Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 1992 (FOI Act) gives every person the right to seek access to documents held by government agencies. Documents may comprise written material, plans and drawings, photographs, tape recording, films, videotapes or information stored in a computerised form.

Under the FOI Act applications for access to information held by Department of Environment and Conservation must:

• be in writing
• give enough detail to identify the requested documents; or if the application is for amendment of personal information, details must be provided to show how or why the agency's records are inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading
• give an Australian address, and where possible, a contact telephone number, and
• be lodged at the office of the agency that would be expected to hold the documents, together with any application fee payable.

Fees and charges

• No fees or charges apply for personal information or amendment of personal information about applicant (eg details of employment, etc).
• Applications for other documents (ie which are non-personal in nature) require a $30 application fee to paid when the application is lodged, and there may be other charges imposed by the agency eg. production costs

Applications will be acknowledged in writing and the applicant will be notified of the decision within 45 days.

It is the aim of the Department of Environment and Conservation to make information available as soon as possible and at the least possible cost. Whenever possible, documents will be provided outside the FOI process. The agency is, however, mindful of its obligations including but not limited to, the workings of Government, confidentiality, and the rights of third parties in relation to personal and business/commercial information.

You can download an access application form as either a Word file or PDF file.

 Application for access to documents (Word) 138.50 K

 Application for access to documents (PDF) 46.07 Kb

For more information about access to information held by the Department of Environment and Conservation you can refer to the Department's  Information Statement 2009 - 2010 - Document type, Availability and Accessibility (308.8 kB).

Where to send/take your application 

Applications and enquiries should be addressed to:

In person        

FOI Administrator
Department of Environment and Conservation
The Atrium, Level 4
168 St Georges Terrace
PERTH  WA  6000

                - OR - 

By mail

FOI Administrator
Locked Bag 33
Cloisters Square
PERTH WA 6850

               - OR -

By fax 

FOI Administrator
(08) 6467 5562

Note: If applying by fax, please ensure that the applicable fee or charge is also lodged, in person or by mail. 

Contaminated sites 

The Contaminated Sites Act 2003 (CSA) was passed by the State Parliament in November 2003.

A site is contaminated if it has ‘a substance present...at above background concentrations that presents, or has the potential to present, a risk of harm to human health, the environment or any environmental value.' 

If you are concerned about a potentially contaminated site, the department has a number of fact sheets, such as How to access information on contaminated sites in Western Australia, that can further assist your enquiries.

Go to the contaminated sites page for the dowloadable forms.