28A Refusal of access-document nonexistent or unlocatable

(1) An agency or Minister may refuse access to a document if the agency or Minister is satisfied the document does not exist.

Example—
documents that have not been created

(2) An agency or Minister may refuse access to a document if—

(a) the agency or Minister is satisfied the document has been or should be in the agency's or Minister's possession; and

(b) all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document but the document can not be found.

Examples—

• documents that have been lost
• documents that have been disposed of under an authority given by the State Archivist

(3) Subject to subsection (4), a search for a document from a backup system is not required before refusing access under this section.

(4) A search for a document from a backup system is required before refusing access under subsection (1) only if—

(a) the document is—

(i) a document required to be kept under the Public Records Act 2002; and

(ii) not a document that the agency or Minister could lawfully have disposed of under the Public Records Act 2002; and

(b) the agency or Minister considers the document has been kept in, and is retrievable from, the backup system.