FOI Reform
Source: Australia. Special Minister of State. Draft Legislation
"Cabinet Secretary and Special Minister of State, Senator John Faulkner today (24/3/09) released exposure drafts of two Bills proposing the most significant overhaul of the Commonwealth Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 1982 since its inception.
The Bills modernise the FOI Act and promote a new system and culture of pro-disclosure for Government information.
“These draft Bills form a cornerstone of the Government’s commitment to enhancing accountability and transparency in government. The proposed Bills will deliver our election commitment to reform FOI,” Senator Faulkner said.
Key proposals include:
Establishing two new statutory positions – Information Commissioner and FOI Commissioner – and bringing them together with the Privacy Commissioner in a new Office of the Information Commissioner. In terms of FOI, the new office will promote a culture of pro-disclosure across the Government.
Giving the new Information Commissioner the power to conduct merits based reviews of FOI decisions by agencies, including the power to use alternative dispute resolution tools.
Introducing a new information publication scheme requiring agencies to proactively disclose more information to the public – and giving the Information Commissioner a key role in assisting agencies and monitoring their compliance with the scheme.
Reduction of the Archives Act’s 30 year rule for access to all documents to 20 years, and bringing forward access to Cabinet notebooks from 50 to 30 years.
Important changes to the fee regime – including the abolition of all FOI application fees; the abolition of all charges for a person seeking access to their own information; a charge-free first hour of decision making time for all FOI requests; and for not-for-profit organisations and journalists, a first five hour charge-free decision making period.
Introducing a single, clear pro-disclosure public interest test, and ensuring that factors such as embarrassment to the government, or causing confusion and unnecessary debate, can no longer be relied on to withhold access to documents.
Extending the FOI Act to cover documents held by service providers contracted to the Government.
Introducing a strong new objects clause in the FOI Act, which emphasises that information held by Government is a national resource, reinforcing that the aim of the FOI Act is to give the Australian community access to information held by Government. "