Access to information

• Public Access to Information Policy (PDF 423.9KB)
• Public Access to Information Policy (DOCX 535.9KB)

This document provides information and guidance for Council officials on their responsibilities in relation to the structure and functions of Council, specifying how Council makes decisions that affect the public and how we will make government information publicly available.

The Guide identifies arrangements that exist to enable the public to participate and the kinds of information that are, or will be, made available free of charge and those kinds for which a charge is, or will be, imposed.

• lnner West Council agency information guide (PDF 329.1KB)
• lnner West Council agency information guide (DOCX 797.3KB)

Open access

Under section 18 of the GIPA Act certain information is prescribed that must be made available free of charge on Council's website, this includes:

• Policy documents
• Disclosure log of formal access applications
• Agency information guide
• Government contracts register
• Record of open access information that is not made available to the public on the basis of an overriding public interest against disclosure.

Proactive release

Council can make information available to the public free of charge on its website if there is an overriding public interest to do so. This is in addition to the open access information. Information for inclusion under proactive release is reviewed annually.

Some of this information is available on our website free of charge and some information is available in other formats for a small charge.

Refer to Council's fees and charges.

Informal release

If after reviewing Council's website you are still not able to find the information you are looking for, you should make an informal request for information.

There is no fee required to lodge an informal request – however, please be mindful that there may be fees and charges associated with printing and scanning. Refer to Council's fees and charges.

You can lodge an informal access request via our online customer request management system.

Lodge an informal access request

Refer to Inner West Council agency information guide for the type of information that is available for informal release.

• lnner West Council agency information guide (PDF 329.1KB)
• lnner West Council agency information guide (DOCX 797.3KB)

Formal release

You should make a formal access application if you can't access the requested information through the other three ways listed above.

The GIPA Act states that members of the public have a right to access information unless there are overriding public interest considerations in favour of non-disclosure of the information. Examples of where a formal access application is necessary include:

• When searching for and retrieving the information sought would require a substantial amount of resources and time.
• Where the information sought involves details of third parties who must be consulted.

There is a $30 application fee for a formal access application and a processing charge of $30 per hour. The application fee counts towards the first hour of processing. Refer to Council's fees and charges.

Processing time for a formal access application is 20 business days with possible extension.

• Access to information – Formal access application (PDF 67.6KB)
• Access to information – Formal access application (DOCX 118.5KB)

Steps to get the information you require

Copying and scanning of documents

Legal copyright provisions apply to the copying of all documents at Inner West Council. Due to the Copyright Act 1968, there may be documents which may not be copied without consent of the copyright owner. Some of these documents could include certain building plans, publications and consultant's reports.

Copying and scanning charges may apply if documents are available. Refer to Council's fees and charges.

To request adjoining property owner’s names and postal address for dividing fence or tree matters, please lodge a request through Council's online customer request management system.

We are not obliged to pass on the contact details of adjoining landowners for privacy reasons, unless the request is made under the Dividing Fences Act 1991 and the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Regulation) Act 2000.

Only owner names and forwarding addresses will be provided. Personal contact details (i.e. email address or telephone numbers) of adjoining landowners will not be provided. Land titles details are also available from NSW Land and Property Information NSW Land Registry Services or call 1300 052 637 for a fee.

If you are researching for a development application (DA) on a property and if the information you require is not located on the DA tracker then you can lodge an informal request.

What DA tracking information does Council offer?

• DA status, information and public documents
• Amended plans or documents submitted during assessment.
• Notices of determinations and approved plans

You can lodge an informal access request via our online customer request management system.

Lodge an informal access request

Council's building and development records go back to the 1950s.

To research the earlier history of a property, or to search for the construction date, you can access the house history service:

• House history research - Inner West Council

Rates

Council will provide reprints for the owner of a property.

If you are the owner of the property, click on the link below to request reprints of the rates notices for your property.

Rates general enquiry

Sewer diagrams

Sewage and wastewater infrastructure is managed by Sydney Water.

You can lodge a request for copies of diagrams via the Sydney Water "Tap-in" service:

• Sydney Water "Tap-in" service

Stormwater diagrams and property surveys

Council will usually only hold these documents for private property if submitted as part of a previous development application.

To request a search of development application files, in order to identify if we hold any relevant records, please lodge an informal request.

Lodge an informal access request

NSW Planning Portal

The spatial viewer enables you to search for zoning and associated planning information for a specific property.

• My Home Planner – Planning Portal

We keep a disclosure log in accordance with section 25 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.

The disclosure log records detail of information released in response to formal access applications that may be of interest to other members of the public. The disclosure log contains non-personal information only.

Information recorded includes the date the application was decided, a description of the information to which access was provided in response to the application, and a statement as to whether the agency intends to make the information available to other members of the public and, if so, how it can be accessed.

• Disclosure log – Inner West Council, 2018 onwards (PDF 106.6KB)
• Disclosure log – Inner West Council, 2018 onwards (DOCX 16.5KB)

For advice or assistance concerning your right to access council information, contact the Office of Information and Privacy Commission NSW:

• Visit the website: IPC website
• Email them: ipcinfo@ipc.nsw.gov.au

Internal Ombudsman

Find information on the Internal Ombudsman page.

Privacy notification

• Application forms and/or names and addresses of people making an application is information that is publicly available.
• The supply of information is voluntary. If you do not provide all details requested, Council may be unable to process your application.
• The details you provide are stored at Council Offices and are not made publicly available unless there is an overriding public interest to do so under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) and in accordance with section 18(1)(b) of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW).

For more information about your privacy, please refer to Council’s Privacy Management Plan or contact council@innerwest.nsw.gov.au

• Privacy Management Plan (PDF 516.4KB)
• Privacy Management Plan (DOCX 891.7KB)