Commonwealth – Freedom of Information
Commonwealth Legislation
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) The Commonwealth was the first to introduce freedom of information legislation in Australia in 1982, followed over a ten year period by all States and Territories. The Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) is administered by the Info...
Requests for Information
Who Can Apply? Any person can apply for information. A ‘person’ can be an individual, a next of kin applying for information about a deceased person, or a body corporate or unincorporate. The person does not have to be resident in Tasmania or an Australian citizen to apply. No reason need be giv...
Freedom of Information Decisions
Information may be provided in the following ways: the applicant may inspect the record; the applicant may receive photocopies of the record; the applicant may hear tapes or view films; and a transcript may be provided. Where a document contains both exempt and non-exempt informa...
Nature of the Information
Exemptions Documents or parts of documents can only be withheld if they are exempt under the FOI Act. Exempt documents are: documents affecting national security, defence, international relations Cabinet documents documents affecting the enforcement of the law and public safety d...
Review and Complaint
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) website provides a comprehensive discussion of the review process. Applicants seeking a review of an FOI access decision can access an internal review by the agency or the Information Commissioner. The immediacy of this right is inte...
Page last updated 14/12/2017