Many people seeking the IPC review do so full of high hopes and without knowing what to expect and what to beware of. This can result in complications, which can adversely affect the whole outcome of the GIPA process. Read on to get some helpful tips for the IPC review.
TIP 1: Apply early
Preferably, apply a few days before the deadline. So that you can resend your application if needed. Yes, it’s a pain. But FORCIN is aware of instances where some agencies claimed that they had not received emails which had been sent.
Remember, applications for IPC review are time sensitive.
IPC NSW can only accept your application if you apply within 40 working days after the notice of decision. Furthermore, if you are late for the IPC review, you are also late for the NCAT review. True, you can still apply to NCAT and seek an extension of time, but do your really want to add this additional task to your load? Namely, if you are late, you will have to demonstrate why the extension of time should be granted. Yes, I thought you might rather not. Just be on time or preferably early. The early bird gets the worm.
TIP 2: Follow it up with a phone call
After making your application to the NSW Information and Privacy Commission, you should, within a few days, receive a confirmation of receipt. However, what if you application is not received? Or what if it is misplaced? You could end up waiting for ever all the while all the statutory deadlines for the IPC review and the NCAT review fly right by your nose.
One would love to be trusting. And one would hate to come across as as trying to micromanage everything. Nevertheless, sometimes it would be handy for the NSW Government if your application just got lost. I mean if you really are onto something, the stakes are high, right?
That’s why FORCIN suggests that after sending your application, you phone the IPC to get an oral confirmation of receipt. Most likely IPC should also be able to give you the reference number assigned to your application. And do remember to take the contemporaneous notes while you are on the phone.
TIP 3: follow it up with another email
The third of FORCIN’s tips for the IPC review may seem to be just too much, at least at first glance. Nevertheless here it is: if you phoned the IPC and the IPC confirmed the receipt of your application – this is great. Your heart is surely brimming with gratitude. And therefore it is preferable, FORCIN considers, to convey that gratitude directly and immediately. Why bottle it all up inside you? Express yourself and follow up the phone call with an email thanking the IPC for its oral confirmation of receipt of your application. Oh, and by the way you can always later attach that email to an affidavit. That is if there is any need for an affidavit in the future. FORCIN sincerely hopes that no such occasion arises.
TIP 4: don’t be shy
If your application reached the IPC without problems, the IPC will eventually assign a case officer to your review. That officer will then contact you to seek your confirmation that their understanding of the main issues arising from your request for review is correct.
It is easy to feel intimidated when a review officer misinterprets what you had said or written. After all we all were socialised to be polite and to nod when prompted by a social situation. Not to mention that the GIPA Act is of course for everyone, but perhaps you are not the world’s greatest writer. And therefore when someone misstates what you think you said, your first reaction is to assume guilt for the apparent misunderstanding and just keep silent.
Well, don’t.
If the IPC misstates what you said or wanted to say, correct them. If they omit to mention something important, let them know. You are now your own advocate so you’d better not be shy to speak up.
You may be worried to come across as petty-minded or argumentative. Sure, we all want to be liked. But what if later on the agency you are up against misuses your correspondence with the IPC as an admission you did not wish certain issues to be reviewed? Remember, the IPC review may be non-binding, but you are corresponding with the very same NSW Government from whom you are trying to get the government information.
TIP 5: be objective
There may be a lot of reasons why you made an application pursuant to the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW). Perhaps you are lucky and there is no emotional load attached to the government information you are seeking. But if you are passionate or emotional about your GIPA Act application, then calm down, set your emotions aside and when the review from the IPC lands finally in your lap, read the report as honestly and critically as you can. Maybe it will be logical, consider all the facts and discuss all the relevant law. Or maybe it will be just a copy and paste from some cases and legislation without any discussion of facts. Maybe something will not make sense at all.
FORCIN knows it can be hard to question the authority, especially if this is not something you are used to. But sometimes if something seems off, then, well, maybe it is off. After all the review officers are merely human. The important thing is that you remain objective when reading the IPC review report. This will help you make a better decision as to whether take it one step further, that is to NCAT, or whether this is the end of the road for that particular application.
What’s next?
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