{"id":"sr:freedom-information-access-charges-regulations-2025","name":"Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations 2025","slug":"freedom-of-information-access-charges-regulations-2025","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":183392,"registerId":"vic-sr:freedom-information-access-charges-regulations-2025-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations 2025","content":"Version No. 001\n\n**Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations 2025**\n\n**S.R. No. 32/2025**\n\nVersion as at \n1 June 2025\n\n**TABLE OF PROVISIONS**\n\n*Regulation Page*\n\n1 Objectives 1\n\n2 Authorising provisions 1\n\n3 Commencement 1\n\n4 Revocation 1\n\n5 Definitions 1\n\n6 Charges 2\n\n7 Charges for access to document in alternative form 2\n\n8 Notice of charge 2\n\n9 Calculation of deposit 3\n\nSchedule 1 4\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes 9\n\n1 General information 9\n\n2 Table of Amendments 11\n\n3 Explanatory details 12\n\n**Version No.** **001**\n\n**Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations 2025**\n\n**S.R. No. 32/2025**\n\nVersion as at \n1 June 2025\n\n\t1 Objectives\n\nThe objectives of these Regulations are to provide for—\n\n(a) the making of charges of amounts; and\n\n(b) the fixing of rates—\n\nfor and in relation to access to documents and the provision of copies or transcripts of documents under the **Freedom of Information Act 1982**.\n\n\t2 Authorising provisions\n\nThese Regulations are made under sections 22(1A) and 66 of the **Freedom of Information Act 1982**.\n\n\t3 Commencement\n\nThese Regulations come into operation on 1 June 2025.\n\n\t4 Revocation\n\nThe Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations 2014[[1]](#endnote-1) are **revoked**.\n\n\t5 Definitions\n\nIn these Regulations—\n\n***agency*** includes a Minister;\n\n***the Act*** means the **Freedom of Information Act 1982**.\n\n\t6 Charges\n\nAn applicant who has made a request in accordance with section 17 of the Act is liable to pay a charge set out in or calculated in accordance with Schedule 1.\n\n**Note**\n\nThis charge is in addition to the fee payable under section 17(2A) of the Act.\n\n\t7 Charges for access to document in alternative form\n\n(1) This regulation applies if—\n\n(a) access to a document to which a request relates may be provided in more than one form; and\n\n(b) the applicant has not requested access to the document in a particular form; and\n\n(c) the charge calculated in accordance with these Regulations for access to the document in the form given by the agency exceeds the charge calculated in accordance with these Regulations for access to the document in another form in which access could reasonably have been given.\n\n(2) The charge payable by the applicant is to be calculated in accordance with these Regulations for access to the document in the form that could have been given for the lowest reasonable cost.\n\n\t8 Notice of charge\n\nFor the purposes of section 22(3) of the Act, the prescribed greater amount is $70.\n\n\t9 Calculation of deposit\n\nFor the purposes of section 22(4) of the Act, the deposit the applicant will be required to pay is—\n\n(a) if the amount of the charge does not exceed $100—$25; or\n\n(b) if the amount of the charge exceeds \n$100—50% of the charge.\n\nSchedule 1\n\nRegulation 6\n\n| *Item No.* | *Service charged for* | *Charge* |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| 1. | *Charge for search time*
If the request relates to a document other than a document to which a charge under item 7 applies—a charge in respect of the search time. | 1·5 fee units per hour or part of an hour. |\n| 2. | *Charge for supervision*
If access to the document to which the request relates is given—
(a) in the form of an opportunity to inspect the document under the supervision of an officer; or
(b) in the case of a document that is an article or thing from which sound or visual images are capable of being produced—in the form of arrangements for the applicant to hear or view those sounds or visual images under the supervision of an officer—
a charge in respect of the supervision time. | 1·5 fee units per hour (to be calculated per quarter hour or part of a quarter hour). |\n| 3. | *Charge for providing black and white A4 photocopy*
If access to the document to which the request relates is given in the form of provision of a hard copy black and white A4 photocopy of the document—a charge in respect of providing the photocopy to the applicant. |
20 cents per A4 page. |\n| | | |\n| 4. | *Charge for providing copy of document other than black and white A4 photocopy*
If access to the document to which the request relates is given in the form of provision of a copy of the document (other than a hard copy black and white A4 photocopy)—a charge in respect of providing the copy to the applicant. |
The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in providing the copy. |\n| 5. | *Charge for arrangements to hear or view sound or visual image*
If—
(a) the request relates to a document which is an article or thing from which sounds or visual images are capable of being produced; and
(b) access is given in the form of arrangements to hear or view those sounds or visual images—
a charge in respect of the arrangements to hear or view those sounds or visual images in addition to a charge in respect of the supervision time under item 2. |
The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in making the arrangements. |\n| 6. | *Charge for providing written transcript*
If—
(a) the request relates to a document by which words are recorded in a manner in which they are capable of being reproduced in the form of sound or in which words are contained in the form of shorthand writing or in codified form; and
(b) access is given in the form of the provision of a written transcript (with or without deletions) of the words recorded or contained in the document—
a charge in respect of providing the written transcript. | The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in providing the written transcript. |\n| 7. | *Charge for providing written document*
If the request is in respect of information that is not available in discrete form in documents of the agency and the agency produces a written document by— | The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in providing the written document. |\n| | (a) using a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information; or
(b) making a transcript from a sound recording held in the agency—
a charge in respect of providing the written document.
**Note**
See section 19 of the Act. | |\n| | | |\n| 8. | *Charge for costs of agency providing explanation of health information*
If—
(a) the request is in respect of a document containing health information; and
(b) the form of access given includes an explanation of the health information by the agency (being a suitably qualified health service provider)—
a charge in relation to providing the explanation. |
The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in providing the explanation calculated by reference to the time taken to provide the explanation, not exceeding the lesser of—
(a) 1·9 fee units per quarter hour (or part of a quarter hour); or
(b) 6 fee units. |\n| 9. | *Charge for costs of suitably qualified health service provider (not being the agency) providing explanation of health information*
If—
(a) the request is in respect of a document containing health information; and
(b) the form of access given includes an explanation of the health information by a suitably qualified health service provider (not being the agency)—
a charge in relation to providing the explanation. |
The usual fee of the suitably qualified health service provider for a consultation of a comparable duration. |\n| | | |\n| 10. | *Charge for providing summary of health information*
If—
(a) the request is in respect of a document containing health information; and
(b) access is given by providing an accurate summary of the health information; and
(c) that summary does not exist before the request is made—
a charge in relation to providing the summary. |
The reasonable costs incurred by the agency in preparing the summary calculated by reference to the time taken to prepare the summary, not exceeding the lesser of—
(a) 1·9 fee units per quarter hour (or part of a quarter hour) spent in preparing the summary; or
(b) 6 fee units. |\n\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes\n\n1 General information\n\nSee [www.legislation.vic.gov.au](http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au) for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.\n\nThe Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations 2025, S.R. No. 32/2025 were made on 27 May 2025 by the Lieutenant-Governor as the Governor's deputy, with the advice of the Executive Council, under sections 22(1A) and 66 of the **Freedom of Information Act 1982**, No. 9859/1982 and came into operation on 1 June 2025: regulation 3.\n\nThe Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations 2025 will sunset 10 years after the day of making on 27 May 2035 (see section 5 of the **Subordinate Legislation Act 1994**).\n\nINTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)\n\nStyle changes\n\nSection 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.\n\nReferences to ILA s. 39B\n\nSidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided regulation, rule or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subregulations, subrules or subclauses the original regulation, rule or clause becomes subregulation, subrule or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression \"(1)\" at the beginning of the original regulation, rule or clause.\n\nInterpretation\n\nAs from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:\n\n• Headings\n\nAll headings included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after \n1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any heading inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule. \nThis includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; Orders; Parts into which an Order is divided; clauses; regulations; rules; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms. \nSee section 36(1A)(2A)(2B).\n\n• Examples, diagrams or notes\n\nAll examples, diagrams or notes included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Statutory Rule. See section 36(3A).\n\n• Punctuation\n\nAll punctuation included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after \n1 January 2001 forms part of that Statutory Rule. Any punctuation inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule. \nSee section 36(3B).\n\n• Provision numbers\n\nAll provision numbers included in a Statutory Rule form part of that Statutory Rule, whether inserted in the Statutory Rule before, on or after \n1 January 2001. Provision numbers include regulation numbers, rule numbers, subregulation numbers, subrule numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).\n\n• Location of \"legislative items\"\n\nA \"legislative item\" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of a Statutory Rule is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.\n\n• Other material\n\nAny explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of a Statutory Rule. See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).\n\n2 Table of Amendments\n\nThere are no amendments made to the Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations 2025 by statutory rules, subordinate instruments and Acts.\n\n3 Explanatory details\n\n1. Reg. 4: S.R. No. 49/2014 as extended in operation by S.R. No. 37/2024.\n\n ——\n\n **Fee Units**\n\n These Regulations provide for fees by reference to fee units within the meaning of the **Monetary Units Act 2004**. The amount of the fee is to be calculated, in accordance with section 7 of that Act, by multiplying the number of fee units applicable by the value of a fee unit.\n\n The value of a fee unit for the financial year commencing 1 July 2024 is $16.33 and for the financial year commencing 1 July 2025 is $16.81. The amount of the calculated fee may be rounded to the nearest 10 cents.\n\n The value of a fee unit for future financial years is to be fixed by the Treasurer under section 5 of the **Monetary Units Act 2004**. The value of a fee unit for a financial year must be published in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper before 1 June in the preceding financial year. [↑](#endnote-ref-1)","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a standard remaking of subordinate legislation. The 2014 regulations are revoked and replaced with substantively similar provisions. The scope remains tightly focused on access charges for FOI requests, with no expansion into new areas such as application fees, processing timeframes, or review mechanisms."},"complexity_factors":["Only 9 regulations plus a 10-item schedule, totalling approximately 4 pages of substantive content","Minimal cross-referencing: only references to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and Monetary Units Act 2004","Straightforward conditional logic limited to simple 'if-then' structures in Schedule 1 items","Only 2 defined terms ('agency' and 'the Act')","Fee unit calculations require external lookup (Monetary Units Act values), adding a layer of indirection","Some ambiguity in 'reasonable costs' determinations for items 4-7, which may require agency discretion or dispute"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation sets out how much government agencies (including Ministers) in Victoria can charge people when they request access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Replaces old rules**: Revokes the 2014 regulations and starts fresh from 1 June 2025.\n- **Sets fees for FOI requests**: Establishes specific charges for different services related to accessing documents, such as:\n - **Search time**: $1.50 fee units per hour (roughly $25 per hour based on current fee unit values)\n - **Supervision**: Same rate when an officer must watch you inspect documents\n - **Photocopying**: 20 cents per black-and-white A4 page\n - **Other formats**: \"Reasonable costs\" for colour copies, audio/visual materials, transcripts, or creating documents from computer systems\n - **Health information**: Special rates for medical explanations and summaries (capped at 6 fee units, roughly $100)\n\n**Key protections for applicants:**\n- If there's a cheaper way to provide the document that the agency could reasonably use, you pay the lower charge.\n- Agencies must give notice if charges exceed $70.\n- Deposits are capped: $25 for charges under $100, or 50% for larger amounts.\n\n**Who it affects:**\nAnyone making a Freedom of Information request to Victorian government agencies. It also affects the agencies themselves, who must calculate and justify these charges.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nFOI requests can be expensive. These rules cap costs and ensure agencies can't arbitrarily inflate charges. The \"reasonable costs\" standard for complex items (like transcripts or health summaries) provides flexibility while the fee unit system ensures charges automatically adjust for inflation without needing new regulations every year."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Regulations continue and replace the prior FOI access-charge regime by prescribing what charges apply and how to calculate them for FOI requests under the Freedom of Information Act (see regs 2, 4 and 6). They do not expand the group of persons subject to charges; they update rates, introduce specific deposit and notice amounts ($70 prescribed greater amount; reg 9 deposit rules), and rely on fee units whose value is fixed annually (Explanatory details). No explicit widening or narrowing of the Act’s charging scope is stated in the instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple charging categories (search, supervision, photocopy, transcripts, summaries, health explanations, bespoke written documents) increasing itemisation (Schedule 1).","Use of fee units (fee-unit values set annually by the Treasurer under the Monetary Units Act 2004) requires external reference and annual recalculation (Explanatory details).","Several charges set as 'reasonable costs' giving agencies discretion to estimate and justify costs (Schedule 1 items 4–7, 9–10).","Different charging bases and rounding rules: per hour, per quarter-hour, per page, per consultation, and caps for certain services (items 1–3, 8–10).","Rule for alternative forms of access forces charging on the lowest reasonable-cost form where applicant has not specified a form (regulation 7) — practical decision-making required by agencies.","Deposit and notice thresholds set numerically (prescribed greater amount $70, deposit rules reg 9) create administrative triggers and potential upfront payment burdens.","Interaction with primary Act provisions (references to sections 17, 19 and 22 of the FOI Act) imposes procedural linkage and legal dependencies.","Revocation of prior 2014 Regulations and a 10-year sunset (endnotes) require attention to transitional and temporal effects."],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation sets the charges and how they are calculated for Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Applicants pay specified fees (search and supervision rates in fee units, per-page photocopy charges, and charges based on an agency’s reasonable costs for other services), a deposit rule and a prescribed $70 ‘greater amount’ for notices. Agencies decide the form of access they give and calculate charges; applicants can be charged on the lowest reasonable-cost form when multiple forms are possible. It matters because it allocates direct cost to FOI applicants and creates calculation and payment steps for agencies and requesters."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Insufficient content is present in the provided document to assess whether the scope changed from original intent. The document appears to be a metadata shell or a corrupted/incomplete extract with no substantive regulatory provisions visible."},"complexity_factors":["The document as provided is almost entirely empty of substantive content — only metadata and version history shells are visible","FOI charging frameworks can involve tiered fee structures, exemptions, and calculation methods that add complexity, but none are visible here","Interaction with parent FOI legislation adds a layer of dependency that requires cross-referencing","Score is low because insufficient content exists to identify genuine complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets the rules for what fees government agencies may charge for Freedom of Information requests, affecting anyone who seeks government documents and the agencies that process those requests. It matters because the charge regime shapes public access and can enable or impede transparency. Note: the provided text is incomplete and contains no actual fee amounts or substantive rules."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-access-charges-regulations-2025","history":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-access-charges-regulations-2025/history","analysis":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-access-charges-regulations-2025/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-access-charges-regulations-2025/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-access-charges-regulations-2025/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-access-charges-regulations-2025/documents"}}