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The Australian Information Commissioner can issue guidelines about the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) under s 93A. Section 93A also requires Australian Government ministers and agencies to have regard to these guidelines when performing a function or exercising a power under the FOI Act. These FOI guidelines are not legislative instruments.

Download the complete print version (combined November 2019)

Summary of version changes to s 93A guidelines

14 June 2019
Chapters of the FOI Guidelines are updated individually. This page contains archived versions of each chapter, and notes on the changes between versions for each chapter.
Tags: summary of version changes
Read more: Summary of version changes to s 93A guidelines

Part 1 — Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act 1982

19 December 2016
Tags: Information Publication Scheme overview of the FOI Act Part 1
Read more: Part 1 — Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act 1982

Part 2 — Scope of application of the Freedom of Information Act 1982

19 December 2016
Tags: Agencies documents access request Part 2
Read more: Part 2 — Scope of application of the Freedom of Information Act 1982

Part 3 — Processing and deciding on requests for access

25 January 2018
Tags: process request for access timeframe statement of reasons Part 3
Read more: Part 3 — Processing and deciding on requests for access

Part 4 — Charges for providing access

19 December 2016
Tags: charges fees access Part 4
Read more: Part 4 — Charges for providing access

Part 5 — Exemptions

14 June 2019
Tags: exemptions documents Part 5
Read more: Part 5 — Exemptions

Part 6 — Conditional exemptions

19 December 2016
Tags: conditional exemption documents public interest test disclosure Part 6
Read more: Part 6 — Conditional exemptions

Part 7 — Amendment and annotation of personal records

25 January 2018
Tags: amend a personal record annotate a personal record Part 7
Read more: Part 7 — Amendment and annotation of personal records

Part 8 — This Part has been superseded and the content moved to Part 3

3 October 2014
Contains a paragraph comparison table of the integration of Parts 3 and 8
Tags: Part 3 Part 8
Read more: Part 8 — This Part has been superseded and the content moved to Part 3

Part 9 — Internal agency review of decisions

3 October 2014
Tags: internal review Part 9
Read more: Part 9 — Internal agency review of decisions

Part 10 — Review by the Information Commissioner

26 February 2018
Tags: decisions Information Commissioner review
Read more: Part 10 — Review by the Information Commissioner

Part 11 — Complaints and investigations

26 February 2018
Tags: complaints Information Commissioner review investigations Part 11
Read more: Part 11 — Complaints and investigations

Part 12 — Vexatious applicant declarations

29 November 2019
Tags: vexatious applicant declarations Part 12
Read more: Part 12 — Vexatious applicant declarations

Part 13 — Information publication scheme

3 October 2014
Tags: Information Publication Scheme Part 13 operational information agency plan annual report website
Read more: Part 13 — Information publication scheme

Part 14 — Disclosure log

18 January 2019
Tags: disclosure log Part 14
Read more: Part 14 — Disclosure log

Part 15 — Reporting

25 January 2018
Tags: reporting Part 15
Read more: Part 15 — Reporting

Glossary

3 October 2014
Tags: glossary
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