Right to Information (RTI) gives members of the public the right to ask for information held by public authorities and Ministers about the operations of Government.
The RTI Act lists four categories of information disclosure:
Required Disclosure – information that is required by law to be published, such as an annual report.
Routine Disclosure – information of interest to the public that is released on a routine basis, such as statistics.
Active Disclosure – information freely released on request, without a formal application and assessment process.
Assessed Disclosure – information that is released on application after it has been formally assessed under the provisions of the RTI Act. This is meant to be the method of last resort.
Where we can we will provide you with the information you request. However some sensitive information, such as business or personal information, may need formal assessment before we decide whether it can be disclosed. Part 3 of the RTI Act lists the grounds under which information may be exempt from disclosure and we are not obliged to release exempt information. (See Assessed Disclosure below for details on this process.) All submitted and approved RTI documents can be viewed here.
You should make sure the information you would like provided has not previously been disclosed before you make a request for Assessed Disclosure.
Hydro Tasmania releases information in a number of ways:
on this website
in publications such as fact sheets, newsletters and the annual report
through other government departments and bodies
in previous RTI Assessed Disclosures since June 2015.
Many requests will be responded to without reference to the RTI Act. However, if you specifically ask for your request to be treated as a RTI request, you will be directed to the RTI coordinator.
Contact: Right to Information Coordinator Hydro Tasmania GPO Box 355 Hobart TAS 7001
Or by email: corporation.secretary@hydro.com.au
If, after collating the information relevant to your request, we consider that it would be contrary to the public interest to release some of the information you have requested, the RTI Coordinator will contact you. You will be given the option of excluding that information from your request or proceeding with the formal assessment process, Assessed Disclosure.
For formal assessment under the RTI Act, you will need to complete a Right to information application form.
Applications for Assessed Disclosure incur a fee, currently $46.75 and indexed on 1 July of each year in accordance with the Fee Units Act 1997. This fee is the maximum amount the information will cost you. Once your payment has been processed the application fee will not be refunded.
You may apply to have the fee waived if:
you are in financial hardship – we would usually ask to see evidence that you receive Centrelink or Veterans Affairs payments
you are a Member of Parliament and the application is in connection with your official duties
you are able to demonstrate that you intend to use the information for a purpose that is of general public interest or benefit.
We will check your application to make sure we have all the information we need and that the application fee is paid, or you are eligible for it to be waived. The day we receive your request, or the day we receive any extra information that we need, is called the Acceptance Date.
An RTI Officer will then assess your application against the RTI Act and notify you of the outcome.
As stated in the RTI Act, you will be notified in either 20 or 40 working days following the Acceptance Date, depending on whether consultation with third parties is required for sensitive, personal or business-related information. The RTI Coordinator will advise you if third party consultation is necessary.
If your request is complex or is for a large amount of information we may ask you to grant us more time, or discuss options such as splitting the request and/or releasing information in stages.
If some or all of the information is exempt information, the RTI Officer will explain the reasons to you in writing, as well as your rights if you want an independent review of the decision.
If the RTI Officer assessing your request does not notify you of his/her decision within the timeframe allowed or negotiated with you, you are entitled to apply to the Ombudsman for resolution of the matter www.ombudsman.tas.gov.au.
The Tasmanian Ombudsman has produced a Manual and Guidelines concerning implementation of the RTI Act.