Information Disclosure Policy

The Workplace Standards Tasmania Information Disclosure Policy covers requests for information in relation to accident investigation reports, building and complaints investigations, dangerous substances site information (current and historical), workers compensation claims history and other routine information held by the Agency.

Building complaint investigation reports are available for purchase on request, following the Director of Building Control issuing her Notice of Decision in writing to both the complainant and the accredited building practitioner.

Dangerous substances site information requests require an authority from the owner or the lessee of the site that the enquiry relates to and workers compensation claims history requests must be accompanied by a signed authority from the individual.

All investigation reports and associated information is processed under this policy. Investigation reports are available for purchase through the Agency at the completion of the investigation pursuant to section 9(b) and section 12(3)(c) of the Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI Act).

This policy replaces an entitlement to the same information under the RTI Act and enables the streamlining of the release of information and the recovery of costs associated with the provision of reports.

Investigation reports and associated documentation are processed in this manner to enable Inspectors to conduct a full and informed investigation. A request can be made to the Agency by letter or email and the information will be provided when the investigation is complete.

Your application will be acknowledged and you will be informed of the progress and time frames for the release of the information. Most investigations are complete within six months, however should an investigation proceed to prosecution or involve a fatality, this timeframe can sometimes be up to twelve months.

At the conclusion of the investigation the report will be examined for the application of any exemptions that may apply under the RTI Act and, if exemptions need to be applied, you will be forwarded an application for assessed disclosure for completion and return.

If no exemptions apply you will be provided with a copy of the information and you will be invoiced for charges incurred by the Agency.

A minimum charge of $35.00 (inclusive of GST) applies for the provision of the documentation, with a further $35.00 per hour or part thereof for additional time spent on the request after the first hour.

Information can be provided electronically on CD at a cost of $11.00 or we can provide photocopies at $0.22 per page. Small requests (up to 10 pages) can usually be scanned and forwarded by email at no extra cost.