Access to information
Access to information
Transport and its agencies are committed to improving accountability and transparency by increasing access to government information.
The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) promotes transparency and encourages the proactive disclosure and timely release of government information. The GIPA Act does this in the following ways:
| Mandatory Proactive Release | The GIPA Act requires NSW Government agencies to make "Open Access Information" publicly available, unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure. See Transport’s Mandatory Proactive Release. |
| Authorised Proactive Release | NSW Government agencies are authorised under the GIPA Act to proactively make public any government information that the agency holds. See: |
| Informal Release and Access Applications | In some circumstances, agencies may release information to a person who makes an informal request. The agency, having regard to the nature of the information, may make such information available by whichever means it considers appropriate and it may be subject to conditions. In other cases you may apply for access by making an access application. See below for more details. |
The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) provides that a person who makes a request has a legally enforceable right to access information, unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the information.
Mandatory Proactive Release
Disclosure logs
The record of information that Transport for NSW and its agencies have released in response to formal access applications.
Information guide for Transport Agencies
Under the GIPA Act Transport for NSW and its agencies are required to publish an Agency Information Guide.
Policy documents
Approved policies and procedures made publicly available by Transport for NSW.
Transport agencies’ contract registers
Documents Tabled in Parliament
Under the GIPA Act, each agency is required to publish on its website any information about the agency which is contained in any document tabled in Parliament (other than information which is published as a result of an order of Parliament).
The Annual Reports of the Transport agencies are available elsewhere on the transport websites. Other documents within this category, including submissions made to various Committee hearings, are published and available on the NSW Parliament website.
Transport open access information not publicly available
The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 requires all agencies to make available, free of charge on their websites, their "open access information".
However, there is an overriding obligation under the Act not to publish any specific "open access information" if there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of that particular information.
Whenever the Transport agencies decide that particular “open access information” should not be publicly available (withheld), a record of the decision is made.
No open access information has been withheld by the transport agencies.
How to apply and FAQs
How do I apply for access to information
You may make an online application for information.
OR
You may send your application by post with a payment by cheque or money order.
Please note: Due to the coronavirus pandemic, applications lodged by post may be delayed.
An access application must:
- Be in writing and addressed to the agency
- Indicate that it is an application under the GIPA Act
- Include payment of the $30 application fee
- Include details of a postal address for correspondence
- Include as much information as possible for us to identify the information that you are requesting
What agency information can you request via Transport for NSW?
Other than its own information, Transport for NSW centrally administers all requests made to the agencies listed below:
Sydney Trains
NSW Trains
Sydney Metro
State Transit Authority
Point to Point Commission
Roads and Maritime Services
As from 1 December 2019, by virtue of the Transport Administration Amendment (RMS Dissolution) Act 2019, Roads and Maritime Services is dissolved and all of its functions, assets, rights (including immunities) and liabilities are transferred to Transport for NSW. Any access application received after this date will be taken to have been received by TfNSW and dealt with as an application to that agency.
When will my application be decided?
Upon receipt of your access application, TfNSW will send you a letter containing details of the expected timeframe in which you may receive a response. Agencies are required to decide an access application within 20 working days of receiving the application (subject to any suspension or extension required).
TfNSW will then send your application to the agency which will deal with your request.Under the GIPA Act, the time period for deciding an application may be extended by up to 15 working days should the agency need to consult with another person and/or retrieve information from a records archive.
How is the decision made?
Whilst there is a presumption in favour of granting you access to the information, the agency must consider the public interest factors for and against disclosure, which are set out in the GIPA Act.
The agency will also consider any objections raised by interested third parties.
Can I seek a review of the decision?
The agency will notify you of the outcome of your application and send you information about decisions which can be reviewed under the GIPA Act.
Applicants can apply for a review of the decision in any of the following three ways:
Internal review by the agency online.
OR
You may send your application by post with a payment by cheque or money order
Internal review application form (PDF, 273.42 KB)
Review by the Information Commission and/or
Review by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal
Fees and charges
The principles under which processing charges for access applications are applied are contained in this document:
All fees and charges relating to GIPA applications are exempt from GST.
| Nature of application | Application fee | Processing charge |
|---|---|---|
| Access applications | $30 | $30 per hour, after the first hour |
| Internal review of reviewable decision | $40 | Nil |
CCTV footage
Transport agencies operate and maintain a number of closed circuit television cameras (CCTV cameras) which are used for security and monitoring purposes.
Some of these CCTV cameras are only used to monitor and do not record footage.
Except where a particular incident has been identified, most footage is retained for one to two weeks only.
Members of the public can request access to CCTV footage that transport agencies hold. As footage is usually only kept for a short time, we deal informally with any request for CCTV footage. Please send a written request for footage to: information@transport.nsw.gov.au or
Information Access Unit
Transport for NSW
7 Harvest Street, Macquarie Park, 2113
In your request, please provide as much specific information about the time, location and detail of the incident.
Upon receiving your request, we will endeavour to save and retrieve any relevant footage.
Should we locate and retrieve relevant footage, we will contact you to provide you with the option of applying to access it under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). All applications require a standard $30 application fee.
You may also request access to CCTV footage (PDF, 265.76 KB).
Important information about CCTV requests
As with all access applications, we must consider a number of factors set out in the GIPA Act before deciding whether to release any footage.
Unfortunately, this may mean we decide that we cannot grant you access to the requested footage, or we may only allow you to view the footage, or only grant you access to part of it.
Also, if there is a lot of footage involved, we may require payment of a processing fee of up to $30 per hour of footage.
In some circumstances we may be able to provide the footage to another agency (such as NSW Police) to help resolve the matter. In any event, if you are not satisfied with the decision about your application, you are entitled to seek a review of the decision.
To request a copy of footage outside of the GIPA Act, the footage should be requested under subpoena to the appropriate agency holding the footage. Enquiries about the relevant agency may be sent to: information@transport.nsw.gov.au
Information about obtaining records under subpoena can be found on the Contact Us page or enquiries can be sent to TfNSWLegal@transport.nsw.gov.au.