Freedom of information requests to the NRFC

The Freedom of Information Act 1982(Opens in a new tab/window) (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  • ask for information we hold about you to be changed or annotated if it is incomplete, out of date, incorrect or misleading
  • 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 access any document we hold. We can refuse access to some documents, or parts of documents that are exempt. Exempt documents may include those relating to the personal information of another business or person, national security or documents containing material obtained in confidence, or other matters set out in the FOI Act.

How to make an FOI request to the NRFC

To make a request under the FOI Act, it must:

  • be in writing
  • state that the request is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act
  • provide information about the document(s) you wish to access so that we can identify them
  • provide an address for reply.

FOI requests can be submitted using our online enquiry form by selecting FOI from the dropdown or via email to foi@nrf.gov.au.

You can also submit an FOI request by post to:

FOI Coordinator
National Reconstruction Fund Corporation
10 Binara St
Canberra ACT 2601

Fees and charges

The NRFC will make information available at the lowest reasonable cost and will reduce the cost of public access by publishing information on its website, especially information that is routinely sought by the public. 

There is no application fee for making an FOI request, but processing charges may apply. If charges are likely to apply, we will provide you with a written estimate and basis of our calculation. 

You may request a reduction or waiver of these charges, on grounds which may include (for example) financial hardship or public interest.

Further information on charges can be found on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) website(Opens in a new tab/window). 

What you can expect from us

We will tell you within 14 days that we have received 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 and your review and appeal rights.

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
  • impose a charge
  • 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

Review and complaint rights

If you disagree with our decision on your FOI request, you have the right to apply for an internal review of the decision. An internal review will be conducted by another member of our staff who did not make the original decision.

If you wish to apply for an internal review, you must do so in writing within 30 days of receiving notice of our decision. There is no application fee for internal review.

You can also request a review of the decision by the Australian Information Commissioner (Information Commissioner), even if you have not applied for internal review. 

You can access more information from the Information Commissioner about FOI reviews(Opens in a new tab/window).

Once the Information Commissioner has made a decision, you can also apply to the AAT for review. 

If you are not satisfied with the way that we have handled your FOI request, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner(Opens in a new tab/window).

Information Publication Scheme agency plan 

The NRFC's Information Publication Scheme agency plan is available on the Information Publication Scheme page of our website. 

FOI disclosure log 

In compliance with the FOI Act, the NRFC will make certain documents released in response to FOI requests available on this website on its information disclosure log.