Freedom of Information Requests

=Introduction=

This page is intended to be a basic guide for those seeking access to information from government departments or entities via Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation in Australia. Initially it will focus on legislation and procedures pertaining to Commonwealth or Federal government ministries, departments, public authorities or other governmental entities, which is regulated by the Freedom of Information Act (1982)

Freedom of Information laws are supposed to be statutory guarantees of access to governmental information. They don't always work. Although the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) (formerly the Privacy Commissioner) says FOI laws are a "statement of the intention to promote disclosure of information held by government", most governmental departments operate with a pro-secrecy mentality. So until there are pirates in parliament, we have to work with what laws we have in order to attain or extract information about internal government decision making processes.

Legislation
List relevant legislation here.

A Basic Template
The following is an example FOI request that seeks access to information that we have previously sought, and received, regarding a secret meeting held by the Attorney General's Department (AGD).

Example 1
The Director

FOI and Privacy Section Attorney-General's Department

3-5 National Circuit

BARTON ACT 2600

Dear Sir/Madam,

I hereby request, under the Freedom of Information Act (1982) copies of the following documents, available as of the date of this letter:

(a) All correspondence, emails or memos regarding the meeting conveyed by the Attorney General’s department between Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and special interest groups held on September 23, 2011. The meeting was first publicly mentioned in The Australian, on August 24, 2011, and was confirmed to have been on the proceeded on the aforementioned date to journalists at Delimiter.

(b) Any minutes, notes or emails as a result of the meeting, made by the Department, or made available by to the Department during the meeting by the meeting participants.

I have previously written to the Secretary of the Attorney General to express concern regarding the Department’s reliance on research, commissioned by the special interest groups invited by the Department to the meeting, as a basis for the policy direction of the government. I have also expressed concern that civil society and the public have been excluded from the process at such a formative stage.

I also make the application that all costs for the processing of this request be waived on the grounds that the release of this information is in the public interest, will enhance the transparency of the process and the public debate surrounding potential legislative changes or the development of industry codes.

Any documents attained under this request will be made available on the website www.pirateparty.org.au and be made available to journalists.

Kind Regards,

A Pirate

Helpful Tips
Experience and handy tips for dealing with disclosure and FOI officers, requests, etc.

Need Help?
If we have time and resources, we may be able to help with your FOI request, or refer you to someone that may be able to help you. Please contact us here.