Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) gives every person the right of access to documents held by Australian Government agencies. Documents include files, reports, computer printouts, tapes or photographs, microfiche, tape recordings, films or videotapes. Certain types of documents may be exempt from disclosure.

How to make a FOI request

 You must:

• make the request in writing, either on form MR3 or in a letter stating that the request is an application for the purpose of the FOI Act;
• provide contact details for the tribunal to send correspondence under the FOI Act;
• accurately identify documents sought; and
• post, fax or deliver your request to the Migration Review Tribunal or Refugee Review Tribunal at one of the following registries:

New South Wales Registry Level 11, 83 Clarence Street Sydney NSW 2000 or Post GPO Box 1333 Sydney NSW 2001 or Fax (02) 9276 5599

Victoria Registry Level 12, 460 Lonsdale Street Melbourne VIC 3000 or Post PO Box 14158 Melbourne VIC 8001 or Fax (03) 8600 5801

Prior to making a FOI request, you should check the information we have published under the Information Publication Scheme and FOI Disclosure Log to see if what you are seeking is already available.

Fees and charges

There is no application fee for an FOI request.

Charges may apply if a request is made for information other than your own personal information. If charges are going to be imposed on your FOI request, you will be given written notice about this.

Processing FOI requests

We will acknowledge receipt of your FOI request within 14 days. We will give you our decision within 30 days unless that time has been extended. If a document contains information about a third party, we will need to consult them and may need to extend the time to give you our decision by another 30 days. We may also, where necessary, seek your agreement to extend the time by up to 30 days or where the FOI request is complex or voluminous, apply to the Australian Information Commissioner for an extension of time.

Review rights and complaints

Information about how you can apply for review of a FOI decision or complain about the way in which the tribunal has processed your FOI request is set out in fact sheet MR12

Further information

If you have any questions in relation to FOI please contact:

New South Wales Team Leader, Post Finalisation & Access Phone (02) 9276 5000 OR email nsw.registry@mrt-rrt.gov.au

Victoria FOI Coordinator or Manager, Tribunal Services Unit Phone (03) 8600 5900 OR email vic.registry@mrt-rrt.gov.au

Please note that the above email address is for FOI enquiries only. All FOI requests must be lodged by post, fax or delivered to the registries as referred to above under ‘How to make a FOI request’.