Freedom of Information Act 1982
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 1 — Short title
This Act may be cited as the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
Section 2 — Commencement
The several Parts of this Act shall come into operation on such respective dates as are fixed by Proclamation.
Section 3 — Objects—general
(1) The objects of this Act are to give the Australian community access to information held by the Government of the Commonwealth, by: (a) requiring agencies to publish the information; and (b)…
Section 3A — Objects—information or documents otherwise accessible
Scope (1) This section applies if a Minister, or an officer of an agency, has the power to publish, or give access to, information or a document (including an exempt document) apart from under this…
Section 4 — Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: access grant decision has the meaning given by section 53B. access refusal decision has the meaning given by section 53A. ACT enactment means…
Section 4A — Certain legislation relating to Australian Capital Territory not to be enactment
(1) ACT enactments are not enactments. (2) The Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 and the Canberra Water Supply (Googong Dam) Act 1974 are not enactments. (3) Part IV, sections…
Section 5 — Act to apply to courts in respect of administrative matters
Courts other than courts of Norfolk Island—general (1) For the purposes of this Act: (a) a court (other than a court of Norfolk Island) shall be deemed to be a prescribed authority; (b) the holder of…
Section 6 — Act to apply to certain tribunals in respect of administrative matters
For the purposes of this Act: (a) each tribunal, authority or body specified in Schedule 1 is deemed to be a prescribed authority; (b) the holder of an office pertaining to a tribunal, authority or…
Section 6A — Official Secretary to the Governor-General
(1) This Act does not apply to any request for access to a document of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General unless the document relates to matters of an administrative nature. (2) For the…
Section 6C — Requirement for Commonwealth contracts
(1) This section applies to an agency if a service is, or is to be, provided under a Commonwealth contract in connection with the performance of the functions or the exercise of the powers of the…
Section 7 — Exemption of certain persons and bodies
(1) The bodies specified in Division 1 of Part I of Schedule 2, and a person holding and performing the duties of an office specified in that Division, are to be deemed not to be prescribed…
Section 7A — Information publication scheme—guide
This Part establishes an information publication scheme for agencies. Each agency must publish a plan showing how it proposes to implement this Part. An agency must publish a range of information…
Section 8 — Information to be published—what information?
Agency plans (1) An agency must prepare a plan showing the following: (a) what information the agency proposes to publish for the purposes of this Part; (b) how, and to whom, the agency proposes to…
Section 8A — Information to be published—what is operational information?
(1) An agency’s operational information is information held by the agency to assist the agency to perform or exercise the agency’s functions or powers in making decisions or recommendations affecting…
Section 8B — Information to be published—accuracy etc.
An agency must ensure that information published by the agency as required or permitted by this Part is accurate, up-to-date and complete.
Section 8C — Information to be published—restrictions
Exempt documents (1) An agency is not required under this Part to publish exempt matter. Publication prohibited or restricted by other legislation (2) If an enactment, or a Norfolk Island law,…
Section 8D — Information to be published—how (and to whom) information is to be published
Scope (1) An agency must publish information that is required or permitted to be published under this Part in accordance with this section. How (and to whom) information is to be published (2) The…
Section 8E — Information to be published—Information Commissioner to assist agencies
The Information Commissioner may provide appropriate assistance to an agency in: (a) identifying and preparing information which is required or permitted to be published under this Part; and (b)…
Section 8F — Review of scheme—Information Commissioner functions
The Information Commissioner has the following functions (as conferred by this Act and the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010, but without limiting any provision of either Act): (a)…
Section 9 — Review of scheme—by agencies
(1) An agency must, in conjunction with the Information Commissioner, complete a review of the operation, in the agency, of the information publication scheme established by this Part: (a) as…
Section 9A — Functions and powers under this Part
In performing a function, or exercising a power, under this Part, an agency must have regard to: (a) the objects of this Act (including all the matters set out in sections 3 and 3A); and (b)…
Section 10 — Unpublished operational information
Scope (1) This section applies if: (a) part (or all) of an agency’s operational information (the unpublished information), in relation to a function or power of the agency, is not published by the…
Section 10A — Who performs functions etc. given to agencies
(1) A function or power given to an agency under this Part may be performed or exercised, on behalf of the agency, by: (a) the principal officer of the agency; or (b) an officer of the agency acting…
Section 10B — Transitional—Norfolk Island authorities
This Part does not apply to a Norfolk Island authority at any time during the 2-year period beginning at the commencement of this section.
Section 11 — Right of access
(1) Subject to this Act, every person has a legally enforceable right to obtain access in accordance with this Act to: (a) a document of an agency, other than an exempt document; or (b) an official…
Section 11A — Access to documents on request
Scope (1) This section applies if: (a) a request is made by a person, in accordance with subsection 15(2), to an agency or Minister for access to: (i) a document of the agency; or (ii) an official…
Section 11B — Public interest exemptions—factors
Scope (1) This section applies for the purposes of working out whether access to a conditionally exempt document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest under subsection 11A(5). (2)…
Section 11C — Publication of information in accessed documents
Scope (1) This section applies to information if an agency or Minister gives a person access to a document under section 11A containing the information, except in the case of any of the following:…
Section 12 — Part not to apply to certain documents
(1) A person is not entitled to obtain access under this Part to: (a) a document, or a copy of a document, which is, under the Archives Act 1983, within the open access period within the meaning of…
Section 13 — Documents in certain institutions
(1) A document shall not be deemed to be a document of an agency for the purposes of this Act by reason of its being: (a) in the memorial collection within the meaning of the Australian War Memorial…
Section 15 — Requests for access
Persons may request access (1) Subject to section 15A, a person who wishes to obtain access to a document of an agency or an official document of a Minister may request access to the document.…
Section 15A — Request for access to personnel records
(1) In this section: personnel records, in relation to an employee or former employee of an agency, means those documents containing personal information about him or her that are, or have been, kept…
Section 15AA — Extension of time with agreement
An agency or Minister may extend the period referred to in paragraph 15(5)(b) for dealing with a request, or that period as extended under subsection 15(6) or (8) (consultation), by a further period…
Section 15AB — Extension of time for complex or voluminous requests
(1) An agency or Minister may apply to the Information Commissioner for an extension of the period referred to in paragraph 15(5)(b) for dealing with a request if the agency or Minister considers…
Section 15AC — Decision not made on request within time—deemed refusal
Scope (1) This section applies if: (a) a request has been made to an agency or Minister; and (b) the period (the initial decision period) covered by subsection (2) has ended since the day the request…
Section 16 — Transfer of requests
(1) Where a request is made to an agency for access to a document and: (a) the document is not in the possession of that agency but is, to the knowledge of that agency, in the possession of another…
Section 16A — Requests transferred from the ACT
Where a request under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 of the Australian Capital Territory is transferred to an agency in accordance with section 33 of that Act, it becomes a request under this…
Section 17 — Requests involving use of computers etc.
(1) Where: (a) a request (including a request in relation to which a practical refusal reason exists) is made in accordance with the requirements of subsection 15(2) to an agency; (b) it appears from…
Section 20 — Forms of access
(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…
Section 21 — Deferment of access
(1) An agency which, or a Minister who, receives a request may defer the provision of access to the document concerned: (a) if the publication of the document concerned is required by law—until the…
Section 22 — Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted
Scope (1) This section applies if: (a) an agency or Minister decides: (i) to refuse to give access to an exempt document; or (ii) that to give access to a document would disclose information that…
Section 23 — Decisions to be made by authorised persons
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a decision in respect of a request made to an agency may be made, on behalf of the agency, by the responsible Minister or the principal officer of the agency or,…
Section 24 — Power to refuse request—diversion of resources etc.
(1) If an agency or Minister is satisfied, when dealing with a request for a document, that a practical refusal reason exists in relation to the request (see section 24AA), the agency or Minister:…
Section 24A — Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or have not been received
Document lost or non-existent (1) An agency or Minister may refuse a request for access to a document if: (a) all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and (b) the agency or Minister…
Section 24AA — When does a practical refusal reason exist?
(1) For the purposes of section 24, a practical refusal reason exists in relation to a request for a document if either (or both) of the following applies: (a) the work involved in processing the…
Section 24AB — What is a request consultation process?
Scope (1) This section sets out what is a request consultation process for the purposes of section 24. Requirement to notify (2) The agency or Minister must give the applicant a written notice…
Section 25 — Information as to existence of certain documents
(1) Nothing in this Act shall be taken to require an agency or Minister to give information as to the existence or non-existence of a document where information as to the existence or non-existence…
Section 26 — Reasons and other particulars of decisions to be given
(1) Where, in relation to a request, a decision is made relating to a refusal to grant access to a document in accordance with the request or deferring provision of access to a document, the…
Section 26A — Consultation—documents affecting Commonwealth-State relations etc.
Scope (1) This section applies if: (a) arrangements have been entered into between the Commonwealth and a State about consultation under this section; and (b) a request is made to an agency or…
Section 27 — Consultation—business documents
Scope (1) This section applies if: (a) a request is made to an agency or Minister for access to a document containing information (business information) covered by subsection (2) in respect of a…