- The Freedom of Information process is used when you are requesting access to information held by the Education and Care Unit relating to education and care, the National Quality Framework and education and care providers and services.
- Requests for information relating to child care and child care services must be made through the Right to Information process.
- Contact rti@decyp.tas.gov.au if you would like advice on what information can be requested through the Freedom of Information Act 1982
What is Freedom of Information?
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) gives you the right to request access to certain information we hold.
Most information held by the Department for Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) can be requested through the State’s Right to Information Act 2009 – see Right to Information.
The FOI Act gives any person the right to:
- access copies of documents (except exempt documents) we hold
- ask for information we hold about you to be changed or annotated if it is incomplete, out of date, incorrect or misleading, and
- seek a review of our decision not to allow you access to a document or not to amend your personal record.
You can ask to see any document that we hold. We can refuse access to some documents, or parts of documents that are exempt. Exempt documents may include those relating to personal information of other persons, national security, documents containing material obtained in confidence and Cabinet documents, or other matters set out in the FOI Act.
When do I use the Freedom of Information process when requesting documents from DECYP?
The FOI process is used when you are requesting access to information held by the Education and Care Unit (ECU) relating to education and care, the National Quality Framework and education and care providers and services.
The ECU is responsible for regulating education and child care in Tasmania. They lead a range of strategic, policy and engagement functions supporting the early childhood education and care and child care sector. This also includes administering a grants program to support continuous improvement in the sector.
The National Quality Framework (NQF) provides a national approach to regulation, assessment and quality improvement for education and care services across Australia. Providers and Education and Care services are approved under the Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations that is a key component of the NQF.
More information on the ECU can be found on their website.
When does the FOI process not apply?
The FOI process does not apply if you are wanting to request access to information about Child Care Services.
Child Care Services are licenced by the ECU under powers in the Tasmanian Child Care Act and Licensing Standards (Tasmania). Requests for information relating to child care and child care services must be made through the Right to Information process.
Visit the Right to Information page on how to request information or seek advice using this process.
How do I know which process to use?
The type of request will depend on which legislation the information request relates to.
If you wish to access information held by the ECU in relation to education and care or child care you can make either:
- a Freedom of Information request, or
- a Right to Information request.
If you would like advice on the type of request to submit, please contact rti@decyp.tas.gov.au
Is there information held by the ECU that can be accessed without a request?
A range of information is available on the ECU website including information sheets, newsletters, communiques, resource documents, registers and published enforceable actions.
The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) website includes information relating to the National Quality Framework, including guidance, resources, data and reports.
Making an FOI request
Completing the form
To make a formal access request please use the FOI application form (PDF, 212KB) or contact the Legal Services unit at rti@decyp.tas.gov.au or (03) 6165 5683.
Please send all FOI applications to the email address rti@decp.tas.gov.au
Is there a cost involved for a Freedom of Information request?
There is no application fee for requests made under the FOI Act.
There may be a charge for processing your application depending on the request. If there is a charge, we will contact you and talk to you about this.
The most common charges are listed below.
Fees and charges for processing FOI requests
| Activity item | Charge |
|---|---|
| Search and retrieval: time we spend searching for or retrieving a document | $15.00 per hour |
| Decision making: time we spend in deciding to grant or refuse a request, including examining documents, consulting with other parties, and making deletions | First five hours: Nil Subsequent hours: $20 per hour |
| Transcript: preparing a transcript from a sound recording, shorthand or similar medium | $4.40 per page of transcript |
| Photocopy | $0.10 per page |
| Inspection: supervision by an agency officer of your inspection of documents or hearing or viewing an audio or visual recording at our premises | $6.25 per half hour (or part thereof) |
| Delivery: posting or delivering a copy of a document at your request | Cost of postage of delivery |
You can ask for the processing charge to be waived or reduced for any reason. This may include financial hardship or on the grounds of public interest. If you do so, you should explain your reasons and you may need to provide some evidence.
You may be eligible for a reduction or waiver to this charge if you:
- Have a current Commonwealth Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card, DVA or Centrelink Card etc.
- Are a full-time student.
- Are requesting on behalf of a non-profit organisation.
What you can expect from us
We will tell you within 14 days that we have received your request. We will also give you an estimate of the charges that apply to your request.
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 seek your agreement to extend the time by up to 30 days if your request is complex.
If you disagree with our decision
When we have made a decision about your FOI request, we will send you a letter explaining our decision. The letter will also explain your rights of review.
You can ask for the following decisions to be reviewed:
- if we refuse to give you access to all or part of a document or if we defer giving you access
- if we impose a charge
- if we refuse to change or annotate information about you that you claim is incomplete, incorrect, out of date or misleading
A third party who disagrees with our decision to give you documents that contain information about them can also ask for our decision to be reviewed.
Internal review
You can ask in writing that we reconsider our decision (internal review).
An internal review will be conducted by another officer in our agency. We will advise you of our new decision within 30 days of receiving your request.
Please contact rti@decyp.tas.gov.au to request or for more information on your options.
Information Commissioner review
You can ask the Australian Information Commissioner to review our original decision or our decision on internal review within 60 days of the date of decision (or 30 days after you are notified if you are an affected third party). The Information Commissioner can affirm or vary the decision or substitute a new decision. The Information Commissioner may decide not to conduct a review in certain circumstances. More information is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your request, you can complain to the Australian Information Commissioner who may investigate our actions.
More information is available from the OAIC. The Commonwealth Ombudsman can also investigate complaints about our actions. However, the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the Information Commissioner will consult to avoid the same matter being investigated twice.
More information
If you need help with your request, please contact the FOI Contact Officer by email at rti@decyp.tas.gov.au
Disclosure log
The Department for Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) is required by the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to publish this disclosure log on its website. The disclosure log lists information that has been released in response to an FOI request. The disclosure log requirement does not apply to:
- personal information about any person if publication of that information would be unreasonable
- information about the business, commercial, financial or professional affairs of any person if publication of that information would be unreasonable
- other information covered by a determination made by the Australian Information Commissioner if publication of that information would be unreasonable
- any information it is not reasonably practicable to publish because of the extent of modifications needed to be made to remove the information listed above.
The information described in this disclosure log has been released by DECYP under the FOI Act and is available for public access.
Disclosure logs by financial year
2023-24 disclosures
| Date of Publication | Category of Applicant | Summary of Request | Information Released |
| 20/02/2024 | Member of Parliament | For each Government School, the details of any Outside of Hours Care provided including the days, type of care, number of places, and provider. | FOI 01-2023 24 – Disclosure Log – Out of Hours Care on DECYP property (PDF, 716KB) |