About the Inquiry
On 24 September 2007, the ALRC received Terms of Reference from the Attorney-General of Australia to inquire into Freedom of Information (FOI) laws and practices across Australia.
Freedom of information laws provide members of the public with access to information held by Government agencies. At a federal level, the main law governing freedom of information is the Freedom of Information Act 1982 .
The Freedom of Information Act requires Australian Government agencies to publish certain information about their operations and powers, and to provide access to documents in their possession, unless a document falls within exceptions or exemptions set out in the Act.
The Terms of Reference for the Freedom of Information Inquiry direct the ALRC to consider the Freedom of Information Act and relevant state and territory laws. As well as considering how these laws might be improved, the ALRC is required to consider whether there is any need to harmonise these laws, so that FOI requirements and practices are consistent across state, territory and federal jurisdictions.
Other matters that the ALRC is required to consider include:
- the impact of evolving technology on production, storage and access to information;
- approaches to access to information in other countries;
- the ability of governments to obtain forthright advice from government agencies;
- constitutional issues that may affect harmonisation of FOI laws; and
- the interests of third parties who deal with government (such as contractors).
The ALRC reviewed the Freedom of Information Act in a joint inquiry with the Administrative Review Council (ARC), which led to the report Open Government: A Review of the Federal Freedom of Information Act 1982 (ALRC 77, 1996)
The ALRC and ARC made 106 recommendations for changes to FOI laws and practices. More information on the main recommendations and on implementation of ALRC 77 is available on this website. The ALRC also has made proposals about the interaction between FOI and privacy laws as part of its current Privacy Inquiry. These proposals are set out in Chapter 12 of Discussion Paper 72, Review of Australian Privacy Law.
On 22 July 2008, the Attorney-General informed the ALRC that the FOI inquiry was being suspended as part of the FOI reform process announced by the Federal Government.