Commonwealth Numbered Acts

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 No. 3 of 1982 - SECT 24

24. (1) Where -

   (a)  a request is expressed to relate to all documents, or to all documents
        of
a specified class, that contain information of a specified kind or relate
to a specified subject-matter; and

   (b)  the agency or Minister dealing with the request is satisfied that,
        apart
from this sub-section, the work involved in giving access to all the
documents to which the request relates would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from its other
operations
or would interfere substantially and unreasonably with the
performance by the Minister of his functions, as the case may be,
having regard to the number and volume of the documents and to any
difficulty that would exist in identifying, locating or collating the
documents within the filing system of the agency or of the office of the
Minister, the agency or Minister may refuse to grant access to the documents
in accordance with the request without having caused those processes to be
undertaken.

(2) Where, in respect of a request of a kind referred to in paragraph (1) (a),
it is apparent from the nature of the documents as described in the request
that all of the documents to which the request is expressed to relate are
exempt documents and that no obligation would arise under section 22 in
relation to any of those documents to grant access to a copy of the document
with such deletions as are referred to in that section, the agency or Minister
may refuse to grant access to the documents in accordance with the request
without having identified any or all of the documents to which the request
relates and without specifying, in respect of each document, the provision or
provisions of this Act under which that document is claimed to be an exempt
document.

(3) An agency or Minister shall not refuse to grant access to a document in
accordance with a request -

   (a)  on the ground that the request does not comply with sub-section 15
        (2);
or

   (b)  in accordance with sub-section (1), without first giving the applicant
        a reasonable opportunity of consultation with a view to the making of
        the request in a form that would remove the ground for refusal.