Published by Department of Justice, Victoria, Australia December 2012 © Copyright State of Victoria, Department of Justice, 2012. This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Freedom of Information Annual Report by the Victorian Minister responsible for the Freedom of Information Act 1982 ISSN: 1838-3920 (Print) Also published on www.foi.vic.gov.au ISSN: 1838-3939 (Online) Authorised by the Minister responsible for the Freedom of Information Act 1982 the Honourable Andrew McIntosh MP 121 Exhibition Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Printed by On Demand 323 Williamstown Road Port Melbourne Victoria 3207 If you would like to receive this publication in an accessible format, such as large print or audio, please email [email protected] FOREWORD I am delighted to submit to both Houses of Parliament, the 2011-2012 Freedom of Information Annual Report. This report outlines the operation of freedom of information in Victoria for the 2011-2012 financial year and has been prepared in accordance with sections 64 and 65AA of the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Andrew McIntosh MP Minister responsible for the Freedom of Information Act 1982 1 CONTENTS FOREWORD...................................................................................................................................1 PART 1: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OVERVIEW...................................................................3 PART 2: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION IN VICTORIA ................................................................4 2.1 Government Bodies Covered by Freedom of Information (FOI)...........................................4 2.2 About FOI............................................................................................................................4 2.3 About This Report................................................................................................................4 2.4 Requests, Internal Reviews and Appeals ............................................................................4 2.5 Access Decisions on Requests............................................................................................6 2.6 Most Frequently Cited Exemptions ......................................................................................7 2.7 Fees and Charges for Requests..........................................................................................8 2.8 'Top 30' Agencies ................................................................................................................9 2.9 Disciplinary Action Taken in Relation to the Administration of the FOI Act.........................10 2.10 Notices Issued Under Section 12 of the FOI Act................................................................10 2.11 Retrospective Access........................................................................................................10 2.12 Difficulties in Administering the FOI Act Related to Staffing and Costs ..............................10 2.13 Reading Rooms Provided by Agencies..............................................................................10 2.14 Efforts Made by Agencies to Implement the Spirit and Intention of the FOI Act .................10 2.15 Sources of FOI Requests ..................................................................................................10 2.16 Performance......................................................................................................................10 PART 3: NOTES ON AGENCY STATISTICS ..............................................................................11 3.1 Requests...........................................................................................................................11 3.2 Internal Reviews................................................................................................................ 11 3.3 Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Appeals ...........................................................11 3.4 Exemptions........................................................................................................................11 3.5 Decision Makers................................................................................................................11 3.6 Fees and Charges.............................................................................................................11 PART 4: APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................12 APPENDIX A1: Requests Received by Agencies ......................................................................12 APPENDIX A2: Department of Sustainability and Environment Committees of Management ....34 APPENDIX B: Requests for Internal Review............................................................................56 APPENDIX C: Appeals to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ................................58 APPENDIX D: Exemptions Cited .............................................................................................60 APPENDIX E: Names and Titles of Decision Makers...............................................................74 APPENDIX F: Fees and Charges...................................................................................................................91 2 PART 1: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OVERVIEW I am delighted to present the 2011-2012 Annual Report under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act), the last report to be presented by me as Minister responsible for the Act. With the recent commencement of the Freedom of Information Amendment (Freedom of Information Commissioner) Act 2012 future reports are now the responsibility of the independent Freedom of Information Commissioner. Overview: 2011-2012 There was a 4.5 per cent increase in the number of Freedom of Information (FOI) applications received. There were 35,601 FOI requests received across government agencies. The majority of these were made by individual Victorians seeking access to documents about themselves. During the 2011-2012 year there were 32,300 decisions on access made and, of these, 97.3 per cent granted access either in full or in part. Implementing integrity reforms: the Freedom of Information Commissioner Since my last report, the Freedom of Information Amendment (Freedom of Information Commissioner) Act 2012 passed the Victorian Parliament and came into operation on 1 December 2012. The introduction of the Freedom of Information Commissioner by the Coalition Government represents the most significant change to Victoria’s freedom of information regime in more than 30 years. The Coalition Government was pleased to announce the appointment of Lynne Bertolini, a career public servant with more than 30 years experience across various portfolios, as the inaugural Commissioner. I am confident Lynne Bertolini will serve with distinction in this new role. Andrew McIntosh MP Minister responsible for the Freedom of Information Act 1982 3 PART 2: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION IN VICTORIA 2.1 Government Bodies Covered by Freedom of Information (FOI) The Act provides the right to apply for access to documents held by the wide range of State Government bodies listed in this report, including ministers, state government departments, local councils, most semi-government agencies and statutory authorities, public hospitals, universities, and TAFE colleges. In some instances it is also possible to seek access to documents relating to services outsourced by government agencies. 2.2 About FOI An FOI request needs to be made in writing to the agency that holds the documents being requested. The FOI Online website (www.foi.vic.gov.au) is an online resource which provides a range of information and resources about FOI. This includes request forms, contact details for agencies and general information relating to FOI, such as how to make requests, locating the right agencies, costs and review rights. It also provides for online requests to be made to any of the 11 government departments or Victoria Police. Freedom of Information Annual Reports are also available on the website. 2.3 About This Report The statistical information contained in this report was collated from data provided to the Department of Justice (DOJ) from 981 State Government bodies subject to the Act. The statistical data was requested by DOJ and provided on a uniform basis by agencies, in accordance with the requirements of sections 64 and 65AA of the Act. In addition to these agencies, the Department of Sustainability and Environment has advised on behalf of 1201 Committees of Management, listed separately at Appendix A2, that they had no FOI activity in 2011-2012. FOI request data contained in this report relates to those requests that met the Act’s definition of a request in the 2011-12 year. A request is defined as one made in accordance with section 17 of the Act. This may differ from how agencies report their FOI data in other contexts. 2.4 Requests, Internal Reviews and Appeals Table 1 provides a summary of the total number of FOI requests, internal reviews and Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) appeals, since 1984-1985. The number of requests received in each year is represented graphically in Chart 1. Requests reported in 2011-2012 increased 4.5 per cent on the figure for the previous year to 35,601. Internal reviews increased to 464 which was 1.3 per cent of the number of FOI requests received.