Guide to informal release of information

The Informal Release of Information (IROI) program

The IROI program can give you some documents without making a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

Obtaining documents through the IROI program is free of charge but your request needs to meet certain criteria.

The IROI program can only release certain documents:

• to eligible persons
• that are not more than 2 years old
• that are issued under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) or Dangerous Good Act 1985 (DG Act).

The IROI program can't release:

• documents for cases where a fatality has occurred
• documents currently under review by WorkSafe’s Internal Review Unit
• certain documents related to a current investigation.

We may deny sizeable or complex requests based on the time and resources required to:

• identify, locate, examine or collate documents
• determine whether documents fall within the scope of this program
• produce or edit copies of the documents
• get further information for your request.

Documents we can release under the IROI program

Subject to eligibility, the IROI program releases:

• Inspection reports
• Improvement notices
• Non-disturbance notices
• Prohibition notices
• Provisional improvement notices
• Provisional improvement notice enquiry outcome notices
• Virtual enquiry activity reports.

You'll need to submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for other documents. Refer to the FOI requests section at the bottom of this guide for more information.

Who can receive information

Interested persons

An interested person is one affected by the information they wish to access. Some examples include:

• an employee or former employee (or a family member acting on their behalf) of the duty holder
• persons who notified WorkSafe of a health and safety concern or incident (or a family member acting on their behalf)
• persons assisting a health and safety representative (HSR).

It could also include persons affected by a workplace matter such as:

• an injured person
• a neighbour affected by asbestos removal at the workplace
• a member of the public affected by workplace fumes.

Representative organisations

This includes a registered employee organisation or an organisation representing employers or employees. Some examples include:

• an authorised representative of a registered employee organisation (ARREO)
• a union representative with responsibilities at the workplace
• an employer organisation representative who has coverage or an interest in the relevant industry of the workplace.

Making sure your request is valid

To make a valid request you must:

• identify the purpose of your request
• describe the information you are requesting
• show how your request relates to occupational health, safety and welfare (OHSW)
• show how your interests, or your industry members’ interests, are affected by the information requested
• provide your full name and contact details
• provide the name and address of the workplace you are requesting information about.

Even where you have a valid request, your request may be denied.

Supporting information

We may ask you to provide further information. This is to determine if documents can be released to you under the IROI program.

If you don’t provide enough information, we may deny your request.

Examples of supporting information include:

• information to prove your identity and confirm you are an eligible person
• a Statutory Declaration to identify a class of your members affected by an OHSW issue
• other documents showing the relationship between your request and an OHSW issue
• information establishing the OHSW information directly affects your interests.

If you are a member of the public wanting OHSW information about a workplace next to your property, you may need to provide:

• evidence of your identity and address, such as a driver licence or other identity document
• information about the way this workplace affects you.

What you will receive

The OHS Act and DG Act place limits on the information that WorkSafe can release.

If we approve your request, we may remove some information from documents released to you.

This may include information that would otherwise be available under the FOI Act.

WorkSafe is also bound by privacy legislation. We can’t release personal, health and commercially sensitive information under the IROI program.

Personal information includes:

• names
• home and email addresses
• telephone numbers
• information that might identify an individual such as age, gender or job title.

Health information includes details about:

• the physical, mental or psychological health of an individual
• a disability of an individual
• an individual's expressed wishes about the future provision of health services to them
• a health service provided, or to be provided, to an individual.

Commercially sensitive information includes trade secrets and financial information.

We will consider the nature of your request when deciding what information to release to you.

Submitting an informal request for information

You can submit a request by downloading our form and emailing it to [email protected]

Or you can submit a request in writing by emailing [email protected] the following information:

• your full name, contact phone number, return email address, and postal address
• the purpose of your request
• a description of the information you are requesting
• an explanation of how your request relates to OHSW
• who you are applying as (interested person or representative organisation)
• a description of how your interests, or your industry members’ interests, are affected by the  information you are requesting
• the name and address of the workplace you are requesting information about
• the date of the site visit by the inspector, if known
• any relevant additional information, such as your reference number.

You can also mail your completed form, or your request in writing, to WorkSafe Victoria, IROI team, PO Box 279, Geelong Victoria 3220.

You need to submit a separate request for each WorkSafe inspector site visit. This is unless multiple site visits are for the same health and safety issue.

FOI request

If you do not meet the criteria for documents to be released through the IROI program, you may wish to lodge a FOI request.

For information on the FOI process visit: