Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 - SECT 10

             (1)  If a document required to be made available in accordance with section 9, being a document containing a rule, guideline or practice relating to a function of an agency, was not made available, or was not included in a statement made available at each Information Access Office, as referred to in that section, before the time at which a person did, or omitted to do, any act or thing relevant to the performance of that function in relation to him or her (whether or not the time allowed for publication of a statement in respect of the document had expired before that time), that person, if he or she was not aware of that rule, guideline or practice at that time, shall not be subjected to any prejudice by reason only of the application of that rule, guideline or practice in relation to the thing done or omitted to be done by him or her if he or she could lawfully have avoided that prejudice had he or she been aware of that rule, guideline or practice.

             (2)  The reference in subsection (1) to the time at which a person did, or omitted to do, any act or thing relevant to the performance in relation to him or her of a function of an agency does not include a reference to a time earlier than:

                     (a)  the expiration of the period of 12 months referred to in paragraph 9(2)(b) or, if the agency is the Commissioner of Taxation and that period has been extended in respect of the agency under subsection 9(5), the expiration of the period as extended; or

                     (b)  the expiration of the period of 12 months after the day on which the agency came into existence;

whichever is the later.

             (3)  In subsection (1):

"Information Access Office" means a place that is an Information Access Office for the purposes of section 28.