Freedom of Information

Freedom of Information (FOI) is about accessing documentation held by the University, or changing incorrect information, about yourself, on a document held by the University.

Legislation affecting the University

The University of Western Sydney is subject to the NSW Freedom of Information Act 1989. The central feature of the Act is that it confers upon a person or persons a legally enforceable right of access to information held by government agencies and Ministers. The University is considered, in this context, a government agency.

The Objects of the Act are to extend, as far as possible, the rights of the public:

(a) to obtain access to information held by the Government; and
(b) to ensure that records held by the Government concerning the personal affairs of members of the public are not incomplete, incorrect, out of date or misleading.

Exemptions from the Act

Although the overall spirit of the FOI Act is to release documents, there is provision in the legislation to protect, where appropriate, the interests of the University by denying access to certain documents.

The types of documents which are exempt from release under the Act are listed in Schedule 1 of the Act. Exemptions are usually not applied globally, but require each document or part of a document to be examined to ascertain if it contains information which brings it within scope of a particular exemption.

Access to Documents

An application under the FOI Act must be submitted to the FOI Officer in order to obtain access to documents, or request changes to personal details. This must be accompanied by a $30 application fee. More information on the application process, relevant fees and charges and relevant forms are available in the document links below.

General Contacts

The FOI contact point is the FOI Officer:

The Freedom of Information Officer
University of Western Sydney
Division of Corporate Services
PO Box 1000
ST MARYS NSW 1790

Telephone: (02) 9678 7832

Email: foi@uws.edu.au

FOI related policies and documents

The Freedom of Information Act (NSW) 1989 and documents relevant to FOI are as follows:

• FOI Act - Parliamentary Counsel's Office website 
• 'Your right to know'- Information on FOI (MS Word, 36Kb)
• University Obligations (MS Word, 36Kb)
• Application Form (MS Word, 111Kb)
• NSW FOI Manual