Freedom of information (FOI) means the right of the public to access information Australian Government ministers and Australian Government agencies hold.

This right is promoted and enforced in the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

Make a request

To access documents held by the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) under the FOI Act, you need to apply in writing to:

Freedom of Information Contact Officer
Corporate Branch
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
GPO Box 2002
CANBERRA ACT 2601

You can also email foi@nfsa.gov.au.

What to include

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

To help us respond to your request you must:

• make the request in writing
• state that it is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act
• provide detailed information about the documents you want. This will help us identify them
• give details about how notices can be sent to you. This can include an email address.

If you need help with your request, contact our FOI Contact Officer by:

• calling 02 6248 5056
• emailing foi@nfsa.gov.au.

You should also check whether the information you're seeking is already available on either our:

• Information Publication Scheme page
• FOI 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.

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'll give you a written estimate and the basis of our calculation.

Processing your request

We will provide copies of the documents you have requested:

• once access has been approved
• 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 on our FOI 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. You need to ask within 60 days of the date of decision or 30 days after you are notified if you are an affected third party.

Visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner website for more information on FOI processes.