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 :(b) specifies an address in Australia at which notices under this Act may be sent to the person making the request; and


 * (c) is sent by post to the agency or Minister, or delivered to an officer of the agency or a member of the staff of the Minister, at an address of the agency or of the Minister, as the case may be, that is, under the regulations, an address to which requests made in pursuance of this Act may be sent or delivered in accordance with this section, the agency or Minister shall take all reasonable steps to enable the applicant to be notified of a decision on the request as soon as practicable but in any case not later than 60 days after the day on which the request is received by or on behalf of the agency or Minister.

(2) The regulations may make provision that sub-section (1) is to have effect as if a specified shorter period were substituted for the period of 60 days specified in that sub-section, and a provision so made has effect in relation to requests received by or on behalf of an agency or Minister while the provision is in force.

Forms of access

20. (1) Access to a document may be given to a person in one or more of the following forms:


 * (a) a reasonable opportunity to inspect the document;


 * (b) provision by the agency or Minister of a copy of the document;


 * (c) in the case of a document that is an article or thing from which sounds or visual images are capable of being reproduced, the making of arrangements for the person to hear or view those sounds or visual images;


 * (d) in the case of a document by which words are recorded in a manner in which they are capable of being reproduced in the form of sound or in which words are contained in the form of shorthand writing or in codified form, provision by the agency or Minister of a written transcript of the words recorded or contained in the document.

(2) Subject to sub-section (3) and to section 22, where the applicant has requested access in a particular form, access shall be given in that form.

(3) If the giving of access in the form requested by the applicant—


 * (a) would interfere unreasonably with the operations of the agency, or the performance by the Minister of his functions, as the case may be;


 * (b) would be detrimental to the preservation of the document or, having regard to the physical nature of the document, would not be appropriate; or


 * (c) would, but for this Act, involve an infringement of copyright (other than copyright owned by the Commonwealth, an agency or a State) subsisting in matter contained in the document, being matter that does not relate to the affairs of an agency or of a Department of State,

access in that form may be refused and access given in another form.