Editors --- "Needs to Know' - Own Motion Investigation Into The Administration of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 In Commonwealth Agencies By The Commonwealth Ombudsman" [1999] AdminRw 8; (1999) 51 Admin Review 36

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'NEEDS TO KNOW' - OWN MOTION INVESTIGATION INTO THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 IN COMMONWEALTH AGENCIES BY THE COMMONWEALTH OMBUDSMAN

The Commonwealth Ombudsman released a report on Commonwealth Government agencies' administration of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 ('FOI Act') in June 1999.

The Report was a result of an 'own motion' investigation by the Ombudsman, under section 35A of the Ombudsman Act 1976 ('Ombudsman Act'). In his introduction to the Report, the Ombudsman cites the reasons that prompted the investigation as being:

... the absence of any agency having legislative responsibility for oversight of administration of the FOI Act and mounting material to suggest a decline in understanding within government agencies of the provisions of the Act.

The Report followed a review by Ombudsman' officers of current FOI administration practices. This review revealed widespread problems with record-keeping under the FOI Act, and also identified a number of instances of probable misuse of exemptions. The review found that this misuse of exemptions was more evident in relation to requests for government-policy information, as opposed to requests for personal information. The review also identified problems in the area of giving adequate training to staff on the FOI Act.

The Report makes a number of recommendations on how administration of FOI can be improved within agencies. Some of the key recommendations made are:

• the adoption of a centralised approach to the management of FOI within agencies, including decision-making;

• the introduction of internal quality control procedures to ensure the production of statements of reasons, where exemptions to disclosure of information are claimed;

• the use of informal procedures for the disclosure of information, outside of the FOI Act, particularly for personal information inquiries;

• the development of appropriate training programs for FOI officers;

• the re-commencement by the Attorney-General's Department of publication of FOI Memoranda and Decision Summaries; and

• review of internal review of FOI practices, to ensure that review is at arms length.

The Report also supported the conclusions and recommendations contained in the joint Australian Law Reform Commission ('ALRC') Report No 77; Administrative Review Council ('ARC') Report No 40, Open Government: a review of federal Freedom of Information Act 1982, which was published in 1995. In particular, the Ombudsman's Report:

• endorsed the joint ALRC/ARC recommendation that agencies be given responsibility and resources for the ongoing oversight of FOI administration;

• recommended that Government give priority to the ALRC/ARC recommendations in relation to records management; and

• recommended that the ALRC/ARC recommendation that no application fee be charged for access to personal information be adopted.

Copies of Report No 40 can be obtained by contacting the Council's Secretariat on tel [phone], or by visiting the Council's website at law.gov.au/arc.