Commonwealth Numbered Acts

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 No. 3 of 1982 - SECT 17

17. (1) Where -

   (a)  a request (including a request of the kind described in sub-section 24

(1) )
is made in writing and in accordance with the requirements of
sub-section
15 (2) to an agency;

   (b)  it appears from the request that the desire of the applicant is for
information that is not available in discrete form in documents of the
agency; and

   (c)  the agency could produce a written document containing the information
in discrete form by -

        (i)    the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily
available to the agency for retrieving or collating stored
information; or

        (ii)   the making of a transcript from a sound recording held in the
agency, the agency shall deal with the request as if it were a request for
access to a written document so produced and containing that information and,
for that purpose, this Act applies as if the agency had such a document in its
possession.

(2) An agency is not required to comply with sub-section (1) if compliance
would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from
its other operations.