The Freedom of Information Act, 1992 (FOI Act) is designed to make state and local government agencies more open and accountable to the public. This is achieved by:
- Creating a general right of access to documents held by those agencies, subject to the sensitivities of the document.
- Providing a means for individuals to apply to see their own records and ensure personal information held is accurate, complete, up to date and not misleading.
- Requiring certain documents concerning government operations are made available to the public.
As the primary law enforcement agency in the state, the WA Police Force has a variety of documents and records. Some of these have been created for, or have specific application to, various functional units within the WA Police Force.
This includes documents created as a result of an incident requiring police attendance, and some are created for research or statistical purposes.
How to apply
The FOI Act provides a general right of access to documents held by the WA Police Force. The release of these documents is subject to a number of exemptions prescribed by the FOI Act that, depending on your circumstances, may limit the usefulness of the document to you.
All applicants should consider the other alternatives offered on the WA Police Force information page before submitting a Freedom of Information application.
Apply for Freedom of Information (FOI)
Note: This requires a credit/debit card to pay for any applicable fees.
Alternatively, you may also lodge an FOI application by any of the following methods:
- In person by attending at:
WA Police Force Public Access
Westralia Square
Level 5, 141 St Georges Terrace
Perth WA 6000
Telephone: 6229 5900 - In writing by completing the printable FOI application form (PDF, 36KB) and posting to:
Manager
Freedom of Information
Locked Bag 20
Perth Business Centre WA 6849 - Writing a letter and posting it to the above-mentioned address. Include as much of the following information as possible:
- Your name
- Your postal address (must be an address in Australia)
- Which documents you are requesting (please be as specific as possible)
- Date, location and nature of incident – if relevant
- Incident or traffic crash reference number (if applicable)
- Name of attending Police Officers (if known)
- Application fee of $30 (if applicable).
Initial application fees
Show moreWhere an FOI application requests documents that may contain information not limited to the personal information of the applicant, a $30 application fee is required at the time of lodging the request.
If lodging in person, payment can be made by credit/debit card, cash, cheque or money order. If you are mailing your application, please include a cheque / money order made payable to the Commissioner of Police.
Please note, electronic money order vouchers cannot be accepted and will be returned. An application for non-personal information without the prescribed fee of $30 included will be considered invalid and the application will not proceed until full payment is received.
Photographic proof of identity is also required before any application can be processed - driver's licence, passport or similar. Please contact Western Australia Police Force Public Access on 6229 5900 or email freedom.of.information@police.wa.gov.au.
Fees for FOI applications | Cost |
| Access to personal information or request to amend personal information | Free |
| Application fee – non-personal information | $30 |
| Processing fee – non-personal information | $30 per hour |
| Photocopying fee | 20c per page |
Where FOI processing fees are likely to exceed $30.00, you will be provided an estimate of costs.
This estimate contains details of additional charges that may be applicable to your application and also provides you with the opportunity to lower the proposed cost by reducing the number of documents requested.
Notice of decision
Show moreOnce an application has been evaluated and any documents processed, a formal Notice of Decision will be issued which includes the:
- day the decision was made
- name and designation of the officer who made the decision
- type of access provided e.g. full access, partial (edited format) access, refused access or deferred access
- reasons for deleting matter or refusing a document, if applicable
- advice on any further charges that have been incurred relating to the application
- rights of review and procedures to be followed.
The notice may also include advice on any further charges that have been incurred related to your application.
Time frame for application completion
Show moreThe FOI Act provides a 45 day timeframe from the date a valid application has been received, however this timeframe may be extended by agreement between you and the WA Police Force.
Reasons an extension may be requested can include; difficulty in locating documents, available resources, number of documents and/or time required to process the application. In such instances, FOI staff may contact you to discuss an extension.
Exemptions
Show moreThe FOI Act contains exemptions to certain information meaning that this information is unable to be obtained through an FOI application.
For example, exemptions may be applied to protect the privacy of other individuals and/or sensitive law enforcement methodologies, public safety and property security activities.
The WA Police Force embrace the transparency provided by the FOI Act, however, must also consider the security of operational matters and the interests of the public as a whole.
These areas within the WA Police Force are listed as being exempt under Schedule 2 and section 10 of the FOI Act - access to information from any of these areas is prohibited:
- State Intelligence Division (formerly Bureau of Criminal Intelligence)
- Security Operations (formerly Protective Services Unit)
- Witness Security Unit
- Internal Affairs Unit.
In addition, exemptions also apply to documents originating from a Commonwealth intelligence or security agency.
Appealing a decision
Show moreIf you are dissatisfied with a decision, an application for an internal review of the decision may be made.
An internal review should be lodged in writing to the WA Police Force within 30 days of the Notice of Decision being received.
An independent officer (not subordinate to the original decision-maker) will undertake the internal review and review the original decision.
The internal review process will be complete within 15 days of the internal review request being received, unless an extension of time is agreed upon.
Should you be dissatisfied with the internal review, an application may be made with the Office of the Information Commissioner to conduct an external review. This request must be lodged within 60 days of the Notice of Decision being given.
All details relating to Internal and external review processes are provided within the original Notice of Decision document.
Amending personal information
Show moreThe FOI Act provides the public with the right to apply to amend their personal information contained within WA Police Force documentation if the information is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading.
Your application to amend personal information should be submitted in accordance with Section 46 (1) of the FOI Act. It must:
- be in writing
- give enough details that to enable the document that contains the information to be identified
- give details of matters in relation to which the person believes the information is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading
- give the person's reasons for holding that belief
- give details of the amendment that the person wishes to have made
- give an address in Australia to which notices under this Act can be sent
- give any other information or details required under the regulations
- be lodged at an office of the agency.
The application to amend your personal information must state whether the amendment is to be made by:
- altering information
- striking out or deleting information
- inserting information
- inserting a note in relation to information
- in two or more of those ways.
Office of the Information Commissioner
Show moreThe Information Commissioner is an independent officer who reports directly to Parliament.
The main function of the Office of the Information Commissioner is to deal with complaints about decisions made by agencies in respect of access applications and applications for the amendment of personal information.
Other responsibilities include:
- ensuring that agencies are aware of their responsibilities under the FOI Act.
- ensuring that members of the public are aware of the FOI Act and their rights.
- providing assistance to Members of the public and agencies on matters relevant to the FOI Act.
- recommending to Parliament legislative or administrative changes that could be made to help the objectives of the FOI Act be achieved.
