Who must respond to FOI requests within 30 days (Cwlth agencies + ministers)?

FOI Act 1982 — Commonwealth agencies + ministers must respond to access requests within 30 days.

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 gives every person, whether or not an Australian citizen or in Australia, a right to access documents held by Australian Government agencies and ministers unless an exemption applies, and to seek amendment or annotation of their personal information. An agency or minister must take all reasonable steps to notify the applicant of a decision within 30 days of receiving the request (s 15(5)(b)); that period can be extended for consultation, by up to 30 days with the applicant's written agreement (s 15AA), or by the Information Commissioner for complex or voluminous requests (s 15AB). If no decision is made in time, the request is deemed refused (s 15AC). Decisions are reviewable by internal review, Information Commissioner (IC) review at the OAIC and then the Administrative Review Tribunal. Agencies also run an Information Publication Scheme and report FOI statistics to the OAIC.

Applies to government agencies and ministers only. The Rules Mate questionnaire does not treat this as an obligation for an ordinary business.

How the regulator frames it: Australian Government agencies (other than those exempt under the Act) and ministers holding official documents. Businesses are affected as third parties: the Act provides for consultation on business documents (s 27), and a business can seek review of a decision to release a document containing its business information.

What triggers it: Receiving a request for access to a document, or an application to amend or annotate personal information, that meets the formal requirements of the FOI Act.

Jurisdiction: Commonwealth law, so the test is the same in every state and territory.

Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (35 of 35: no).

The answer is the same in every industry: no. Industry does not change who must comply.

Structure does not change the answer across all industries: for every structure the answer is "no".

Size does not change the answer across all industries: at every size band the answer is "no".

Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:

• Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Applies to government agencies and ministers only.

When due

Decision notified within 30 days of receipt, plus any lawful extension; internal review decided within 30 days of the application (s 54B); applicants seek internal review within 30 days of notification and IC review of an access refusal within 60 days (s 54S).

Frequency

When a triggering event occurs

Evidence to keep

FOI request register; acknowledgment and decision letters with statement of reasons; third-party consultation records; written agreement or Information Commissioner instrument for any extension; charges decisions; internal review decisions; FOI statistics returns to the OAIC; Information Publication Scheme entries and disclosure log.

Status

Current

Priority

High

Maximum penalty: The FOI Act's consequence for a late or wrong access decision is review, not a monetary penalty. A late decision is deemed a refusal that the applicant can take straight to IC review, and decisions can be varied or set aside on internal review, by the Information Commissioner or by the Administrative Review Tribunal.

Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.

If this obligation applies to you, so do these 2: the engine uses the same rule for each.

• Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (federal whistleblower)
• Comply with Vic FOI Act 1982 (state)

Rules Mate tracks 2 published obligations tagged "foi", 0 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 0 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated high priority, and is triggered by events.

Regulated by Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

OAIC: Privacy and freedom of information regulator. Administers the Privacy Act 1988, the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, and the Australian Privacy Principles.

• Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Freedom of Information Act 1982: Right of access to documents held by Commonwealth agencies + ministers.

• Freedom of Information Act 1982

Free tools that help with this obligation:

• Compliance calendar builder