Freedom of information law

The FoI Act (Vic) covers:

• Victorian Government departments;
• local councils;
• prescribed authorities, such as Victoria Police (see s 5 of the FoI Act (Vic) for the definition of ‘prescribed authority’).

Additional bodies are brought under the Act by the Freedom of Information Regulations 2009 (Vic) (see sch 1).

The Act and Regulations can be downloaded from the Victorian Information Commissioner’s website.

Through the Victorian Information Commissioner’s website, you can search for the names and contact details of many of the agencies that are subject to the FoI Act (Vic).

In the FoI Act (Vic):

• section 13: the right to access a document of an agency and an official document of a minister (other than an exempt document) – exempt documents are outlined in Part IV (ss 28–38);
• Part V: the right to amend personal records (ss 39–49);
• Part II: the index and directories requirements (ss 7–12);
• Part VI: details of review rights (ss 49A–61); and
• Part VIA: complaint rights (ss 61A–61M).

A request for access must be made in writing and sent to the agency holding the documents (s 17 FoI Act (Vic)). Applications to government departments and certain agencies (including Victoria Police and the Victorian Information Commissioner) can be submitted and paid for electronically via https://ovic.vic.gov.au.

The request should clearly specify the documents to which access is sought, and should be headed ‘Freedom of Information Request’, so that the intention to bring the request under the FoI Act (Vic) is clear. An official application form may be used. Many agencies have developed their own forms; a general application form can be downloaded from https://ovic.vic.gov.au.

An application fee (see ‘Fees and charges’, below) must be paid (s 17(2A) FoI Act (Vic)), although it may be waived or reduced in cases of hardship (s 17(2B) FoI Act (Vic)).

The agency receiving the request has a duty to assist an applicant to make a valid freedom of information request (s 17(3) FoI Act (Vic)). It is also possible for the request to be transferred to the most relevant agency once it is made (s 18 FoI Act (Vic)).

Under the FoI Act (Vic) (s 21(1)), a request for access must be answered as soon as practicable, and no later than 30 days after receiving a valid request.

This period may be extended by up to 15 days, if consultation is required about withholding documents (see below), or by 30 days if agreed to by the applicant (s 21(2) FoI Act (Vic)).

Yes. The FoI Act (Vic) (ss 28–38A) lists documents that are exempt from being accessed.

Exempt documents include:

• cabinet documents (s 28);
• documents that, if disclosed, would prejudice the relations between Victoria and the Commonwealth or any other state or territory (s 29(1)(a));
• documents containing matter communicated in confidence by any government of another country or of the Commonwealth or of any other state or territory (s 29(1)(b));
• documents affecting national security, defence or international relations (s 29A);
• certain Court Services Victoria documents (s 29B);
• certain internal ministerial working documents (s 30);
• certain law enforcement documents (s 31);
• certain documents relating to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (s 31A);
• documents affecting legal proceedings (s 32);
• documents affecting personal privacy (s 33);
• documents relating to trade secrets or other business, commercial or financial information (s 34);
• certain documents containing material communicated in con­fidence to an agency or a government minister (s 35);
• documents the disclosure of which would be contrary to public interest (s 36);
• certain documents arising out of companies and securities legislation (s 37); and 
• documents to which secrecy provisions of enactments apply (s 38).

In certain circumstances, a decision about whether a document caught by sections 29, 29A, 31, 31A, 33, 34 or 35 of the FoI Act (Vic) may be exempt from disclosure is subject to a consultation process.

If consultation is required, the period for responding to a request for access may be extended by up to 15 days (s 21(2) FoI Act (Vic)).

If an agency decides to refuse access to the requested documents, it must provide a statement of reasons (s 27(1)(a) FoI Act (Vic)). The agency must also advise the applicant of their review rights, how they may exercise those rights and any time limits that apply (s 27(1)(d) FoI Act (Vic)).

In general, an applicant may ask the Victorian Information Commissioner to review an agency’s or minister’s decision to deny access to the requested documents (s 49A FoI Act (Vic)). In general, the timeframe for lodging a review request is 28 days from the day an applicant received notice of the decision (s 49B FoI Act (Vic)).

The Victorian Information Commissioner also has the power to require a further search for documents if they reasonably believe that an agency or minister has failed to undertake an adequate search for documents that relate to a decision that is the subject of a review (s 49KA FoI Act (Vic)).

Any subsequent appeal may be taken to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (s 50 FoI Act (Vic)).

Information about fees and charges is available from the Victorian freedom of information website.

Access charges may not apply to some applicants in certain circumstances (s 17(2B) FoI Act (Vic)). There is no charge to request a review of an agency’s access decision by the Victorian Information Commissioner.

The fees and charges that apply to making a freedom of information application are outlined in section 17(2A) of the FoI Act (Vic) and in the Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations 2014 (Vic).

The fees and charges for freedom of information applications as at 1 July 2021 are set out in the table below.

An application to the Victorian Civil and Admin­istrative Tribunal (VCAT) to review an agency’s access decision costs 70 per cent of 64 fee units (as at 1 July 2021, this equals $673.34).

However, there is no fee where:

• the documents to which access is sought contain information relating to the personal affairs of the applicant; or
• a government agency has failed to respond to a request within the statutory time limit, i.e. deemed refusal appeals (see ‘How quickly must an agency reply?’, above).

VCAT also has a tiered fee structure. If you are the holder of a Commonwealth Health Care Card, the application cost is capped at 11 fee units (as at 1 July 2021, this equals $165.33).

As a general rule, in VCAT matters, each party bears their own costs.

The Victorian Information Commissioner’s website contains information about Victorian freedom of information processes.

Enquiries about making a request to an agency should be directed to the agency’s freedom of infor­mation officer and for many agencies can be made online.

Enquiries about review and complaint processes can be made to the Victorian Information Commissioner.