The information on this page relates to the Social Services Regulator only, and not other Victorian Government agencies.
If your request relates to documents held by another agency, please contact them directly. A directory to assist you to find the correct agency is provided on the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner’s website(opens in a new window).
Social Services Regulation Act 2021 exemptions
Section 210 of the Social Services Regulation Act 2021 (SSR Act) creates a broad exemption from the FOI Act. This broad exemption means the ordinary operation of the FOI Act does not apply to many documents held by the Social Services Regulator. Section 188 of the Act sets out the documents that may be exempt.
FOI access form
To request documents under FOI that the Social Services Regulator holds, which are not exempt from the FOI Act, please complete the below FOI access request form and send it to us by email or post.
Alternatively, you may send your FOI request to our FOI unit via the below email address or post.
Please follow the guidance provided below.
Post
Attention: Freedom of Information Officer
Social Services Regulator Victoria
Level 1, 2 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne 3000
Before making a FOI request to the Social Services Regulator
Before requesting access to documents from the Social Services Regulator, consider:
Is the information you want in a document?
The FOI Act gives you the right to request access to documents from Victorian FOI agencies. The Social Services Regulator is an FOI agency.
Does the Social Services Regulator hold the document you want?
The document must have come into existence from 1 July 2024 onwards. 1 July 2024 is the date the Social Services Regulator began operating as an independent statutory authority.
If we are not the appropriate FOI agency to respond to your request, we will direct you to the appropriate FOI agency, if known.
Is the document publicly available?
For example, a document may already be available on our website and you may not need to request it under FOI.
Is the document exempt from the FOI Act?
Although we may hold the document, the document will be exempt from the FOI Act if it is a document held by the Social Services Regulator or a Panel to the extent that it discloses protected information.
Document carries the same meaning as it has in the FOI Act.
Protected information is defined at section 188 of the SSR Act as material that is:
- not already in the public domain
- obtained by or disclosed to the Social Services Regulator, an independent investigator, a panel member, an authorised officer or their staff
- gathered or shared in order to perform any function or duty under the Act (or any other Act)
- communicated either in the course of exercising regulatory powers, by another relevant agency, or under certain specified parts of the Act.
Other exemptions apply under the FOI Act not specific to the Social Services Regulator. These exemptions cover documents including (but not limited to) those containing material obtained in confidence and those subject to legal professional privilege.
Social Services Regulator’s FOI Part II Statements
In accordance with Part II of the FOI Act, we provide information on our website that covers:
- organisation and functions
- categories of documents
- freedom of information arrangements
- publications and media announcements
- rules, policies and procedures
This information provides an overview of our functions, a snapshot of the types of information and documents we hold, instructions on accessing information and locating publicly available documents, and how to make a request under the FOI Act.
We make as much information publicly available on our website as possible, reducing the need for people to request documents under the FOI Act.
Making a FOI request to the Social Services Regulator
A valid request
For your request to be valid under the FOI Act:
- your request must be in writing
- you must provide sufficient information about the documents you are requesting so we can locate relevant documents
- you must pay the application fee or request the agency waive the fee due to hardship.
Making a request in writing
Send the above FOI application form via email to FOI@ssr.vic.gov.au or by post to the attention of the Freedom of Information Officer, Social Services Regulator Victoria, Level 1, 2 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne 3000.
If you are requesting your personal information or personal records, you should provide proof of your identity, such as a copy of your driver’s licence or other identification. We may also contact you to verify your identity before releasing any personal information.
Making sure your request is clear
Be clear and specific about the documents you are requesting access to. Your request needs to provide enough information for us to identify and locate all relevant documents. Please note we can only process documents that the Social Services Regulator holds, and is authorised to provide. We cannot provide documents held by other FOI agencies.
When writing your request, be specific about what documents you are seeking and include as much information as possible. Consider:
- what the documents relate to, for example, a complaint or a particular project
- the date range in which the documents may have been created
- where the documents might be located, for example, in someone’s email account or a specific business unit
- the type of document you want, for example an email, report or CCTV footage.
Being specific in your request and excluding documents or information may allow us to process your request more quickly. For example, you could specify that you don’t want draft documents or commercial or personal information relating to other people.
If your request is not clear enough, we will contact you and take reasonable steps to help you clarify which documents you want to access.
Paying the application fee
The current application fee (from 1 July 2025) is $33.60. The application fee increases each year on 1 July. You can pay the application fee by bank transfer. When you send us the application form, we will provide details about how to make the payment for the request to be valid.
We can waive or reduce the application fee if it will cause you financial hardship. If you request the application fee to be waived or reduced, you should provide evidence of hardship, for example, a concession or health care card, a bank statement or statutory declaration outlining why payment would cause you hardship.
After a request has been made
If the request is not valid
If your request is not valid, we will let you know within 21 days and explain why. We will also provide advice on how you can make a valid request.
If we advise you that your request is not valid, we must give you at least 21 days to make a valid request. If you do not begin consulting with us about how to make your request valid or you have not made a valid request after 21 days, we are not required to begin processing your request and may decide to finalise it.
If the request is valid
When we receive a valid request, we will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your request.
We have 30 days from the date you make a valid request to provide you with a decision. However, this time can be extended by up to 15 days if we need to consult with third parties whose information may be contained in the requested documents. We may also extend this time by up to 30 days with your agreement. We will notify you if and why the time has been extended and the number of days by which we are extending the due date.
Contact us
For further information about how we handle requests for information, please email us at FOI@ssr.vic.gov.au or by mail to:
Freedom of Information Officer
Social Services Regulator Victoria
Level 1, 2 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne 3000
For further information about Victoria’s freedom of information laws, see the Victorian Government’s Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner website.
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