• The personal hardship of any resident or ratepayer    
• Trade secrets    
• A matter the disclosure of which would:
• constitute an offence against an Act, or
• found an action for breach of confidence.    
• Plans and specifications for any residential parts of a proposed building, other than plans that merely show its height and its external configuration in relation to the site on which it is proposed to be erected.    
• Commercial information, if the information would be likely:
• to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied it, or
• to reveal a trade secret.

Note: Whether inspection of a document might cause embarrassment to an employee, a Councillor or the Council, a loss of confidence in the Council or may cause the applicant to misinterpret or misunderstand the information contained in the document, is irrelevant to whether inspection would be, on balance, contrary to the public interest.

Procedures for Access to Council Records

Requests for the supply of information under Section 12 shall be made by completing a  Section 12 Request Form (33KB). Applicants must be precise about the information they want to access so as to enable the correct documents to be identified.    

• Council requires at least 48 hours to locate a file and check the file for privacy matters. A Council Officer will contact the applicant by telephone when the file is available for viewing.    
• All file inspections will be supervised and carried out at Council Chambers.    
• Copies of documents will be charged at the prescribed fee and must be paid prior to release of those documents.

Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act also creates a legally enforceable right of every person to obtain access to Council's documents subject to a number of restrictions, such as:

• Documents affecting law enforcement and public safety    
• Documents affecting business affairs    
• Internal working documents    
• Documents subject to legal professional privilege    
• Documents affecting financial and property interests.

Any requests for information under this Act must be made in writing and submitted with a $30 application fee. A processing charge of $30 per hour applies unless the request relates to the applicant's personal affairs, then the first 20 hours of processing are free.

The use of this Act may enable access to documents not accessible under Section 12 of the Local Government Act and also has options for external review where access to documents is refused. An application under this Act must be dealt with within 21 days whereas there is no time limit on a request under Section 12 of the Local Government Act.