Rights of review
If an applicant is dissatisfied with Western Power's decision with respect to the provision of access to documents, under the FOI Act the applicant may apply to Western Power to have the decision reviewed internally, unless the decision was made by Western Power's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in which case the right of review is to the Information Commissioner.
Applications for the internal review of a decision must be forwarded in writing to Western Power within 30 calendar days of the notice of decision. The application must be sent to Western Power's Freedom of Information Officer.
Where Western Power's CEO was the original decision-maker or any matter remains in dispute after an internal review, the applicant has the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner who will then decide whether to conduct an "external review" of the matter. The complaint must be lodged within 60 days of the notice of decision.
In certain instances, questions of law that arise in the course of dealing with a complaint may be referred to the Supreme Court.
The internal and external reviews may confirm Western Power's decision, vary the decision, or completely set aside the decision and provide a substitute decision. No fees or charges apply to internal or external reviews.
