The Western Australian Freedom of Information Act 1992 gives the public a legally enforceable right to apply for access to documents held by Shire of Dowerin.

An applicant's right to seek access cannot be affected by their reasons for wishing to obtain access and there is no requirement to demonstrate such reasons. You can apply for any record of information held by the Shire.

The Shire is required to:

• assist the applicant in making the application;
• assist the applicant in obtaining access to documents at a reasonable cost; and
• ensure that personal information captured in documents is accurate, complete, up-to-date and not misleading.

While the Act provides a general right of access to documents, it also recognises that some documents require a level of protection. This is applied to documents that meet the exemption criteria in Schedule 1 of the Act.

The most common reasons for refusal to provide access to information are: