Freedom of information

We are committed to your right to access agency information.

For the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2016 (FOI Act):

the Chairperson of the Commission is the principal officer in relation to functions and powers vested in the Commission
the Electoral Commissioner is the principal officer of the office of the Electoral Commissioner in relation to functions and powers vested in the Electoral Commissioner.

Every person has a legal right to access ACT public sector agency information. This means our agency pro-actively releases information. There are also a number of ways you can request access to information that we have not published. Below we explain what sort of information our agency holds, what we already publish and how you can access other information.

This ACT Ombudsman brochure also explains how you can access government information in the ACT.

Information we hold

As the ACT Electoral Commission responsible for the conduct of elections and referendums for the ACT Legislative Assembly and the provision of electoral advice and services. This includes administration of the ACT election funding, expenditure and financial disclosure scheme by the Commission. Accordingly, we hold information related to these functions.

Information that is already published

We make a range of information available for access on our website.

This includes information we are required to publish under the ACT Open Access Information Scheme - such as:

functional information about our agency
documents tabled in the Legislative Assembly
policy documents
our disclosure log—which lists information we have released since 1 January 2018 in response to access applications
information about bodies established to advise our agency

FOI disclosure log

All documents and information released via an FOI request are listed in the FOI disclosure log.

View the Freedom of Information - disclosure log [XLSX 27 kB].

Requesting information

Before submitting a request, please look for the information on our website first. You can also check the Open Access Portal.

If you can’t find what you are looking for, you can contact us.

Most requests for information can be dealt with informally and quickly, without making a formal access application.

If you’ve spoken to us and still can’t find the information you need, you can make a formal access application under the FOI Act.

You can send the FOI Information Officer an FOI request by:

email to elections@act.gov.au
post to ATTN: FOI Information Officer, GPO Box 172, CANBERRA ACT 2601.

Make sure you clearly identify the scope of your request, and which documents you need.

Providing us with as much detail as possible helps us to respond to your request quickly and comprehensively.

Details can include:

file numbers
a date range
a reference to a newspaper article
a description of the subject matter you have interest in.

Amending personal information

You can make an amendment request under the FOI Act If you believe we have information about you that is incomplete, incorrect or out-of-date.

Processing requests

Within 10 working days we’ll acknowledge receipt of your request and the date we received it.

We’ll give you an estimate of any charges that apply to your request. If your request is not clear or is too broad, we may contact you for more information.

We will give you our decision within 30 working days of receiving your application, unless that time has been extended.

We publish our decision and documents on the Elections ACT disclosure log not earlier than 3 and not later than 10 working days after the decision. We won’t publish your personal information.

Extensions of time

If a document contains information about a third party, we will consult them and may need to extend processing time by another 15 working days.

We may seek your agreement to extend the time.

We may seek an extension from the ACT Ombudsman.

Fees

There is no application fee for an FOI request.

There are no processing charges for requests for access to documents containing only personal information about you.

Processing charges may apply to other requests, and we will tell you if this is the case.

You can ask for the charge to be waived or reduced for any reason, including financial hardship or on the grounds of public interest. You may need to provide some evidence with your request.

Apply for a review of our decision

We will send you a letter explaining our decision and your review and appeal rights.

If you aren’t satisfied with our decision, you can ask the ACT Ombudsman to review it. In most cases, you must apply within 20 workings days after the decision was published on our disclosure log.

You can also make a complaint to the ACT Ombudsman about our actions in relation to the FOI Act.

For more information visit the ACT Ombudsman website.

In most cases, you must apply within 20 working days after the decision was published on the Freedom of Information disclosure log.

Apply to the ACT Ombudsman for a review by:

email to actfoi@ombudsman.gov.au
post to GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601.

Further review of decisions is available under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1989.

Seek legal advice if you want to pursue this option.

Documents available for public inspection

Some documents are available for in-person inspection, free of charge. These documents can’t be copied.

You can view:

extracts from the ACT electoral roll
during the relevant election period, records related to issued declaration votes.

You can view some documents online or visit our office to view them and purchase copies:

Visit us at our offices.

Open access information

We publish documents across this website in accordance with the FOI Act. In particular view: