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Guidance and advice
RSS feedWe've developed these guides to help organisations and agencies understand and comply with the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
Agencies and ministers must also have regard to Australian Information Commissioner’s freedom of information (FOI) Guidelines when performing a function or exercising a power under the FOI Act.
17 June 2020
This checklist highlights the key elements in preparing a statement of reasons under s 26 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). You should refer to the FOI Guidelines for full details: Part 3 (Processing and deciding on requests for access).Your summary should include these points:Checklist for preparing ...
17 June 2020
This checklist aims to help decision makers to identify the key steps in making a decision on a request for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). You should refer to the FOI Guidelines for full details: Part 3 (Processing and deciding on requests for ...
Download the printable Reasonable Steps checklistDownload the editable Search Minute templateIntroductionThe Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has developed this resource to assist agencies meet their obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) when processing requests for information.This resource will help your agency identify the ...
The Information Publication Scheme (IPS) requires agencies to publish a broad range of information and authorises publication of other information. Agencies and staff are protected against civil and criminal liability if they publish documents in good faith.This overview has been prepared for the Senior Executive Service within Australian Government agencies.What ...
10 June 2019
Download the print version Revision date: 10 June 2019 Note: This version of the FOI stats guide relates to statistical returns from 1 July 2019 A copy of all the questions in both the quarterly and annual returns is attached to this guide. Key pointsThe Freedom of Information Act 1982 ...
25 September 2018
This agency resource explains administrative access, why it may be beneficial for agencies to release information outside the formal FOI request process and how agencies can set up an administrative access arrangement.Key pointsIt is open to agencies to consider administrative access as an option to release information outside of the ...
7 January 2018
Using readily identifiable ‘Access to information’, Information Publication Scheme (IPS) and Disclosure Log icons on agency websites will assist in ensuring that those pages are easily discoverable and that a consistent approach is adopted across government. This approach is recommended in our Guidance for agency websites: ‘Access to information’ web ...
1 July 2014
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) requires agencies and ministers to comply with statutory timeframes for processing FOI requests. In some limited circumstances, the timeframe may be extended, for example, with the agreement of the applicant or with the approval of the Information Commissioner.This agency resource gives an ...
Guidance and advice
We've developed these guides to help organisations and agencies understand and comply with the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
Agencies and ministers must also have regard to Australian Information Commissioner’s freedom of information (FOI) Guidelines when performing a function or exercising a power under the FOI Act.
25 September 2018
This agency resource explains administrative access, why it may be beneficial for agencies to release information outside the formal FOI request process and how agencies can set up an administrative access arrangement.
Tags: access
Guidance to help decision makers identify the steps in calculating and imposing a charge.
Tags: access
30 April 2012
Which bodies and offices are covered by the FOI Act, and those that are excluded
Position paper which identifies some of the issues agencies should consider when deciding whether to exempt the names and contact details of public servants in response to FOI requests.
30 October 2010
Agencies must take contractual measures to ensure that they receive documents held by certain contractors or subcontractors if a person requests access to those documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
Tags: access
The exemptions and conditional exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 ensure that sensitive information is properly protected. A person has a legally enforceable right of access to a document of an agency or an official document of a minister unless the document is exempt or conditionally exempt.
Tags: exemptions
1 July 2014
How to apply to the OAIC for an extension of time for processing FOI requests.
24 December 2020
A fact sheet for Freedom of Information practitioners to download to provide agency staff with a broad overview of the FOI Act and the steps required to be taken when an FOI request is received.