47/2009
24 November 2009
Cabinet Secretary, Senator Joe Ludwig, today announced the Rudd Government will introduce reforms to Australia’s Freedom of Information laws into Parliament this week.
“The Rudd Government is pursuing its election promise to implement a pro-disclosure regime across government,” Senator Ludwig said.
“On Thursday the Government intends to introduce the Freedom of Information Amendment (Reform) Bill 2009 and the Information Commissioner Bill 2009 into Parliament.”
“These Bills will drive a cultural shift across government to ensure greater access to government information, representing the most significant overhaul of the FOI Act since its commencement in 1982.”
Senator Ludwig said the Government developed the reforms through a consultative process.
“The Government has been carefully considering submissions to exposure draft legislation released earlier this year,” he said.
“As a consequence, the Government’s reforms have been further improved to enhance government accountability and make government information more available to the public.”
“The most significant change will give FOI applicants the option of seeking internal review of an initial decision, or going directly to the new Information Commissioner.”
“This will encourage the best possible outcome for access decisions at first instance.”
“The Bills will also permit agencies to extend the period for making a decision on an access request only with the agreement of the applicant.”
The centre piece of the Government’s FOI reforms remains the establishment of the Office of the Information Commissioner.
“The new office will, for the first time, bring oversight of both the privacy and FOI regimes together in a single office,” Senator Ludwig said.
“The office will be headed by a new statutory office holder, the Information Commissioner, who will be supported by a new FOI Commissioner and the existing Privacy Commissioner.”
Other major transparency measures contained in these Bills include:
The Office of the Information Commissioner will be established as soon as practicable after the legislation is passed through Parliament.
| Media Contact: | Website: |
|---|---|
| Sarah Cosson - 0423 823 843 or (02) 6277 7600 | www.cabinetsecretary.gov.au www.smos.gov.au |