Melbourne Polytechnic aims to make information and documents easily accessible to members of the public. We release a large amount of information online through our website as well as directly to an individual upon their request. Making information easily accessible reduces the need for members of the public to submit requests under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic).
The information statements on this page outline Melbourne Polytechnic functions and provide a non-exhaustive list of the types of information and documents we hold in relation to our functions.
If you cannot find the information you are seeking after reviewing these statements or other pages on our website, we encourage you to contact the relevant department or business area of Melbourne Polytechnic in the first instance. Otherwise, the Senior FOI & Privacy Officer may be able to direct or assist you.
These statements outline how Melbourne Polytechnic is satisfying its legal obligation to make information readily available to the public.
Melbourne Polytechnic is a statutory body corporate established under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic).
The objects of the Institute as provided in this Act are:
to perform its functions for the public benefit by:
operating its businesses, delivering educational services and utilising assets that it manages on the State's behalf as efficiently as possible; and
ensuring that it is sustainable in the medium to long term, and
ensuring that its procedures, policies and practices are consistent with prudent commercial practice, and
endeavouring to maximise its contribution to the economy and wellbeing of the communities and industries served by the institute and the State as a whole; and
to facilitate student learning, knowledge acquisition, skills for employment and vocational education and training through excellent teaching, innovation and educational leadership that delivers quality outcomes, and
to collaborate as part of a strong public training provider network which is mutually and commercially beneficial to enable the institute to offer or provide educational services that meet the needs of industry partners and communities, including persons and groups that have particular education needs, and
any other objective set out in an Order in Council or Ministerial Order made under section 3.1.11 relating to the institute.
The Institute has numerous teaching delivery areas to provide the teaching functions of the Institute.
The Institute is governed by a Board. The Board is assisted by Board committees and is supported by the Chief Executive Officer and a group of Executive Directors.
Melbourne Polytechnic creates a large number of documents and records in the course of its work. Melbourne Polytechnic uses a variety of electronic document and records management systems to classify, store, access and manage a broad range of electronic and hard copy documents.
The types of documents maintained by Melbourne Polytechnic include:
Documents created by Melbourne Polytechnic;
Documents supplied to Melbourne Polytechnic by an external organisation or individual;
Melbourne Polytechnic classification scheme includes the following document categories:
Academic Programs
Alumni Relations
Collection Management
External Relations
Financial Management
Governance
Human Resources
Information Management & Security
Legal Services
Occupational Health & Safety
Property, Assets & Equipment
Research
Student Administration
Student Services
Requests for access to documents held by Melbourne Polytechnic under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (Act) should be made in writing via email to Foi@melbournepolytechnic.edu.au and addressed to the Freedom of Information Officer.
In order to be considered a valid request under the Act, your request must satisfy the following criteria:
The request must be in writing.
The request must be sufficiently clear to enable Melbourne Polytechnic to conduct a search for the requested documents.
The request must be accompanied with the application fee of $34.50.
If your request is not sufficiently clear to enable us to conduct a search for the requested documents, the Senior FOI & Privacy Officer may contact you to clarify the details of your request.
The current application fee is $34.50. This fee increases on 1 July each year.
In addition to the application fee, Melbourne Polytechnic may charge fees for access to documents in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations 2014. The access charges will vary for each request and may include, for example, charges for time spent searching for documents, charges per page for providing documents in hard copy format or charges for supervised inspection.
The application fee can be paid via electronic fee payments, cheque or money order made payable to 'Melbourne Polytechnic and in person. Please refer to freedom-of-information-factsheet.pdf for more details.
In accordance with section 17(2B) of the Act, Melbourne Polytechnic may waive the application fee if payment of the fee would cause the applicant hardship. If you feel that this applies to you, please state your reasons in writing via email to Foi@melbournepolytechnic.edu.au (you can do this as part of your application) and provide any evidence that you believe supports your claim. You will be notified whether your hardship claim has been accepted.
Once we receive your application, the FOI Officer will review it and contact you if further information is needed. Once we have a valid and confirmed request, we will then endeavour to process it within the required timeframe.
Melbourne Polytechnic has between 30 and 45 days from the date a valid and confirmed request is made to provide you with a decision. The timeframe will depend on whether or not we need additional time to consult with third parties whose information may be contained in the requested documents. The timeframe can be extended beyond 30 to 45 days if you provide your consent.
In some instances, the timeframe may also be impacted by other legislative provisions. If it becomes apparent during the processing of your request that this applies, you will be notified. You can contact us at any time for an update on your request.
Please note that in cases where Melbourne Polytechnic requests a deposit from you for access charges, the 30-day time limit ceases from the time the deposit is requested and then restarts from the time when the deposit is received if the request is valid. In such cases you will be notified of the revised date by which the decision is due.
The FOI Act covers documents in the possession of the Polytechnic whether created or received by the institute. It includes documents held in files, or records, or held by an individual for the purpose of discharging his/her duties.
Examples of documents that may be accessed under the FOI Act include: emails, reports, meeting agendas and minutes, contracts/agreements, books, maps, plans, drawings, audio-visual media and photographs.
The right of access established by the FOI Act does not extend to:
exempt documents as specified in part IV of the FOI Act
documents containing information of a kind which is already available for purchase by the public from Melbourne Polytechnic
library material maintained for reference purposes
documents created prior to 5 July 1978 other than documents which relate to the personal affairs of the applicant. Documents of any age are subject to FOI if they relate to the personal affairs of the applicant.
Certain documents are exempt from release, as specified in Part IV of the FOI Act. Examples of exempt documents include:
documents that would unreasonably disclose information about the personal affairs of people other than the applicant
internal working documents (ie. for the purpose of the deliberative processes involved in the functions of an agency, a Minister or Government), the disclosure of which would be contrary to the public interest
documents subject to legal professional privilege
documents relating to trade secrets, or to certain other matters of a business, commercial or financial nature
documents containing material communicated to an agency in confidence, and whose disclosure would be contrary to the public interest by being reasonably likely to impair the agency's ability to obtain similar information in the future
Exemptions are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Melbourne Polytechnic publishes a wide range of material related to its governance and organisation, and to its three major functions of learning and teaching, research, and engagement.
Published documents can be found at
Melbourne Polytechnic corporate publications
Melbourne Polytechnic - News and Events
Melbourne Polytechnic Research Repository: Home
Melbourne Polytechnic maintains a central Library online Melbourne Polytechnic - Library as well as campus libraries Library opening hours and locations
The Institute has published a number of policies and processes which are publicly available via our website
Melbourne Polytechnic publishes a range of reports, publications, course guides and other information via our website, including:
Annual Reports from 2013 onward
Key Polytechnic Policies
Current course guides
The full range of publications are available from Melbourne Polytechnic corporate publications.