Freedom of Information Law & Lawyers

Access to government information under FOI legislation.

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Freedom of Information Legislation

In Australia, the Freedom of Information Act 1982 was passed at the federal level in 1982, applying to all "ministers, departments and public authorities" of the Commonwealth.

There is similar freedom of information legislation in all states and territories as follows:

Australian Capital Territory, the Freedom of Information Act 1989
New South Wales, the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009
Northern Territory, the Information Act 2003
Queensland, the Right to Information Act 2009
South Australia, the Freedom of Information Act 1991
Tasmania, the Right to Information Act 2009
Victoria, the Freedom of Information Act 1982
Western Australia, the Freedom of Information Act 1992

If you need legal help regarding access to information or any aspect relating to Freedom of Information law, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

The basic purposes of FOI legislation, and the benefits which it is intended to confer upon the relationship between citizens and government are as follows:

to improve the quality of decision-making by government agencies in both policy and administrative matters by removing unnecessary secrecy surrounding the decision-making process;
to enable groups and individuals to be kept informed of the functioning of the decision-making process as it affects them and to know the kinds of criteria that will be applied by government agencies in making those decisions;
to develop further the quality of political democracy by giving the opportunity to all Australians to participate fully in the political process;
to enable individuals, except in very limited and exceptional circumstances, to have access to information about them held on government files, so that they may know the basis on which decisions that can fundamentally affect their lives are made and may have the opportunity of correcting information that is untrue or misleading.

If you need legal help regarding access to information or any aspect relating to Freedom of Information law, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

The Freedom of Information Act

Some of the underlying principles and purpose pertaining to the creation of the Freedom of information laws are such that it:

establishes for the Australian community a legally enforceable right of access to information held by Commonwealth ministers and government agencies, except where an essential public interest or the private or business affairs of persons may require confidentiality to be maintained
gives Australian citizens and permanent residents the right to request amendment of government-held records relating to their personal affairs that are incomplete, incorrect, out of date, or misleading
requires agencies to publish information about their organization and functions and the types of documents they hold and to make available manuals, rules, guidelines and precedents used in making internal decisions affecting the public.