Who to contact 

If you are seeking access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to documents we hold, you need to apply in writing to:

Freedom of Information Contact Officer

Legal Services Branch

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

GPO Box 2002 

CANBERRA ACT 2601

If you require assistance with your request, please contact the FOI Contact Officer on (02) 6248 5056 or by email to foi@nfsa.gov.au.

You should also check whether the information you are seeking is already available on our Information Publication Scheme page or in our Disclosure Log. 

Fees and charges

There is no application fee for making an FOI request or a request for internal review.

There are no processing charges for requests for access to documents containing only personal information about you. However, processing charges may apply to other requests. These processing charges may cover:

• time taken for search and retrieval
• decision-making time
• transcript preparation from sound recording
• photocopying
• supervision by an NFSA officer of your on-site inspection of documents, including sound/audiovisual recordings
• posting or delivering documents to you at your request.

If we decide to impose a charge, we will give you a written estimate and the basis of our calculation. 

Making your request

To make an FOI request you must:

• make the request in writing
• state that it is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act
• provide information about the document(s) you want, to help the NFSA identify them
• give details about how notices can be sent to you (this can include an email address)
• send your request to the NFSA by either posting it or delivering it to the address listed above, or sending it by email to foi@nfsa.gov.au.

You do not need to give any reasons why you want the information. 

Facilities for access

We will provide copies of the documents you have requested once access has been approved and after we have received any applicable charges. Alternatively, you can arrange to inspect documents at our offices in Canberra, Sydney or Melbourne.

Documents released to you under the FOI Act will also be published online on our Disclosure Log.

If you disagree with our decision

You can request in writing that we reconsider our decision through an internal review. You can also ask the Australian Information Commissioner to review our original decision or our decision on internal review within 60 days of the date of decision (or 30 days after you are notified if you are an affected third party). 

More information regarding FOI processes is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.