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Freedom of information

Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) requires Customs to publish certain details about freedom of information. This includes details about the way the agency is organised, its functions, its decision-making powers, arrangements for public involvement in the work of the agency, documents held by the agency and the way in which members of the public may obtain access to these documents.

Organisation, functions and powers

Information on the organisation and functions of Customs is contained in the Overview section of this report. General information on the powers of Customs is also contained in the Overview section. A list of Commonwealth legislation under which Customs has powers is available in Appendix F.

Arrangements for external consultation

There is a number of formal consultative mechanisms in place to allow organisations and people outside the Commonwealth to participate in the formulation and administration of policy by Customs. Further information on these mechanisms is available in the Overview section of this report.

Informal feedback about the decisions and actions of Customs from clients and other interested parties is encouraged in the form of complaints and compliments. Further information on this is available in the Accountability to clients section of this report.

Customs also has a general policy of inviting comment on significant policy issues before decisions are made. This includes consulting in particular with relevant industry groups and welcoming feedback from other interested parties. For example, Customs undertook public forums in major Australian cities to consult about the changes proposed through cargo management re-engineering.

Categories of documents maintained

Customs maintains information on a wide range of topics, which can be broadly categorised into a number of areas.

• Agendas, minutes and decisions (including internal and external meetings, and ministerial, interdepartmental and general correspondence and papers).
• Internal administration papers (including research and project reports, accounting and financial records, legal records and personnel and staffing records).
• Manuals and training materials (including video tapes, guidelines, directions and administrative instructions relating to Customs operations and legislative procedures. This also includes some publications prepared for the guidance of staff and the business community to assist in decision-making).
• Briefing papers (including briefs, submissions and reports to the Customs Executive and the Minister for Justice and Customs. These would generally relate to policy development and background to particular administrative decisions).
• Database records (including computer files, printouts, microfiche, preprinted forms and statistical tabulations).

Availability of documents to members of the public

Many of the documents maintained by Customs are available on request. This includes documents such as:

• annual reports
• corporate plans and other associated planning documents
• a wide range of fact sheets, brochures and booklets covering areas of responsibility of Customs (such as information on importing and exporting goods, information for people travelling overseas and details on industry assistance schemes).

To ensure a transparent process, in which all interested parties have the maximum opportunity to defend their interests, Customs also maintains a public file for all anti-dumping and countervailing investigations and reviews.

There is also a range of documents maintained by Customs available for purchase. This includes documents such as:

• Commonwealth of Australia Gazette/Special Gazettes
• Commonwealth of Australia Gazette Tariff Concessions
• Dumping commodities register
• Australian Customs tariff guide
• Schedule of commercial tariff concession orders
• Combined Australian Customs Tariff Nomenclature Statistical Classification.

Facilities to obtain access to documents

Documents available to the public can generally be obtained from the Customs Internet site at www.customs.gov.au or by contacting a Customs Information Centre. Details on Customs information centres are provided in Appendix B.

Information about Customs publications may also be obtained by contacting:

Director Corporate Communication
Australian Customs Service
5 Constitution Avenue
Canberra ACT 2601
ph. 02 6275 6793
fax 02 6275 6992
email corporate.communication@customs.gov.au

Applications for access to documents, including those not generally available to the public, can also be made under the FOI Act.

Freedom of information inquiries

Applications for access to documents under the FOI Act can be made by contacting the Freedom of Information Coordinator at any of the Customs state offices. Contact details for these offices are provided in Appendix B. Inquiries can be made by letter, telephone, or in person. Formal freedom of information requests must be made in writing and should include telephone contact numbers and a return address. A $30 application fee must accompany each request.

Customs provides facilities for inspecting documents accessed under the FOI Act.

Freedom of information requests received

The 52 section 15 freedom of information requests received by Customs during 2000-01 covered issues such as:

• import and export-related documents and statistics
• decisions on tariff matters
• processing of passengers at airports
• access to personal information such as staffing and recruitment files.

Figure 31: Request made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982

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