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Old 13th February 2012, 16:54     #19
[Malks] Pixie
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by [WanG] Wandarah
In the first email, I would add an introduction, an explanation of why I'm asking which includes what I'll do with the information. Yes, I know he doesn't have to - and arguably shouldn't need to.

In the second, I'd lose the bit reminding them what the OIA is, and what will happen if they don't comply with his request. I'd also include a contact number, and ask for the same if they have any further questions.
Okay fair enough - the only thing I'd say in this case is that really the OIA request isn't the same as a letter, you're not actually wanting to engage in a conversation with the agency which you're requesting information from (at that point at least).

My personal experience (which we can't take as being indicative of everyones experiences obviously) is that providing context to the request (who you are, what you are intending to do with the information) often leads to the agencies being able to refuse to provide the information based on the criteria of the OIA - or make it difficult to use the information due to the way it has been provided. I had one agency send me (actually the person I was assisting with their OIA) the information we requested in hardcopy, light grey 2pt font (18 pages of it) - simply because they didn't like the intended us of the information because it had the potential to reflect badly on them. The irony in that situation was the information they provided actually reflected well on them.

Pixie
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