Office of the Information Commissioner Freedom of Information A safeguard of our Parliamentary Democracy Sven Bluemmel Information Commissioner

Office of the Information Commissioner “Freedom of Information… …I quake at the imbecility of it.”

Office of the Information Commissioner Lofty goals To enable the public to participate more effectively in governing the State To make the persons and bodies that are responsible for State and local government more accountable to the public

Office of the Information Commissioner How FOI works Applicants apply directly to the agency, agency must furnish a decision with reasons All government documents are accessible, unless exempt under the FOI Act Third parties whose information appears in requested documents have a right to be consulted Parties have review rights

Office of the Information Commissioner How FOI works Some frequently cited exemptions: Personal Information Commercial or business information Cabinet and Executive Council

Office of the Information Commissioner Role of the Commissioner Independent merits review of agency FOI decisions Advice and awareness for agencies and members of the public Appointed by the Governor and reports to the Parliament All of the Commissioner’s decisions are published

Office of the Information Commissioner Some Numbers In the 2011/12 financial year 16,634 FOI decisions made across the sector: 57%: full access 33%: edited access 7%: documents could not be found 2%: refuse access 1%: access deferred or indirect

Office of the Information Commissioner Some Challenges Increased amount and complexity of information collected and held by government Information held in non-traditional formats: CCTV footage, tweets, blog posts, SMS… Absence of privacy legislation in WA Ensuring timely decisions, both at the application and the review stages

Office of the Information Commissioner Thank You