Agencies are to give effect to the FOI Act in a way that:
- assists the public to obtain access to documents;
- allows access to documents to be obtained promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost; and
- assists the public to ensure that personal information contained in documents is accurate, complete, up-to-date and not misleading.
Learn more about Section 4 of the FOI Act.
It is important to act in a way which furthers the objects of the FOI Act. FOI officers should always bear the following concepts in mind:
- Can the request be dealt with outside the FOI process? If so, this may lead to a better outcome for all parties.
- Engage in early and meaningful dialogue with the applicant to clarify the scope of the application. This may help identify the documents the applicant really wants and stop the agency having to undertake unnecessary work.
- An agency may release an exempt document if there is no harm in doing so. Section 23(1) states only that an agency may refuse access to exempt information.
- The notice of decision is an important part of the FOI process and is crucial in ensuring that an applicant is afforded justice (sections 13(1)(b) and 30).
The public interest
Show moreIf the agency is required to consider the public interest, this usually means that information that would otherwise be exempt will not be exempt if its disclosure would, on balance, be in the public interest.
So what does the term ‘public interest’ mean?
It is not defined in the FOI Act. It can be a complex legal concept.
Consideration of the public interest under the FOI Act is not primarily concerned with the personal interests of the particular access applicant or with public curiosity. The public interest is a matter in which the public at large has an interest as distinct from the interest of a particular individual or individuals. The question is whether, on balance, giving access to the information would be of some benefit to the public generally.
Deciding whether or not disclosing information would, on balance, be in the public interest test involves identifying and weighing the relevant competing public interests for and against disclosure of the information and deciding where the balance lies.
TIP: In relation to personal information of a private nature, the Information Commissioner has consistently found that there is a very strong public interest in maintaining the privacy of individuals. If you are seeking information about another person, the onus is on you to establish that it is in the public interest for private information about the other person to be disclosed to you (section 102).
Children and people with intellectual difficulties
Show moreThere are no age or intellectual capacity limits on who may make an application under the FOI Act. Additionally, an application can be made on behalf of a child or a person with intellectual difficulties by an appropriate representative (e.g. guardian - see section 98).
A representative of a child or a person with intellectual difficulties may also be contacted by an agency if the agency is considering giving access to information about the child or the person with intellectual difficulties (section 32).
An agency may decide to refuse access to personal information about a child or a person with intellectual difficulties where the agency considers this would be in the best interests of the person (sections 23(4) and 23(5)).
Print this page
