Application of section 18 RTI Act

The processing period is the time in which an applicant must be given a considered decision. It is 25 business days long and begins when an agency receives an access or amendment application which complies with all legislative requirements.

The RTI Act provides that the processing period is extended when other specified actions or events occur during the processing of the application, for example the charges estimate notice process. Before the processing period ends, the Act also allows a decision maker to request extra time to consider an application. This extra time extends the processing period.

Refer to this guideline for guidance on applying this section: Timeframes under the RTI Act.