Access to Council Information

Adelaide Hills Council holds a variety of electronic and hard copy information including, but not limited to:

• Council and Council Committee documents
• Rates certificates
• Decision Notification Forms for approved Development Applications
  
• House plans, site plans, wastewater systems, soil reports, structural reports, and engineering reports
• Ratepayer personal details (e.g. full name, address, date of birth).

Many of Council's policies, codes and registers are available through Council's Service Centre's for inspection and/or purchase by the public (for a fee as set out in Council's Fees and Charges Policy). Most are available on this website at no charge — a list of these documents is contained in our Freedom of Information Statement.

Find out how to access information held by Council below.

To access documents not listed in the Freedom of Information Statement, a Freedom of Information request can be made.

Freedom of Information (FOI) applications can be submitted either using a FOI application form or in writing. The application must be as specific as possible to enable the correct documents to be identified. Application forms are available online from State Records.

An application fee (in accordance with Council's Fees and Charges Policy) must accompany the application. Applications under this legislation will be dealt with as soon as practicable (and in any case, within 30 days) after receipt.

The State Records website also has detailed information on the FOI process.

FOI requests should be addressed to:

Freedom of Information Officer
Adelaide Hills Council
63 Mount Barker Road
Stirling SA 5152
mail@ahc.sa.gov.au

Any member of the public may inspect Council Documents relating to their personal affairs by a request under Part 4 Division 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 1991. A member of the public may request a correction to any information about themselves that is incomplete, incorrect or misleading, or out-of-date.

Access to relevant Council records by a member of the public or Amendment to any Council records under this section, can be requested by completing an application form available from State Records.

For further information on amending your personal records, please contact us.

Both Section 7 and Section 187 searches must be completed by Adelaide Hills Council upon application by or on behalf of a person who has acquired a relevant interest in land situated within Council boundaries.

In accordance with the Local Government Act 1999 a person who has acquired a relevant interest in land includes:

• The owner of a registered estate or interest in the land; or
• An occupier of the land; or
• A person who has entered or declares to the council that he or she proposes to enter into a contract to purchase the land; or
• A mortgagee or prospective mortgagee of the land.

A full Section 7 search provides information on land areas and is completed in accordance with the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994 and will include:

• Rates certificate which outlines rates levied for the current financial year and any outstanding rates owed;
• Relevant health notices for the land (e.g. wastewater system issues); and
• Development notifications (including Decision Notification Forms for approved development applications) and any applicable conditions.

A Section 187 search (rates) provides information on any liabilities for rates or charges attached to a land area in accordance with the Local Government Act 1999. This search only includes a rates certificate which outlines rates levied for the current financial year and any outstanding rates owed.

In 1997 the District Councils of East Torrens, Gumeracha, Onkaparinga and Stirling amalgamated to form the Adelaide Hills Council. As not all properties in the Council area have comprehensive records available, Council still holds a variety of electronic and hard copy records which relate to house plans, site plans, development application plans, soil reports, structural reports and engineering reports.

To access these please contact Council on 8408 0400 and speak to a customer service officer. After receipt of your request an Information Management Officer will contact you to discuss the process in more detail and help determine what might be available for your property. A formal application will then be required together with the relevant Fees and Charges. Please note if you are obtaining copies of documents on behalf of the owner, the current property owners permission will be required.

As most records are kept in off-site storage, retrieval may take up to ten working days. A Records Officer will contact you when they are available for viewing. Once retrieved, plans and reports will be made available to view at a council office by appointment during normal business hours (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm).

If you require copies of plans and/or reports (in paper or electronic format), copyright release may be required from the copyright owner in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Information Management Officers will advise you if this is the case and how this may affect the timeframe for providing the information.

For further information on copyright please visit the Australian Copyright Council website.

If you require additional information or details, or wish to amend your personal records, please contact us.