Section 7 Statement

Section 7 of the FOI Act requires the Directorate to prepare and publish a statement outlining the Directorate's organisation, functions and decision-making powers, the categories of documents available, and facilities available to the public for accessing the documents; the section 7 statement is current at 30 June 2014.

Organisation, Function and Decision-Making Powers

CMTD provided strategic advice and support to the Chief Minister, the Treasurer, the Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations, and the Cabinet.

The Directorate was responsible for:

• the provision of direction and coordination across the ACTPS on policy and strategy, managing the ACT's intergovernmental relationships and supporting the Chief Minister's role on COAG;
• advising the Government and agencies on the Territory's budget, management of the Government's financial assets and liabilities, including superannuation liabilities and investments, economic policy and advice, and federal financial relations;
• strategic planning and direction on public sector standards, including ACTPS employment, workforce culture and capability, industrial relations and work safety, the implementation of machinery of government changes, and the promotion of ethics and accountability;
• ACTPS communications, community engagement, and provision of public affairs advice; and
• supporting the Head of Service, the ACTPS Strategic Board and its sub-committees.

A list of legislation under which the Directorate and its officers administered, or exercised statutory powers, is available at www.legislation.act.gov.au/ni/2013-244/20130701-55352/pdf/2013-244.pdf.

Public Participation in Decision-Making

Arrangements for public participation in decision-making include public submissions to inquiries; discussion at public meetings; consultative committees for specific purposes; access to records through FOI requests; comments on draft documents; comments on Bills before the Legislative Assembly; and contact with the relevant Minister.

Categories of Documents

The Directorate holds two basic categories of documents:

Documents available on request and without charge

Documents within this category include publications produced by the Directorate on various aspects of its activities.  These are available on request from the Directorate and may also be available on the Directorate's website or on the ACT Government Contracts Register which lists contracts made by the Territory, over the value of $25,000.

Documents of other kinds that may be available under the FOI Act

• general files - including internal and public documents, minutes of meetings of management and other committees, agendas and background papers, policy statements, and financial and staffing estimates;
• communications with other directorates;
• program and policy files;
• photographs, videos and films;
• maps, plans and brochures;
• technical reports and discussion papers;
• financial and accounting records;
• details of contracts and tenders;
• files on applicants and clients;
• records of government including the machinery of government; and
• leases and deeds of agreement.

Facilities for Access

Those seeking information are encouraged to contact the Directorate before resorting to the more formal FOI procedure. In many cases, it may be possible to access information more quickly and efficiently through such an approach.

The Directorate is located in the Canberra Nara Centre, corner of Constitution Avenue and London Circuit, Canberra City. Several bus stops are close to the Nara Centre in London Circuit. Short-term car parking is located opposite the Centre and a disabled car park space is available on Nangari Street.

Information regarding bus routes and timetables can be obtained from Transport Canberra, or by telephone 131 710.

FOI requests should be directed to:

FOI Coordinator
Chief Minister, Treasury, and Economic Development Directorate
GPO Box 158
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Telephone: +61 2 6205 0238
Fax: +61 2 6207 5886

Section 8 Statement

Section 8 of the FOI Act requires directorates to prepare an index of documents that are used in making a decision or recommendation under an enactment or scheme.  The statement is current as at 30 June 2014 and is available from the Directorate's FOI Coordinator or at the Directorate's website.

Section 79 Statement

In accordance with section 79(2) of the FOI Act, the Directorate provides the following information regarding FOI requests received by the Directorate during the reporting year.  Access decisions in relation to FOI requests are categorised as full release, partial release, entirely exempt, technical refusal (no documents located), still being processed, transferred and withdrawn.

In 2013-14, the Directorate received a total of thirty-five new requests, and carried over four requests from 2012-13.  The Directorate received three internal review requests in 2013-14 and one ACAT review.

Of the total of 39 FOI requests:

• twenty-three had decisions completed during the year;
• four applications were withdrawn;
• six were ongoing as at 30 June 2014; and
• the Directorate was waiting for responses from applicants for six requests where it had requested a revision/clarification of the scope of the requests, or where it had advised that processing charges would be imposed.

The three internal reviews and one ACAT review were completed during the year.

Comparative Statistics on FOI Requests from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2014

Applicant Type

For requests received during the year (excludes requests carried over from the previous year where decisions on access had not been completed within the reporting period).

Outcomes of FOI Requests

(Includes decisions on requests received during the year and on requests carried over from the previous year)

Note:

¹ The subject matter of these requests were related to the functions of other directorates.

Request Response Times

(Excludes withdrawn and transferred requests)

Notes:

¹ Includes a consultation period for one request.

² Includes one request delayed by applicant's scope revision.

³ Received by transfer after the deadline.

In processing requests, the Directorate makes every effort to comply with the required timeframes.  There were, however, situations where requests were completed outside the statutory time frame.  In situations where it appears that the thirty-day timeframe for a response will not be met, the Directorate will advise the applicant and request an extension of time.

Under sections 26, 27 and 27A of the Act, the Commonwealth, state governments, commercial organisations and private individuals must be consulted where their interests may be adversely affected by the release of documents.  Subsection 18 of the Act provides for the thirty-day timeframe to respond to an FOI request to be extended by thirty days for documents on which third party consultation was necessary.

Other reasons for the extended response times were:

• the amount and complexity of information to be examined and the release decisions required in relation to some of the applications; and
• particular workload and resource issues within the Directorate at the time.

Requests for Internal Review

Applications to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) for Review

Fees and Charges

In accordance with section 28 of the FOI Act and the Freedom of Information (Fees) Determination 2014, the Directorate may decide an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect of a FOI request.

A deposit of $152.64 was collected by the Directorate during 2013-14.

Requests to Amend Personal Records (section 48)

No applications were made to amend personal records.