[no bill text published] New grounds for refusing freedom of information requests
Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025
1st House
2nd House
Law
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
Agencies and Ministers can refuse to process a freedom of information request if it is an abuse of process.
Applicants must state whether they are seeking employee identifying information; this is information that could identify or contact a current or former staff member.
Agencies only have to act on requests that meet these new requirements.
The Information Commissioner can review decisions to refuse requests.
The Information Commissioner can set aside a refusal and decide on the request themselves; this does not apply if the refusal was based on a diversion of resources.
Applicants are protected from criminal charges for providing information to help process a request.
Deadlines for agencies to respond move from 30 days to 30 working days.