Consultation

The FOI Act imposes an obligation on an agency to consult with third parties before a decision on the release of a document is made. Customs and Border Protection will be required to consult a third party where the document contains:

• information that is likely to affect Commonwealth-State relations
• a person’s business or professional affairs of the business, the commercial or financial affairs of an organisation or undertaking where the disclosure of that information may be unreasonable
• a third party’s personal information where the disclosure of their information may be unreasonable

You will be notified if consultation is require under the FOI Act and the date on which a decision on your request is due

Third parties do not have the power to reject a right of access under the FOI Act. Their comments on the release of the document will be taken into account by Customs and Border Protection’s decision maker when deciding whether or not to provide you with access to the documents

A third party may seek internal review or review by the Information Commissioner of the decision to release the document

Where a third party has objected to the release of documents and Customs and Border Protection’s decision-maker has decided to grant access those documents can not be provided to you until the third party right of appeal period has expired. We will keep you informed of these timeframes