20321ab7_nformation_Commissioner___OAIC_reedom_of_Information_Act_1982_Issue_description
[FOI Act Part] Part VII — Review by Information Commissioner [FOI Act section] 54Y [Recommended action] Section 54Y should be amended to clarify that it applies in the period after an application for IC review has been made but before an IC review has commenced. Once an IC review has commenced (as indicated by the notification of the parties to the review) it is open to an agency or minister to make a revised decision under s 55G, or resolve the matter by agreement with the applicant under s 55F. [Issue description] 
Section 54Y deals with cases where an applicant applies for IC review of a deemed decision and an agency or minister subsequently makes a decision on the request: the IC review application must then be dealt with as an application for review of the second decision, known as the 'actual decision' (s 54Y(2)). While the heading of s 54Y refers to decisions made after IC review has commenced, the section itself refers to a review application being made rather than one that has already commenced, meaning that the operation of the provision is unclear. It is also unclear how s 54Y interacts with s 55G, which applies during IC review and only allows an agency or minister to make a revised decision more favourable to an FOI applicant.
Review of freedom of information legislation| Office of the Australian Information Commissioner - OAIC
Issue description