Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I thank my parliamentary colleagues for their contributions to the debate on this bill. The Albanese government recognises that an effective freedom of information system is vital to fostering citizens' trust in government decision-making and to supporting participation in Australia's civic and democratic processes.

Australia's current freedom of information framework was established over 40 years ago and does not reflect our world today, including the opportunities and challenges presented by modern technology. Outdated provisions divert resources and cost taxpayers money while delaying responding to genuine requests. Complex procedural and technical rules contribute to system inefficiencies without benefits to Australians or Australia's democracy. The Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 will ensure our freedom of information framework is fit for purpose in 2025 and beyond by upholding and promoting core democratic principles that underpin freedom of information laws and addressing issues that in practice undermine a more effective and balanced framework.

The government remains committed to delivering meaningful freedom of information reform. We remain ready and willing to engage across to parliament on possible amendments, given the importance of getting this right. One of the important measures in this bill is the ban on anonymous requests. This will provide greater transparency about who is seeking to access information held by the Australian government, ensuring our FOI system cannot be exploited by those who may seek to do Australia or Australians harm. However, some stakeholders and those opposite have expressed concern that the proposed ban might discourage individuals or organisations with legitimate reasons for seeking anonymity, such as whistleblowers, from making FOI requests. Today I will be moving an amendment to address this concern by allowing applicants to make requests for non-personal information without having to disclose whether a request is being made on behalf of another person. This change will mean that a person with a legitimate reason for seeking anonymity can ask a member of parliament, a journalist, a lawyer, a friend or any other person to make a request for non-personal information on their behalf while maintaining their anonymity.

More broadly, we have been listening to evidence provided as part of the Senate committee inquiry, and the government will keep an open mind and continue to engage in good faith on the final form of these important reforms. We all agree on the need to get on with fixing what is currently a broken freedom of information system. What we know is that every stakeholder says the current FOI system isn't working and there are significant delays in having FOI requests processed. The fact is that the government's freedom of information laws will create efficiencies in the system to ensure it works better for all users of the system. This will allow genuine FOI requests to be prioritised and taxpayers' money to be better utilised.

The Albanese government and our FOI reforms are focused on delivering for the Australian people. This bill amends the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to reflect the modern environment. It will improve the freedom of information framework through reducing system inefficiencies, providing clarity of the law and addressing abusive processes that impact on people's right to access information.

The amendments achieve this by clarifying the scope and objects of the Freedom of Information Act, streamlining processes relating to information access requests and reviews, establishing mechanisms to address improper use of the FOI system, enabling application fees and clarifying the operation of certain exemptions and treatment of official documents of the minister. The bill also makes consequential amendments to the Australian Information Commission Act 2010 and the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 to support the changes to the Freedom of Information Act.

The bill provides important updates to the Commonwealth's freedom-of-information framework, with a focus on modernisation, reducing system inefficiencies and addressing abuse of processes that impact on people's right to access information. It recognises the importance of a well-functioning system of information access balanced with an efficient and effective government. I commend the bill to the House.

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