Overview of section 40 RTI Act

Section summary

An agency or Minister may refuse to deal with an application, if the application is expressed to relate to all documents or all documents of a stated class that: 

• contain a stated kind of information; or 
• concern a stated subject matter and it appears that all documents responding to the application are comprised of exempt information.

Other relevant RTI/IP Act sections

Section 54 RTI Act
Section 54(2)(f) of the RTI Act contains the requirements for a prescribed written notice of a decision to refuse to deal with an application under section 40. Specifically, the agency or Minister must identify the schedule 3 exemption which applies to the documents.