Letter · Administrative & Public Law
Freedom of information access application (Commonwealth, with NSW and NZ variants and review follow-ups)
A scoped request for documents under the FOI Act 1982 (Cth) that meets s 15, heads off practical refusal and charges, and sets up internal and Information Commissioner review, with NSW GIPA and NZ OIA variants.
- Kind
- Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
- Where it applies
- Australia, Commonwealth, New South Wales, New Zealand
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked against the cited sources on 17 October 2026.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when a client needs documents held by a Commonwealth agency or Minister, for example to understand a decision or prepare for review. Use the NSW variant for NSW agencies. Do not use it for courts or for documents already available through discovery or a statutory reasons request.
How AI may be used
AI may help turn the client's account into precise document descriptions and draft review grounds. A lawyer confirms the statute, agency, scope and timing and checks every description against instructions before the request is sent.
AI may
- Turn the client's account and the decision notice into precise document descriptions with date ranges, business areas and document types.
- Suggest exclusions (duplicates, published material, junior staff details) that cut processing time without losing key documents.
- Draft internal-review or Information Commissioner review grounds from the decision notice and schedule of documents for the lawyer to settle.
AI must not
- Must not enter the client's personal, health or financial information into a public AI tool whose terms allow retention or training on inputs.
- Must not select the statute, agency or review pathway without a lawyer confirming it.
- Must not state exemption law, fees or time limits that have not been checked against the current Act and regulations.
The lawyer checks
- The request meets each requirement of FOI Act s 15(2) (or each GIPA s 41(1) formal requirement, including the fee).
- The agency and address are correct and the request is sent in a way s 15(2A) permits.
- Diary dates are set: 14-day acknowledgment, 30-day decision, 30-day internal review window and 60-day IC review window.
- Written client authority is on file before lodging, and any third-party information request is justified.
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Official form
Open the official form. Always use the current version from the issuer.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Administrative & Public Law
- Request for a statement of reasons for an administrative decision, with reasons-deficiency table
- Request for reasons and review of an automated or AI-assisted government decision
- Application to the Administrative Review Tribunal for review: completion guide (including the Generative AI Practice Direction)
- Complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman: preparation guide and complaint summary
- Agency AI transparency statement under the DTA standard: advice note and template for government clients
All precedents for Administrative & Public Law · Tasks and AI use in this area