Section 61C - Referral of complaint to another body
Extract of legislation
Under section 61C, the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC) may decline to deal with a complaint and instead refer it to another person or body which has jurisdiction to deal with it and who can deal with it more effectively or appropriately. 1
OVIC may also decide to deal with a complaint under the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) (PDP Act), if the complaint could be dealt with more effectively under the PDP Act.2
OVIC may share any information obtained or received relating to the complaint with the body or person to which they have referred the complaint.3 This will help the referred body to resolve the complaint more efficiently.
If OVIC decides to:
- refer the complaint to another person or body with jurisdiction; or
- deal with the complaint under the Privacy Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic),
OVIC must give written notice to the complainant setting out the grounds for doing so.4
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), section 61C(1). Section 6I sets out the functions of the Information Commissioner and the Public Access Deputy Commissioner; both are responsible for handling FOI complaints. In this section, the FOI Guidelines collectively refer to the Information Commissioner, the Public Access Deputy Commissioner, and OVIC staff as ‘OVIC’ unless otherwise stated.
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), section 61C(2B).
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), section 61C(2A).
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), sections 61C(3) and (4).
