FOI Conclusive Certificates Conclusively Abolished By New Bill

Key Point

• The Administrative Appeals Tribunal will be able to conduct full merits review of any claims for an exemption.

The Federal Government has acted on its election promise to promote a culture of open government by introducing a bill in Parliament to remove conclusive certificates as a barrier to the granting of access to documents pursuant to freedom of information applications.

The FOI Act currently provides a Minister with the power to issue a certificate which conclusively establishes that a document is an exempt document where the Minister is satisfied that one or more of the exemptions apply (those being in relation to national security, defence, international relations, relations with States, cabinet documents, executive council documents and internal working documents).