A report on paper, with label 'Decision Assurance'.
FOIDEX generates an easy-to-read report of all decisions for review by delegates before signing off:
  • get assurance that decisions are justifiable, reducing the risk of time-consuming disputes and reviews
  • assist in the preparation of decision letters to FOI applicants
  • share information with internal and external legal personnel more efficiently.
The report contains:
  • a record of all decisions, matched to relevant documents or redactions, and traceable to specific provisions of the FOI requirements
  • a complete set of all documents under consideration, indexed and cross-referenced, to save you time juggling files
  • any documented evidence of your decisions, cross referenced to the correct decision.
Flow diagram showing a report cross referencing two appendixes bundled up into a complete package ready for easy review and passed on to a human delegate decision maker. The report is a record of decisions about an FOI application. The first appendix contains any documented justifications for the decisions. The second appendix contains all the documents under consideration, grouped by whether they are to be released, withheld, or it is undecided. The delegate decision maker reviews the report before signing off.

Outcomes are traceable to FOI requirements

The report shows the basis of your decisions with reference to the FOI Act, including:

  • A decision to withhold a document in full;
  • A decision to make a particular redaction.
The report shows how your decisions fit into the FOI requirements, so you do not get bogged down in the mechanics.

The report highlights any further required decisions for your attention.

Example report extracts

Example section for a document as a whole (extract)

The report:

  • matches your decisions to relevant specific provisions of the FOI requirements;
  • shows the outcome for each document;
  • cross references any supporting evidence you have documented.

Image illustrating a report showing how the overall legal conclusion for a particular document is justified by reference to the particular relevant parts of the FOI Act. The report is generated by FOIDEX. In this image, the overall conclusion is 'the agency may withhold the document'. The image shows how this is attributable to particular decisions recorded about how the document satisfies various provisions of the FOI Act to do with national security.

Examples Section for a particular redaction within a document (extract)

The report shows any items of text, images or page you have marked for redaction, linked to corresponding decisions and outcomes.

Image showing a few lines of text with a red border around them, which are 'marked for redaction' using the Adobe Acrobat tool. The text appears in a report with decision relevant to that redaction set out below, to illustrate that FOIDEX extracts redaction marks from documents and groups them with an image of the redection for review.
Accessible Word icon.
The report is in Accessible Microsoft Word format for:
  • Easy amendment and sharing;
  • Use with assistive technologies;
  • Storing and versioning in your records management system.