Tasmanian Consolidated Acts Tasmanian Consolidated Acts
(1) If a prescribed charge is to be paid by an applicant before information is provided, it is to be calculated in accordance with the following principles or, if those principles so require, is to be waived:
(a) a charge that is calculated by reference to the time taken to find the record containing the information is to cover the time that would normally be spent by the agency or Minister in conducting a routine search for that record, and is not to cover additional time spent by the agency or Minister in searching for the record if it has been lost or misplaced;
(b) a charge referred to in paragraph (a) is to be fixed on a hourly rate basis;
(c) a charge may be made for the identifiable cost incurred in supervising the inspection by the applicant of any material to which access is given;
(d) a charge may be made for the reasonable costs incurred by an agency or Minister in supplying a copy of information, in making arrangements for viewing a record or in providing a written transcript of information contained or embodied in a record;
(e) a charge is not to be made for the time spent by an agency or Minister in examining information to determine whether it is exempt information, or in deleting or removing exempt information;
(f) a charge is to be waived if the request is a routine request for information;
(g) a charge is to be waived or reduced if –
(i) the applicant has requested personal information about himself or herself; or
(ii) the applicant's intended use of the information is a use of general public interest or benefit; or
(iii) the applicant is impecunious;
(h) a charge is to be waived if the applicant is a member of either House of Parliament and the information is required by the Member in connection with the Member's official duties;
(i) a charge is not to exceed $400, but if a lesser amount is prescribed, that lesser amount.
(2) Subject to subsection (4), an agency or Minister shall not require payment of a charge before the agency or Minister has notified the applicant whether or not information is to be provided.
(3) If an agency or a Minister believes a charge may exceed $25, or such greater amount as prescribed, the agency or Minister must notify the applicant and inquire whether the applicant wishes to proceed with the request.
(4) In a notice given under subsection (3), the agency or Minister may require the applicant to pay a deposit of a prescribed amount or at a prescribed rate on account of the charge.
(5) If an agency or Minister requires an applicant to pay a deposit on account of a charge, the applicant's request is, for the purposes of section 16, to be taken to have been received by the agency or Minister when the applicant pays the deposit.
(6) If an agency or Minister notifies an applicant of an expected charge in accordance with subsection (3), the agency or Minister shall, if requested to do so by the applicant, discuss with the applicant ways of altering the request so as to reduce that charge, including reducing the charge if the applicant waives, either conditionally or unconditionally, the need for the agency or Minister to comply with the time limit specified in section 16.
(7) A notice under subsection (3) shall –
(a) state what the charge is expected to be; and
(b) if the expected charge was calculated on behalf of an agency – state the name and designation of the person who calculated the charge; and
(c) inform the applicant of –
(i) the applicant's right to apply for a review of the expected charge; and
(ii) the authority to which the application for review can be made; and
(iii) the time within which the application for review must be made.
(8) Charges prescribed for the purpose of this section shall be uniform –
(a) for all agencies and Ministers; and
(b) as between applicants.