[15. Decisions on requests---(1) Subject to this Act, the Department
 or Minister of the Crown or organisation to whom a request is made in
 accordance with section 12 or is transferred in accordance with section
 14 of this Act [[or section 12 of the Local Government Official
 Information and Meetings Act 1987]] shall, as soon as reasonably
 practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days after the
 day on which the request is received by that Department or Minister of
 the Crown or organisation,---
   (a) Decide whether the request is to be granted and, if it is to be
         granted, in what manner and for what charge (if any); and
   (b) Give or post to the person who made the request notice of the
         decision on the request.

   [[(1A) Subject to section 24 of this Act, every Department or Minister
 of the Crown or organisation (including an organisation whose activities
 are funded in whole or in part by another person) may charge for the
 supply of official information under this Act.]]


   (2) Any charge fixed shall be reasonable and regard may be had to the
 cost of the labour and materials involved in making the information
 available to and to any costs incurred pursuant to a request of the
 applicant to make the information available urgently.


   (3) The Department or Minister of the Crown or organisation may
 require that the whole or part of any charge be paid in advance.

   (4) Where a request in accordance with section 12 of this Act is made
 or transferred to a Department, the decision on that request shall be
 made by the [[chief executive]] of that Department or an officer or
 employee of that Department authorised by that [[chief executive]]
 unless that request is transferred in accordance with section 14 of this
 Act to another Department or to a Minister of the Crown or to an
 organisation [[or to a local authority]].


   (5) Nothing in subsection (4) of this section prevents the [[chief
 executive]] of a Department or any officer or employee of a Department
 from consulting a Minister of the Crown or any other person in relation
 to the decision that the [[chief executive]] or officer or employee
 proposes to make on any request made to the Department in accordance
 with section 12 of this Act or transferred to the Department in
 accordance with section 14 of this Act [[or section 12 of the Local
 Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987]].]

       This section was substituted for the original s. 15 by s. 8 (1) of
     the Official Information Amendment Act 1987. See s. 8 (2) of that
     Act,
       In subss. (1), (4), and (5) the words in double square brackets
     (other than those referring to the chief executive) were inserted by
     s. 57 (1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings
     Act 1987. See s. 1 (2) of that Act.
       Subs. (1A) was inserted by s. 2 of the Official Information
     Amendment Act 1989.
       In subss. (4) and (5) the references to the chief executive were
     substituted for references to the permanent head by s. 90 (d) of the
     State Sector Act 1988.